He lies on the ground and stares at the gap in the stones.
Bible in art · Matthew
The Hidden Treasure (Le trésor enfoui)
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
A man lies flat on his stomach among stones under old olive trees, reaching into a gap between the rocks. His staff has fallen beside him.
Tissot painted the moment of finding: the man pulls aside a stone and looks in, his face tense, his arm stretched out to the hidden place. The rest of the field is quiet, with grass and scattered white stones.
From the text
- “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field” (Matthew 13:44)
- “When a man found it, he hid it again” (Matthew 13:44)
The artist’s own
- The treasure under stones by the roots of an olive tree
- The finder alone, with his dropped staff
Details
The finder
The hiding place
A dark opening under the rocks.
The staff
His walking stick lies on the grass.
Olive trees
Gnarled trunks rise behind him.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.73) · 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".