He stands calmly with his hands at his chest.
Bible in art · John
The Guards Falling Backwards (Les gardes tombant à la renverse)
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
Jesus stands alone in the middle of a clearing at night, wrapped in a pale mantle, his hands folded at his chest. All around him the soldiers and servants who came to take him are thrown off their feet.
Men fall backwards, sprawl on the ground and stagger with their arms flung up; lanterns and torches wave above them. Tissot painted the crowd in a dark tangle of brown, with only Jesus in light.
From the text
- “Whom are you seeking?” “Jesus of Nazareth” (John 18:4–5)
- “When Jesus said, ‘I am He,’ they drew back and fell to the ground” (John 18:6)
The artist’s own
- A whole crowd tumbling over at once
- Jesus calm and alone in a circle of light
Details
Jesus
Falling back
A man tumbles over backwards.
Lanterns
Caged lanterns sway above the crowd.
On the ground
A man in the foreground sprawls on the earth.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.236) · 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".