Saint Joseph Seeks a Lodging at Bethlehem



Saint Joseph Seeks a Lodging at Bethlehem is an opaque watercolor painting over graphite by James Tissot. The painting was created between 1886-1894, near the end of James Tissot's Career. This style of painting is also known as Gouache.

The painting depicts Mary and her husband, Joseph, looking for a room for the night. Because of the Census of Caesar Augustus (also known as the Census of Quirinius), the town is overcrowded and there is no room to be had. So they are being turned away at every door. In the picture itself, Joseph pleads with an inn keeper to give them a place to rest, while the weary Mary waits on the donkey with quiet resignation. The painting "strikes a realistic note" depicting Mary as a veiled woman in a narrow alley of an Eastern town.

The painting is currently being displayed at the Brooklyn Museum and is available for download and print.