He stands in a white prayer shawl with black stripes.
Bible in art · Matthew
The Man with the Withered Hand (L'homme à la main desséchée)
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
In a synagogue hung with clusters of glass lamps, a man in a striped robe holds out his hand towards Jesus, who stands at the left in a white prayer shawl with black stripes.
All around, the elders lean forward from benches and from the carved gallery above to see what will happen; one covers his mouth with his hand. Tissot again filled the scene with patterned wood and hanging lamps.
From the text
- “a man with a withered hand was there” (Matthew 12:10)
- “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” (Matthew 12:10)
- “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out (Matthew 12:13)
The artist’s own
- The gallery full of watching elders
- Clusters of glass oil lamps
Details
Jesus
The man
In a striped robe, he stretches out his arm.
Watching
An elder covers his mouth with his hand.
The gallery
Old men look down over the carved rail.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.95) · Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper · Brooklyn Museum (Commons file page, «Permission»): "This image was uploaded by the Brooklyn Museum as a content partnership, and is considered to have no known copyright restrictions by the institutions of the Brooklyn Museum." — "No known copyright restrictions".