The Sanhedrin

James J. Tissot (French painter and illustrator, 1836-1902) was a well-known French impressionist painter. But after his model and mistress commited suicide at the age of 28 in 1882, his heart began to turn toward spiritual things. He visited the Holy Land in 1886-87 and in 1889 for careful geographical and ethnographic studies. During the latter part of his career he produced a series of 700 watercolor drawings to illustrate the Life of Christ (published 1896) and the Old Testament. His New Testament paintings are part of the collection of the Brooklyn Museum, while his Old Testament paintings are for the most part owned by the Jewish Museum of New York. 

In the opinion of many art critics, Tissot is one of the most accurate painters of any age who has sought to depict the events and scenes of the Bible. In the Holy Land he sketched hundreds of scenes and individuals from life, and then developed well composed Bible paintings based on both his careful research and accurate drawings.

In this waterolor, Tissot depicts the Sanhedrin. In the New Testament, the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus refers to the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin (a Jewish judicial body) following his arrest in Jerusalem and prior to the trial before Pontius Pilate. It is an incident reported by all three Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament, while the Gospel of John refers to a preliminary inquiry before Annas.

A Synhedrion is mentioned 22 times in the Greek New Testament, including in the Gospels in relation to the trial of Jesus, and in the Acts of the Apostles, which mentions a "Great Synhedrion" in chapter 5 where rabbi Gamaliel appeared, and also in chapter 7 in relation to the stoning death of Saint Stephen. This body is described as a court led by the High Priest or leading priests, as well as the "elders" and/or Pharisees.