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.

The painting depicts Mary and her husband, Joseph, looking for a room for the night.

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.

[1] The painting "strikes a realistic note" depicting Mary as a veiled woman in a narrow alley of an Eastern town.