Collections: European Art: The Palsied Man Let Down through the Roof (Le paralytique descendu du toit)

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The Palsied Man Let Down through the Roof (Le paralytique descendu du toit)

• Portfolio/Series: The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ (La Vie de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ)

Jesus receives numerous requests for healings, creating a crush of supplicants. Eager to reach him, after he has retired to the privacy of a home, four men lower a paralytic through the roof into the welcoming arms of Jesus—a powerfully dramatic image. Tissot heightens the sense of the sick man’s helplessness with his flailing, outstretched arms, a counterpoint to Christ’s controlled gesture of acceptance.


• Artist: James Tissot, French, 1836-1902
• Medium: Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper
• Place Made: France
• Dates: 1886-1896
• Dimensions: Image: 9 5/16 x 6 9/16 in. (23.7 x 16.7 cm) Sheet: 9 5/16 x 6 9/16 in. (23.7 x 16.7 cm)
• Signature: Signed top right: "J.J. Tissot"
• Collections: European Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in Robert E. Blum Gallery, 1st Floor
• Accession Number: 00.159.123
• Credit Line: Purchased by public subscription
• Image: Overall, 00.159.123_PS1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2006
James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). The Palsied Man Let Down through the Roof (Le paralytique descendu du toit), 1886-1896. Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, Image: 9 5/16 x 6 9/16 in. (23.7 x 16.7 cm) Sheet: 9 5/16 x 6 9/16 in. (23.7 x 16.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.123 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 00.159.123_PS1.jpg)