''The Storm on the Sea of Galilee'' is a 1633
oil-on-canvas painting by the
Dutch Golden Age painter
Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consi ...
. It was previously in the
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was found ...
in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
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.
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
Adriaen Collaert (c. 1560 – 29 June 1618) was a Flemish designer and engraver.
Biography
The estimated year of his birth at Antwerp is between 1555 and 1565. after a design by the Flemish artist . 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.[G. Unverfehrt, ''Christus und die Jünger im Seesturm'']
at Sammlungen der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
Theft
On the morning of March 18, 1990, two thieves disguised as police officers broke into the museum and stole ''The Storm on the Sea of Galilee'' and 12 other worksart theft
Art theft, sometimes called artnapping, is the stealing of paintings, sculptures, or other forms of visual art from galleries, museums or other public and private locations. Stolen art is often resold or used by criminals as collateral t ...
in U.S. history. The heist remains unsolved.FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
announced that they knew who was responsible for the crime.
See also
* List of stolen paintings
Many valuable paintings have been stolen. The paintings listed are from masters of Western art which are valued in millions of U.S. dollars.
Unrecovered
Rumored to be destroyed or lost
Plundered by the Nazis
Recovered
See also
*Art ...
References
External links
'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Storm On The Sea Of Galilee, The
1633 paintings
Maritime paintings
Paintings by Rembrandt
Storm on the Sea of Galilee
Stolen works of art
Paintings of apostles
Sea of Galilee
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