Jesus Looking through a Lattice

Between 1886 and 1894 Tissot made a series on the life of Christ. He meant that in previous centuries the true Christ had been obscured by the "fancies" of artists. He therefore made the series begin with this gouache, with Jesus behind a lattice.

He referred to a verse in the book of Canticles: "My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice."