The Taking of Jericho 1902

James Tissot painted “The Taking of Jericho” in watercolor, and you can almost feel the dry heat of the desert baked into the paper. Look closely, and you’ll see how Tissot layers washes of color to create form, the city rendered in creamy whites and pale pinks, with just a touch of blue in the sky. Then, these teeming masses of soldiers, all brick reds and ochres. There’s a real tension between the looseness of the brushwork and the precision of the scene. Notice that broken archway in the foreground. The way the light hits those rough stones, it’s like Tissot is inviting us to step through into the painting, to join this chaotic, historical moment. Tissot had a real knack for historical scenes, much like Gerome, but I think his use of watercolor gives his work a lightness, an immediacy, that invites you into the story in a different way. Ultimately, it’s this openness to interpretation, this sense of possibility, that makes art so endlessly fascinating.