“James” Jacques Joseph Tissot was a French artist and illustrator born on October 15, 1836. He was best known for painting fashionable women and Bible scenes. His father was a drapery merchant and his mother was a hat designer and devout Catholic, so the source of his inspiration is of little wonder. He spent much of his life in aristocratic London, painting women and generally appealing to the wealthy with his art. He met Kathleen Newton during the height of his artistic career and with her was able to experience family life, something for which he had dreamed and to which he referred as the happiest time of his life. After her death, he became passionate about his faith and spent the rest of his life painting Biblical scenes, particularly focusing on Jesus. He even traveled to the Middle East to paint the people there. His paintings were used for many years after his death and were considered the “definitive Bible images,” and his paintings from the Middle East inspired even modern movies including Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Shown below are The Bridesmaid, Hide and Seek,
A Passing Storm, The Baptism of Jesus,
and Jesus Wept.
