Analysis of Storm on the sea of Galilee
(Rembrandt, 2015)
Artist: Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Nationality: Dutch
Date: 1633
Title: The Storm on the Sea of Galilee
Genre: Religious painting
Medium: Oil paint
Size: 160 x 128mm
Description
Rembrandt’s only seascape painting was the Storm on the Sea of Galilee borrowing much from the story of the Bible. The artistic impression was majorly rooted in the New Testament episode of the Jesus and his disciples on the stormy sea (Fink, 2012, p. 28). The painting depicts a confusing, intense and turbulent time as the characters are succumbing in a storm during the night hours. The small boat through which they are sailing through is slowly carried away by the massive storm. At a closer look there are fourteen people on board; one character struggling to control the sail sheet and three other persons trying to hold the mast, eight other characters as depicted astonished while the other two individuals, seem calm and in control of the situation.
The shapes are mainly free-form shapes due to the angular and curved outlines of the objects drawn. The majority of the characters in the boat tend to fall in a curved line and within the foreground while the violent storm is featured within the background. The characters in the front painting part are within the diagonal line.
The space of the painting is fully utilized to depict the occurrence of certain elements of the unfolding events such as the sharp waves and the boat in a capsizing state. The tone of the painting is of low key value due to the picture, a larger percentage of it composes of dark color. The artist has merged several main colors to capture the event, the use of a yellow touch of color is symbolic, and the imbalance of the colors in the foreground clearly shows the use of the famous Rembrandts chiaroscuro style of painting.
Analysis
The art uses a compositional structure based on both directional movement and the triangle to attain balance and dynamic (Slive, 2013, p. 134). The mast of the boat clearly divides the painting into two distinct triangles. The left triangle emphasizes on depicting the events occurring while the right triangle contains the majority of the characters. The directional movement is achieved through the alignment of the organic shapes. The painting is asymmetrically balanced from the positioning of the mast of the ship, on the left containing four people while the rest on the right side.
Much emphasis is placed on the vessel’s movement based on the position it is painted. This tries to explain the extent of the problem looming and the lack of uneasiness from only two characters in the painting. The art bears aspects of harmony in it as seen from the water disturbances in the sea, the yellow light depicting a light from far. The rule of thirds or the golden ratio is adequately applied as the painting shows two sides of events that are, the characters that are worried about the storm while some are in a relaxed state.
Interpretation
The painting has in ages stirred up heated debates on the thoughts of Rembrandt. The number of characters in the picture is in contrary to the Bible story from where the basis of the art was rooted (Slive, 2013, p. 134). The man on the far left seems to be the man in control of the sailing of the ship from the efforts depicted. The three men working on the mast are doing their level best trying to fix the main sail.
On the left, a man is nearly hanging out of the ship due to the violent waves hitting the sea. Amidst this chaos, there are two people who are not worried about the storm and Rembrandt put himself in the event, affirming his direction on a religious matter (Fink, 2012, p. 28). The majority of the crew seems distressed over the situation at hand and concerned about one of them who does not seem distracted by the looming havoc.
The painting depicts the power of nature and the nature of helplessness that man has subjected. The primary intention of the artist was to bring about the sense of faith, inspiration within a biblical context through the art of painting. The showcasing of sanctity to catch our attention and interest is unfolding in the real story summarized in the Rembrandt painting’s work.
References list
Fink, J. (2012). The Storm on the Sea of Galilee. New England Review, 33(2), 28-32.
Slive, S. (2013). Rembrandt and his critics 1630–1730 (Vol. 2). Springer Science & Business Media.