A young man in white points upward.
Bible in art · Acts
The Ascension
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
Two young men in white robes and stoles stand side by side on a rock against a bright sky full of rays, each pointing upward with one finger. Their hair is fair and curly.
Below them the watchers lie and kneel on the ground, dazzled, covering their eyes or shading them with their hands. Tissot made the two figures calm and still above the tangle of people.
From the text
- “They were looking intently into the sky” (Acts 1:10)
- “two men dressed in white stood beside them” (Acts 1:10)
- “Men of Galilee … why do you stand here looking into the sky?” (Acts 1:11)
The artist’s own
- The two men pointing upward
- Watchers lying dazzled on the ground
Details
The first figure
The second figure
His companion points up with one finger.
The light
Rays stream down from above.
Dazzled
People lie on the ground and shade their eyes.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.349) · Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper · Brooklyn Museum (Commons file page, «Permission»): "This image was uploaded by the Brooklyn Museum as a content partnership, and is considered to have no known copyright restrictions by the institutions of the Brooklyn Museum." — "No known copyright restrictions".