Collection

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

James Tissot

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Object Label

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.

Caption

James Tissot (Nantes, France, 1836–1902, Chenecey–Buillon, France). 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) Frame: 20 x 15 x 1 1/2 in. (50.8 x 38.1 x 3.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.123. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery

Not on view

Title

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

Date

1886–1896

Geography

Place made: France

Medium

Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper

Classification

Watercolor

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) Frame: 20 x 15 x 1 1/2 in. (50.8 x 38.1 x 3.8 cm)

Signatures

Signed top right: "J.J. Tissot"

Credit Line

Purchased by public subscription

Accession Number

00.159.123

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Artists and makers

James Tissot

524 works in the collection