He stands in white in the stream of light.
Bible in art · Matthew
The Transfiguration (La transfiguration)
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
Light pours down from above onto three figures on the mountain top. Jesus stands in the middle in a shining white robe; on either side, two old bearded men in dark mantles turn towards him and talk.
In the foreground the three disciples kneel and crouch on the ground, one seen from behind with his arms out, the others hiding their faces. Tissot painted the light as streaks of white across a grey-green rock.
From the text
- “His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2)
- Moses and Elijah appear, talking with Jesus (Matthew 17:3)
The artist’s own
- Moses and Elijah as two old men in dark mantles
- The disciples hiding their faces, as they do a moment later (Matthew 17:6)
Details
Jesus
One of the prophets
An old man with a white beard in a dark red-and-grey mantle.
The other prophet
A bearded man in a dark hood and yellow robe.
The disciples
One kneels with his arms out; others hide their faces.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.145) · 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".