A Paralytic Is Healed
Mary Trent Scott
oil
24" x 48", two panels

He was teaching the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. Some men lowered a paralytic through the roof in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." The Pharisees and teachers said, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Jesus said, "…that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." He said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." Immediately, he got up, took his mat and went home, praising God.

This piece was inspired by a visit to Italy to see early Renaissance narrative paintings, paintings Mary had loved and admired from a distance. A predella, the base of an altarpiece, was often painted with scenes from the life of a saint or Christ himself and is an excellent vehicle for storytelling – the focus of her work. "I see my art, at this time, in much the way it was used in the middle ages – to educate the viewer.

Healings and miracles of Jesus are often forgotten today, so the story is being told again here almost like a comic strip. Roman Uncial, a script used in early Christian documents, describes the action depicted in each frame for the secular as well as the Christian viewer. Painting of the 15th century artist, Fra Angelico, in the museum of San Marco, Florence, as well as the reverse of Duccio's great "Majesta" (1308) in Siena particularly influenced the creation of "A Paralytic Is Healed."