Provenance
(Arthur Sambon, Paris). Benno Geiger [1882-1965], Vienna. (Count Alessandro Contini Bonacossi, Florence) by 1929;[1] purchased 1939 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[2] gift 1943 to NGA.
[1] In _Alessandro Magnasco_, Exh. cat. Galerie Sambon, Paris, 1929, the painting is cited as in the Contini collection, but not exhibited.
[2] See also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/507.
Accession Number
1943.4.31
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 118.1 x 146.7 cm (46 1/2 x 57 3/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Oil Painting Canvas Italian Color: Yellow
Background & Context
Background Story
Christ at the Sea of Galilee gives Magnasco the opportunity to combine his two most characteristic subjects: religious narrative and turbulent seascape. The stormy sea—rendered in Magnasco's rapid, slashing brushwork—is as much a protagonist of the painting as Christ himself, and the contrast between the serene figure of Christ and the chaos of the waves creates the kind of dramatic tension that defines Magnasco's best work. The disciples' terror at the storm is expressed through the exaggerated gestures and elongated figures that are Magnasco's visual signature.
Cultural Impact
Magnasco's seascapes are among his most admired works because they give full rein to his turbulent brushwork. Where other Baroque painters calmed the sea after the miracle of Christ's command, Magnasco paints the storm at its height, making the miracle more dramatic by making the danger more real. The Sea of Galilee in this painting is not a background element but a hostile force that must be overcome.
Why It Matters
Christ at the Sea of Galilee is Magnasco's two greatest subjects combined: religious narrative and turbulent seascape. The storm is painted with the same nervous energy as the figures, making the miracle more dramatic by making the danger more tangible. Christ's calm is the only stillness in a world of chaos.
