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The Storm on the Sea of Galilee
Rembrandt · Baroque & Dutch Golden Age
- Artist
- Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669)
- Date
- 1633
- Dimensions
- 160 x 128 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (whereabouts unknown)
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee is Rembrandt's only seascape. It shows the Gospel story in which Jesus and his disciples are caught in a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee; the terrified disciples wake Jesus, who calms the wind and the waves.
A closer look
A small fishing boat rears up on a huge wave, its sail torn, as the bow is lit by a burst of light breaking through the black clouds. Some disciples struggle with the ropes and the mast, one vomits over the side, others turn in despair to Christ, who sits calmly in the shadowed stern. Among the fourteen figures, one man looking straight out at the viewer and holding his cap is thought to be a self-portrait of the young Rembrandt. The diagonal of the boat and the contrast of light and darkness make the scene intensely dramatic.
More by Rembrandt
In this gallery
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp
The Night Watch
Self-Portrait with Two Circles
The Return of the Prodigal Son
Belshazzar's Feast
Danaë
Bathsheba at Her Bath
Syndics of the Drapers' Guild
The Jewish Bride
Famous works elsewhere
- Self-portrait 1669