Rembrandt's Poem 'Christ On The Sea Of Galilee'

1946 Words8 Pages

The artist Rembrandt van Rijn was one of the most popular painters in his time. One of his painting, titled “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee”, was not as popular as the others. It is a religious painting where Rembrandt used oil on canvas to depict a moment of uncertainty and hope. In this painting the panic-stricken disciples struggle against a sudden storm. Fighting to regain control of their fishing boat as a huge wave crashes over its bow, ripping the sail and drawing the craft perilously close to the rocks in the left foreground. One of the disciples succumbs to the sea’s violence by vomiting over the side. Amidst the chaos, only Christ/Jesus remain calm like the eye of the storm. Nature’s upheaval is both cause and metaphor …show more content…

A poem written by Jonathan Frank, who portrayed the painting as a story about Christ’s and his disciples venturing in the middle off the Galilee Sea. Christ was asleep until woken up by one of his disciples, which to Franks eyes, represented Rembrandt himself appearing as a cameo. Rembrandt was woken up by lights slashing through the clouds. This poems gives students an insight or a view on what the actual painting represented. Each stanza gives a mixture of dark/light tone, as well as color choices and facial expressions that Rembrandt was trying to accomplish. Fink gives a probable conclusion that Rembrandt is part of the painting. "Jesus on the Sea." Poems with Power to Strengthen the Soul (1907): 1330. Poetry & Short Story Reference Center. Web. 30 Mar. 2016. A poem by an anonymous person which essentially said that Jesus restored the faith of his disciples by saying “fear not: it is I”. He said that each one of the fears and conflicts should not alter their faith and be hopeful that Jesus will come to save them when the time comes. This poem would not be a good source for the paper since it’s a poem from an anonymous author and the credibility still unclear. It doesn’t specify what Jesus does and doesn’t connect to Rembrandts painting and the portrayal of that painting. It is also not a poem by a well-known artist which makes the piece somewhat useless to my paper. MCCORRY, VINCENT P. "The Word." America 92.18 (1955): 460-461. Humanities Source. Web. 30 Mar. …show more content…

2016. The portrait, which has been well-known for ages, has served generations of writers and lecturers a convenient illustration of the truths about the young Rembrandt. Rembrandt was about twenty five and was already one of the most famous portrait painter in Amsterdam, he painted a handful of history paintings with small figures and meticulous finish, in which he emphasized physical action and highly charged emotions. This source meticulously define the background of Rembrandt and his paintings. It gives the researcher an outlook on what his paintings mean and how to interpret it, specifically the “Christ in the Storm on the Sea” painting, and is a