He sits on the stone bench and raises his hand.
Bible in art · Luke
Mary Magdalene at the Feet of Jesus
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
Jesus sits on a stone bench in a courtyard under a dark tree and speaks with a raised hand. At his feet sits a young woman in a dark mantle, her hands folded, listening with her eyes lowered.
Across the yard her sister, in a striped dress of many colours, lifts a jar while a pot heats on a small fire by the wall. Tissot named the listener Mary Magdalene, following an old tradition that took Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene for one person.
From the text
- “Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message” (Luke 10:39)
- “Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made” (Luke 10:40)
The artist’s own
- Martha at work by a cooking fire
- Mary of Bethany named Mary Magdalene, by tradition
Details
Jesus
Mary
She sits at his feet with her hands folded.
Martha
In a striped dress, she lifts a jar.
The fire
A pot heats over a small flame.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.164) · 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".