Christ Asleep During the Storm c. 1886-94 Tissot, James Jacques Joseph (1836-1902)
Throughout the nineteenth century accomplished artists like the Frenchman Tissot were commissioned by publishers to illustrate scenes from the Hebrew scriptures and the Life of Christ. The painting, Christ Asleep During the Storm, forms part of such a series of scenes from Christ’s life. The episode recounted in the Gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke recall Christ’s miracle at sea. One evening Jesus and the disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee in a boat when a sudden storm erupts. As waves rock the boat the apostles, fearing for their lives call out to Jesus who lies asleep in the stern to save them. Tissot’s arresting composition depicts an early moment in the narrative. The darkened sky suggests stormy weather, while waves begin to break around the vessel. In the foreground several apostles struggle to keep the mast steady. The viewer’s gaze is drawn to Christ by the beseeching gestures of several disciples in the foreground. With arms outstretched towards Christ asleep in the stern the men’s agitated poses recall the disciples fear that Christ has abandoned them to certain death. Tissot underlines the disciples’ agitation through the use of plunging diagonals in order to heighten the mood of turbulence and danger. The sharply receding lines formed by the sides of the boat intersect with the action of the sail which sweeps across the boat in a sweeping counter movement to the movement of the boat. The tension created by these pictorial devices captures the viewer’s own sense of turmoil as the space beyond the picture plane seems to break into the viewer’s world. As we gaze upon Tissot’s masterful depiction of the storm at sea, we too, like the disciples in that boat, must struggle to remain faithful to Jesus’s promise that he will always be with us.
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