This is the only seascape by Rembrandt. Dated 1633, it was painted at the outset of his career, not long after he relocated from Leiden to Amsterdam. Even though it has a signature and a date, the original commission details have been lost over time. In this rendition, the waves have lifted the bow, causing the boat to list to one side. The boat is dangerously close to some rocks that are only partially visible on the left, adding to the tension. Even though seascapes were growing in popularity in 1630s Amsterdam, this particular subject was out of the ordinary. However, he may have seen a print of a comparable scene by Rubens and was likely familiar with an earlier treatment of the same subject by Maerten de Vos (1532–1603). A comparison between this print and one of his sources—if it was one—demonstrates Rembrandt’s mastery.
One particular detail suggests that he knew the de Vos print (above). There is a man in red who is being sick over the side of the boat. The de Vos print has the same detail. But Rembrandt’s treatment of the subject is very different. Most strikingly, he lowers the viewpoint so that he can make full use of the sky and also show the dramatic tilting of the boat. The light from the patch of clear sky catches the brightly-clad disciples and the foaming of the waves. Rembrandt conveys the violence of the storm in various ways. But it is the expressions on the faces of the disciples which draw in the viewer. If you zoom in online you can see their panic, desperation, sickness, despair and also courage In contrast to those who struggle with the sails, others are found lower down in the shadows and nearer to the viewer in a haven of relative calm which is centred on Christ. It is as if he were the still point at the centre of the storm. Of course, the scene depicted is not that of the sea storm in today’s gospel, but rather than told in Matthew 8:23 -27 and in Mark 4: 35-41. Rembrandt has Jesus being woken from sleep. He suggests Mark’s cushion and shows the boat filling with water.
Rembrandt Jesus In The Storm
The power of Rembrandt’s interpretation comes from the sweeping contrast between left and right. There is a shift from agitation to calm, between huge threatening waves and the much calmer sea beyond the boat on the right. Above the dark clouds recede to the right as the sky clears from the left. Christ rules the waves almost unseen from this haven of calm but soon he will be fully visible the clouds recede. The miracle that is about to happen is suggested by the way he uses light and shadow to convert the movement the storm. Rembrandt includes contemporary details to add to the impact. The boat was a contemporary fishing vessel known as a hoeker. Notice that a harpoon sticks out on the left even if whaling was not common on the Sea of Galilee! Actually the details of the boat are not quite right. But Rembrandt was not the sort of artist who would tie himself the a ship’s mast in pursuit of authenticity! His details are merely props to draw his viewers into the drama.
At the front of the boat and along the centre line of the canvas there is a figure dressed in bright blue. He stares out at us. This is Rembrandt himself. With one hand, he grips a stay rope, and with the other, he keeps his hat on. It wasn’t unusual for an artist to paint himself as an onlooker at some event. But here the artist is a participant in the drama. He too is in the boat. About this time he also included himself in his “The Elevation of the Cross” (below).
He is shown as one an executioners. In that work Rembrandt grips the bottom of the cross and helps raise it up from the earth. Here it is the boat and the apostles which are being raised up by waves. Christ is on the cross and in the boat, and in each it is he who will save those in peril. We are not in the boat. We are not participants. We might be in the water! But it is significant that Rembrandt has put himself at the centre. Rembrandt’s looks out at us, standing on the edge of the pool of stillness around the figure of Christ. Is he inviting us to enter into that same stillness which is faith in Christ, particularly when the storms of our lives threaten to overwhelm us. In the years that followed, Rembrandt himself certainly had his fair share of them.
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee is a 1633 oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt van Rijn. It was previously in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston but was stolen in 1990 and remains missing. The painting depicts the biblical story of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, specifically as it is described in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark. It is Rembrandt’s only seascape.
There is evidence to suggest that he was familiar with the de Vos print (above). Over the side of the boat, a man in red is sick. The same attention to detail can be seen in the de Vos print. However, Rembrandt’s take on the subject is strikingly unique. First and foremost, he tilts the viewpoint down to make the most of the sky and to emphasize the dramatic incline of the boat. The foaming waves and colorfully dressed disciples are illuminated by the sunlight from the clear sky. There are a number of ways in which Rembrandt conveys the ferocity of the storm. But it’s the students’ genuine reactions that really grab attention. You can see their fear, desperation, illness, and despair, as well as their bravery, in greater detail online if you zoom in. Others, in contrast to those who toil with the sails, can be seen closer to the viewer, down in the shadows, in a haven of relative calm that is centered on Christ. It is as if he were the still point at the centre of the storm. Of course, the events depicted in today’s gospel are not those described in Matthew 8:23–27 or Mark 4:35–41, but they are similar. In one painting by Rembrandt, Jesus is shown being roused from slumber. At the same time he recommends Mark’s cushion, he demonstrates how the boat is quickly becoming submerged.
Description
The painting, in vertical format, shows a close-up view of Christ’s disciples struggling frantically against the heavy storm to regain control of their fishing boat. A huge wave beats the bow and rips the sail. One of the disciples is seen vomiting over the side. Another one, looking directly out at the viewer, is a self-portrait of the artist. Only Christ, depicted on the right, remains calm.
The close-up treatment of the subject and the overall composition go back to the print made by Adriaen Collaert after a design by the Flemish artist Maerten de Vos. That print depicting The storm on the sea of Galilei was plate 8 in the 12-part Vita, passio et Resvrrectio Iesv Christ which was published by Jan and Raphael Sadeler in Antwerp in 1583. Rembrandt’s painting follows the portrait format in his composition and also depicts the boat in a forward tilting position. Like in the print, most of the space of the work is taken up by the main motif, which is the disciples on the boat struggling against the elements.