James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). Reconstruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of Herod, 1886-1894. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper. Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY.
This watercolor — from Tissot’s “Life of Christ” series — is an imagined view of Jerusalem as Jesus would have seen it as he returned to the city for Passover. First presented in Paris in 1894, the “Life of Christ” watercolors were received with great enthusiasm, and a highly publicized exhibition later traveled to London and the United States, visiting Manhattan, Brooklyn, Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago. In 1900, at the suggestion of John Singer Sargent, the Brooklyn Museum acquired the series.
