He leans forward on the couch in a white toga.
Bible in art · John
Jesus Before Pilate, First Interview (Jésus devant Pilate. Premier entretien)
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
In a room with tall lattice windows and patterned carpets, Pilate sits forward on a couch in a white toga with a red border and questions Jesus.
Jesus stands before him in a plain brown robe, his hands bound behind his back, his long hair falling down. Tissot set the two far apart across an empty floor; at the right a guard looks in through a curtain.
From the text
- Pilate “summoned Jesus, and asked Him, ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’” (John 18:33)
- “What is truth?” Pilate asked (John 18:38)
The artist’s own
- Pilate in a Roman toga with a red border
- Lattice windows and patterned carpets of the room
Details
Pilate
Jesus
He stands with his hands bound behind him.
A guard
A face looks in from behind the curtain.
Lattice windows
Carved screens let in the daylight.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.259) · 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".