THE STORM ON THE SEA OF GALILEE: The Missing Masterpiece

The Storm On The Sea Of Galilee is an oil-on-canvas painting made in 1633 by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, who is considered to be one of the greatest visual artist in the history of art and the most important one in Dutch history. The painting is regal, painted with such beauty that it almost seems symphonic. Though in all its extravagance, you might never get to see this masterpiece in real life...

Inspiration

The unique and legendary piece of art was painted by Rembrandt after he moved to Amsterdam, where he lived for the rest of his life. This is a historic painting and has a vast usage of symbolism. The Dutch painter had become very popular by this time. Like some of his other works this painting too is a representation of a biblical scene. The Sea of Galilee, which is actually a huge lake, is a famous tourist site for religious tourists.


The scene in the painting also showed an experience which was very relatable back in the days. As water was the major means of travelling, most people had faced the storms in seas some way or another causing it to be widely popularized. But the less known part is why is it a masterpiece? And not simply for its seemingly unnatural brush work. Why was it so amazing and difficult to capture the story to be depicted in a 62.99 inch* 50.37 inch (5.25ft*4.2ft) canvas with such beauty and precision?

Features and Interpretation

  •  The painting is made with smooth, unedged brush strokes with oil paints. Previously displayed in The Isabella Gardener Museum, Boston; it was stolen on 8 March, 1990, alongside 12 other pieces of art, never to be recovered again.

  •  As mentioned before, the painting has a biblical derivation. The story can be found in verses of Gospel of Mark, Matthew and Luke in the New Testament. MARK 4:35-41 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”  They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

  • This story tells us, that when Jesus and his 12 apostles were sailing across the Sea of Galilee, they were hit by a storm. During this time Jesus himself was sleeping and the disciples were in panic. Jesus on waking up rebuked them for their lack of faith and ordered the wind and waters to calm down. All this left them stunned.This also led to another famous title, 'Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee'. 


  • In the painting the boat can be seen to be attacked by a freak wave on one side causing to almost capsize. On the other end Jesus can be seen sleeping peacefully, a faint aura can be seen arround him.

  • It can seen that there are 14 figures on the boat yet we counyed only 13 (jessus and12 apostles), this is because the fourteenth figure is a self-potrait of Rembrandt.

  •  Let's go back to the question, why is this a masterpiece? The answer lies in the fact that  the scene depicted in the painting is so difficult to capture. This verse of the bible, though very famous and enthralling, is scarcely painted. This is because thescene has 2 huge contrasting and competing features. One being the big part the storm and the other is the smaller, more personal part, the boat and the people on it. Let me give you an example: 
    • Christ Stilleth the Tempest (1852) by John Martin , is only showing the storm while the boat is barely noticeable and the people can't be seen. 


    • In Jesus Stilling the Tempest (1886-1894) by James Tissot, one can see all human interaction, Jesus and the stunned apostles, but the storm isn't really visible.




Rembrandt managed to display both these features of the story in a single painting, making it ever more brilliant. It has shown us the intense storm, while it is starting to calm, hence depicting the miracle as well as the stunned apostles in such detail some can even be identified.
  •  The man near the front in yellow is St. Peter, we can tell by the knife he is carrying on his waste. Jesus can be seen all the way on the other end with his head on the pillow and an aura around him, just woken up and rebuking his disciples. The man near him, holding the rope, is the self-portrait of Rembrandt we discussed above.

  • The colors in the painting have contrasting tone in the 2 halves, separated by the mast. On the right, the tones seem to be darker, the storm is still present there as it hasn't been fully calmed. While on the left, the colors are brighter, the clouds seem to have parted and it can be seen that the storm has started to calm down.

  • The beauty of this work is that those who have seen it say that the colors almost seem as if they were still wet and fresh, the water almost seemed real. It is a true shame that we can only admire it through pictures today.

Interesting Facts

  •  The Storm on the Sea of Galilee is the only seascape ever painted by Rembrandt in his wide collection of works.
  • The painting was stolen in what is called biggest art heist in history. The robbers stole a total of 13 works as they conned the security by acting as police officers.

  • The empty frame of the masterpiece still hangs on the walls of Isabella Gardener Museum awaiting its return.

  • The painting has been valued at nearly $500 million today.
  • Being missing has made it even more popular in the pop culture. It has been featured in:
    • Many episodes of Sneaky Pete, season 3
    • Blacklist, in S1:E6 (Gina Zenatakos) where it is arranged for sale and S5:E2 (Greyson Blaise) a forgery is seen as well.
    •  2013 film, Trance in which its theft has been covered.
    • the cover of the book Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, by Peter L. Bernstein.
    • S1:E2 (2017) of the web television series Iron Fist, the painting hangs in the penthouse of the supposedly dead Harold Meachum. And many others...

  • It is almost twice the size of the Mona Lisa.

Hope you found what you were looking for. Please leave a comment about what you felt and subscribe through the option on the top. Your views will be appreciated. For more updates follow me on Instagram @detail_artwith_a12 . Requests are also taken.

Signing off
A.  

Comments

Unknown said…
Very interesting,good job and thanks for sharing such a good blog.
May 28, 2020 at 7:59 PM
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