A disciple bends to the seated people with a basket.
Bible in art · Matthew
The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes (La multiplication des pains)
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
The crowd sits in long curving rows on the green terraces of a hillside, row above row, up to the top. Tissot painted it almost as a landscape, with grey rock ledges and a pale valley opening at the left.
In the middle of the slope the disciples move along the rows with large baskets on their heads and in their hands, giving out food. Small figures carry baskets up to the very top of the hill.
From the text
- “He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass” (Matthew 14:19)
- He gave the loaves to the disciples, “and the disciples gave them to the people” (Matthew 14:19)
- Twelve basketfuls of broken pieces left over (Matthew 14:20)
The artist’s own
- The crowd arranged in rows along the terraces
- Baskets carried on the head
Details
Giving out food
A basket on the head
A figure climbs the slope carrying a basket.
Row on row
People sit in long lines along the terrace.
The valley
Pale hills open beyond the slope.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.134) · 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".