The Merchants Chased from the Temple (Les vendeurs chassés du Temple)

James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York

Between the columns of a Temple portico everything is in flight: doves burst into the air, sellers run with their cages and boxes, baskets of oranges and loaves of bread tumble across the floor.

Jesus strides in among them in white with a whip of cords raised over his head. In the foreground a trader in red crouches by a pillar, staring, and women cower beside their crates of birds.

From the text

“drove out all who were buying and selling there” (Matthew 21:12)

“He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves” (Matthew 21:12)

The whip of cords, as John tells (John 2:15)

The artist’s own

Oranges and loaves rolling on the floor

Crates of birds and sellers running with their boxes

Details

Jesus

He raises a whip of cords as he strides in.

Doves

White doves fly up over his head.

A trader

A man in red crouches by a column and stares.

Spilled goods

Loaves and oranges lie scattered on the floor.

James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.198) · 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".