The artwork “Judas Hangs Himself, illustration for ‘The Life of Christ'” by James Tissot, created circa 1886 to circa 1896, is a gouache on paper painting that adheres to the Realism movement. It belongs to the genre of religious painting and is housed at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City.
The artwork vividly depicts the somber and dramatic moment of Judas Iscariot’s suicide by hanging. The composition is set amidst a rocky and desolate landscape, possibly symbolizing the arid and forsaken state of Judas’s soul. The figure of Judas, robed in a brown garment, hangs lifelessly from a tree, with his head tilted back and his feet dangling in mid-air. The dark and muted colors add to the grim atmosphere, while birds circling above his head further emphasize the finality of his fate. The detailed rendering captures the intense emotional weight and tragic narrative inherent in this biblical story.
