He stands on the deck with his arms out.
Bible in art · Mark
Jesus Stilling the Tempest (Jésus calmant la tempête)
James Tissot · 1886–1894
Brooklyn Museum, New York
The same boat, a moment later: Jesus has come out of the cabin and stands on the deck in white, one arm thrown out over the waves and the other towards the boat.
The sea is still rough, the rigging taut. At the stern a sailor braces himself against the steering oar, and in the bow the disciples stare at Jesus. Tissot painted the waves in hard strokes of black, grey and white.
From the text
- “Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea” (Mark 4:39)
- “Silence! … Be still!” (Mark 4:39)
The artist’s own
- The open cabin door behind Jesus
- A sailor at the steering oar
Details
Jesus
The raised hand
He stretches his hand over the waves.
The steersman
A sailor leans hard on the oar.
The disciples
Men crowd in the bow, staring.
James Tissot, French, 1836–1902. Brooklyn Museum, New York (Purchased by public subscription, 00.159.102) · Opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper · Brooklyn Museum (Commons file page, «Permission»): "This image was uploaded by the Brooklyn Museum as a content partnership, and is considered to have no known copyright restrictions by the institutions of the Brooklyn Museum." — "No known copyright restrictions".