Alessandro Magnasco - Christ at the sea of Galilee

• Title: Christ at the sea of Galilee
• Artist: Alessandro Magnasco (1667-1749)
• Date: 1740
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 118 x 147 cm

In “Christ at the sea of Galilee”, Magnasco depicted a scene from the Bible (Matthew 14-22-33) when Christ’s disciples are on a boat in the sea caught in a terrible storm. Jesus walked to them on the water to reassure them and invited Peter to join him. Peter started walking on water too until he started doubting at which point he started sinking and cried out, “Lord, save me!”.

In this painting, Magnasco captured the moment where Jesus was half-turned around, encouraging a sinking Peter to trust and believe. As is written in the Bible- "Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”"

Magnasco’s style is novel: the eerie, stormy sea is painted with a very loose, swirling, passionate brushwork. Romanticism can be foreseen in the movement of the sea and of the trees in the storm (see Turner) and in the depiction of the subjects so small compared to the elements and showing so much expression.