The artwork titled “Building the Ark,” created by James Tissot circa 1896 to circa 1902, uses gouache on board as its medium. This piece, which belongs to the Realism art movement, measures 21.5 cm by 28.8 cm and falls under the genre of religious painting.
“Building the Ark” depicts a scene of industrious activity, presumably the construction of Noah’s Ark from the biblical account. The artwork portrays several men engaging in the labor-intensive task of building. The central figure, atop a wooden plank, is laboring with a wooden beam over his shoulder. Surrounding him are other workers, each immersed in different aspects of the construction process. The composition is characterized by a tangle of timber and scaffolding, rendered with meticulous detail that emphasizes the complexity of the task at hand. The men are dressed in simple, historically-appropriate attire, contributing to the authenticity and period-specific ambiance of the scene. The subdued color palette and the detailed textures of wood and fabric further enhance the realism of the painting, drawing the viewer into the magnitude of the monumental effort depicted.
