In a yellow robe, he lies along the branch and looks down.
Bible in art · Luke
Zacchaeus in the Sycamore Awaiting the Passage of Jesus (Zachée sur le sycomore attendant le passage de Jésus)
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
Zacchaeus, a small, bearded man in a shining yellow robe and a striped turban, has climbed out along a great branch of a sycamore fig over the road. He leans down and stares at the procession.
Boys have climbed the tree too, higher up. Below, Jesus walks forward in white with his disciples, followed by a crowd that fills the street back to the houses.
From the text
- He “could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature” (Luke 19:3)
- “he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him” (Luke 19:4)
The artist’s own
- Boys climbing the same tree
- Zacchaeus’ rich yellow robe
Details
Zacchaeus
Jesus
He walks forward in white with his disciples.
Boys in the tree
Others climb higher up the trunk.
The crowd
Many faces fill the street behind.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.189) · 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".