Tombs In the Valley of Hinnom 1889

James Tissot made this pen and ink drawing, 'Tombs in the Valley of Hinnom,' as part of a larger project to illustrate the life of Jesus Christ. Tissot, a French painter, experienced a religious reawakening in the late 1880s, which led him to make several trips to the Middle East, seeking to capture the landscapes and people of the Bible with ethnographic accuracy. The Valley of Hinnom, outside Jerusalem, was considered cursed in the Old Testament, a place of child sacrifice and darkness. Tissot's choice to depict tombs there evokes not only the historical setting of the biblical narrative, but also themes of death, resurrection, and spiritual transformation central to Christian belief. The starkness of the drawing, with its emphasis on line and shadow, creates a sense of somber reflection, inviting viewers to contemplate their own mortality and faith. The artist seems to ask, how do we confront the shadows of our past, both personal and collective, in pursuit of spiritual renewal?