He stands at the reading desk in a striped prayer shawl.
Bible in art · Luke
Jesus Unrolls the Book in the Synagogue (Jésus dans la synagogue déroule le livre)
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
The synagogue at Nazareth is full of men in white prayer shawls sitting on benches, with lamps of glass hanging overhead and a gallery behind. Tissot filled the room with carved woodwork, rails and lamps.
Jesus stands at a carved reading desk and looks down at the open scroll in its tall decorated case. Around him the men lean forward or sit very still, watching.
From the text
- “He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read” (Luke 4:16)
- “the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him” (Luke 4:17)
The artist’s own
- The scroll in a tall ornamented case
- Prayer shawls with dark stripes and hanging glass lamps
Details
Jesus
The scroll
An open scroll in a tall case with a decorated top.
The gallery
A man in white leans on the rail above.
Listeners
Old men in white shawls sit along the benches.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.71) · 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".