A young woman laughs as she runs, her veil flying.
Bible in art · Matthew
The Foolish Virgins (Les vierges folles)
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
The second sheet of the pair: the foolish virgins run through the dark in their white robes and veils, holding up their lamps and flasks. Their veils and sleeves blow out behind them.
Tissot painted them laughing and calling to each other as they hurry along a stony path, with the black night behind. They have gone to buy oil, and the bridegroom will come while they are away.
From the text
- “our lamps are going out” (Matthew 25:8)
- “while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived … and the door was shut” (Matthew 25:10)
The artist’s own
- The young women laughing as they run
- Glass flasks of oil held up high
Details
Running ahead
A flask
A small glass flask of yellow oil.
A lamp
A lamp held out on a chain.
Behind
Others hurry after them through the dark.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.180) · 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".