Christ in the Storm
Heinrich Jansen·c. 1650
Historical Context
Heinrich Jansen painted Christ in the Storm around 1650, treating the biblical episode of Christ calming the Sea of Galilee. Jansen was a Dutch marine painter who combined the tradition of storm painting with religious narrative, a pairing that resonated in a seafaring nation where tempests were a constant danger. The subject allowed him to demonstrate both his skill in rendering turbulent seas and the salvific power of Christ over nature.
Technical Analysis
Jansen's oil on panel renders the stormy sea with dynamic energy, capturing the movement of waves and the wind-tossed boat with the knowledge of a marine specialist. The dramatic contrast between the dark storm and the calming presence of Christ creates both narrative power and atmospheric effect.
Provenance
Possilby sale J.M. Cok, Amsterdam, December 16, 1771, lot 167 for 90 florins to Van der Schley [see C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, vol. 6, 1916, p. 82, no. 103a]. Sale Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, September 1, 1934, lot 1911 (pl. 65). Hans Schaeffer Galleries, New York; sold to Charles Worcester, December 30, 1940 [receipt in curatorial files]; given to the Art Institute, 1941.
