The Red Cloud chief., 1896-01-10

mas acquired the right of r%eDroducin
Il dozen OF h finest of Tissot's mic
I lures, and these accompany Mis-
i cones article. The writer saws. II
'he farls or to-day n great religion
/ WORK mas been slowly Accomplished. nm
! touched by the insidious influence
! ABOUT 1t. In the production of thi
: WORK. which oxternalizes his full de
Velopment as man and artist. NJ. Tis
sot mas been impelled by Il desire to us,
ms art for the purpose of presenting 4;
truthful idea of the figure OF Christ ant
the p~ersonagcs of his timc-to Olson.
gage the whole, as far as possible. from
the mass OF %nventio legend and
Inaccuracy which surrounds that pc
riod, ana through which wc are accus-
TONED TO view It's events. with this
ldea he made, In 1856, the first OF two
Journeys to Palestine. beginning a
serious study of its topography, and of
the various races which have from time
10 tlme taken root ~therc-their man
ners, customs, dress. gestures. archi-
'ectore' govcrnment-cndeavoring to
Sift through the everything mass of
foreign influences tArab, Turkish, Per-
sian II Latin) the true elements of tho
old jewish civilization. and essay;ng rs
far as possible, to enter into the mental
ana moral attitudes of that race of
Judea, so unique In its design and dcs-
tihy. With this end in mind il was
necessary to reproduce with some de-
gree OF eXactitude The external setting
OF the events recorded in the Gospels.
ana nc has thus reconstructed the
architecture Of that period with great
mihuteness. proportional after dimon-
SONS II descriptions given in old his
torlc and religious works. He rebuilds
Tor lis the ornate temples and houses of
the Herods. and the SIMMER and moro
harmonious ines If older structures.
we see, too, the little Syrian villages.
with their narrow. winding streets and
square, low dwellings. lighted through
the door; and faithfully pictm ed are
inc varying types of the Syrian land
scape, the smiling hillsides of Galjleo
the severe beauty of Samaria, and the
barren and melancholy wastes Of Judea.
A devout Catholic, NJ. Tlssot had.
among other opportunities for study.
the privilege of entering Old monas-
teries and churches. generally inacces-
siDlc, where, jealousy guarded from
proiane eyes. are to be found ancient
ana curious manuscripts. carvings. and
relics which throw new light on the
history Of that time and the early CEN
turtles or the Christian era. Apart from
what would seem almost special powers
or intuition where his work is con-
cerned. Nj. Tissot has been greatly
alded by a study of the Taimud, Joseph-
us, the early fathers of the church
ana the works OF the celebrated &C.
statues, among the last those marvellous
volumes Of Katrine Emmerich, almost
unknown and now out of print, which
are among the most curious revelations
OF the human mind. In connection with
MS work NJ. TissOt has made n new
OF the Latin text of tn.
Nulgate. To those occupying them
with the history Of that period.
ana specially to the student OF mystic
lore. the detailed catalogue of the pic
lures, accompanied by explanatory
1850 "''' vi Nv HlSUpSI lnlDr-
as NJ. Tissot is deeply versed in that
symbolism which made the smallest of
The Jewish rites and customs pregnant
meaning. lie has thus a signil-
'ance for everything, from the jewel Oh
The breast of the high priest to the
,olor and shape Of the garments of the
participant at n feast. 1t would be
ilnlcult to overestimate the docu.
nentary value Of NJ. Tissot's great work a.;
apart from its high esthetic merit. 5
scene after scene is restored with what {
would seem almost the power of a seer.
zach act is set in its peculiar and
lifting environment of place and con- /
and the great drama unrolls /
tself before us with a strange reality. '
II the minute exactitude OF the por-
rayal one may follow the events with I
omething of tho intensity Of an eve
The diversity Of types repre- S
ented is most interesting in its ethno- h
ogical and historic fidelity, being il
directly after those found there a
o-day, and which are presumably the 7
anne now as then, enduring through s.
nc inevitable changes Of governments O
customs the centuries have brought s
their train. One sees the Jew, the I,
'harisee, the scribe, the Greek, the Il
Egyptian, the Arab, the Roman, the 8,
ristocrat, the slave, each type made
imiliar by the Gospels, standing out
unmistakable even to the
usual observer. The Syrian woman,
10. has been faithfully pictured in her =.
nrk-eyed lovellnoss and languid grace, y,
eachsng her highest perfection in the -
eauty OF Mary the Mother and Mary ~
Specially interesting from o.
iis point Of view Is the picture of the .,
Inhedrim, where every possible modi- h,
cation OF the Jewish type is repre- o,
'nted In that famous assembly which
lightly pronounced the sentence that
rs brought down on 1t the maledic- d,
On Of all succeeding ass "