tissot 5

 In total, Tissot took two long trips to the Holy Land... 

in 1886-7 and 1889... 

where he assembled sketches, pen drawings, photographs, and character models for his project. 

Later interviews and accounts of his journeys reveal that Tissot approached his first trip to the Holy Land with great intentionality. Upon his first approach toward Jerusalem, he resisted his guide's advice to enter the city by the gate of Jaffa (the most direct path) to avoid the coming rain. 

Instead, Tissot insisted that the luggage be sent ahead, while he made an hour long detour to approach the city from Mount Scopus. He did so while shielding [afschermen] his eyes, lest he see the city for the first time before reaching the perfect vantage [uitkijkpunt]. 

After completing this detour, he saw Jerusalem from the same perspective that Jesus would have. Even then, Tissot felt that he could scarcely sleep until he entered the city and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 

 

After settling into the city, however... 

Tissot took a strict and almost monastic schedule: 

6am to wake, 7am morning prayer with the nuns of the Convent of Marie Reparatrice, a few hours of excursion and work with the aid of his paid assistants, a break for lunch, a few more hours of work inside or outside the city, and then evening came, whence he would dine and rest mostly alone, perhaps taking notes, or creating sketches for future reference. 

Tissot's daily research would typically consist of seeking out locations and people for his sketches, speaking with local biblical authorities from both Jewish and Christian sects, and – perhaps the most visually massive task – studying and reconstructing the geography of Jerusalem. 

This last task meant envisioning how the now-destroyed Jewish Temple would appear within the ancient city, and deconstructing the subsequent growth around the hill of Golgotha, to reveal the original terrain beneath. 

For all of this strict work though, Tissot rarely saw it as tedious or overwhelming in proportion. Instead it was exactly what motivated him each day: 'Ce n'était pas un travail, c'était une prière.'

[bron]