Jacques Tissot: La prédication de la ruine du Temple

he prophesies the destruction of the Temple and its splendor—an event understood by the group as marking the end of times.


The Prophecy of the Destruction of the Temple
(La prédication de la ruine du Temple)

Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper

By Jacques Joseph Tissot
Between 1886-1894


Having departed from the Temple, as Tissot notes, for the final time, Jesus sits with a small group of his disciples: Peter, James, Andrew, and John the Evangelist. Against the backdrop of the Temple complex and the thick, fortified walls of Jerusalem, he prophesies the destruction of the Temple and its splendor—an event understood by the group as marking the end of times.


  • Caption James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Prophecy of the Destruction of the Temple (La prédication de la ruine du Temple), 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 7 1/8 x 11 1/16 in. (18.1 x 28.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.213
  • Credit Purchased by public subscription
  • Dimensions Image: 7 1/8 x 11 1/16 in. (18.1 x 28.1 cm); Sheet: 7 1/8 x 11 1/16 in. (18.1 x 28.1 cm)
  • Location France
  • Signature Signed bottom near center on tree trunk: “J.J. Tissot”

”’Jacques Joseph Tissot”’ (15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902), Anglicized as ”’James Tissot”’, was a French painter and illustrator.
He was a successful painter of Paris society before moving to London in 1871.
He became famous as a genre painter of fashionably dressed women shown in various scenes of everyday life.
He also painted scenes and characters from the Bible.

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