The Storm on the Sea of Galilee
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee is a 1633 oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt van Rijn. It was previously in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston but was stolen in 1990 and remains missing. The painting depicts the miracle of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, specifically as it is described in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark.[1] It is Rembrandt's only seascape.[2]
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee | |
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Dutch: Christus in de storm op het meer van Galilea | |
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Artist | Rembrandt van Rijn |
Year | 1633 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 160 cm × 128 cm (62.99 in × 50.39 in) |
Location | Whereabouts unknown since the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft in 1990 |
![](../I/m/Empty_Frames_at_Isabella_Stewart_Gardner_Museum.jpg)
Theft
On the morning of March 18, 1990, two thieves disguised as police officers broke into the museum and stole The Storm on the Sea of Galilee and 12 other works[2] in what is considered to be the biggest art theft in U.S. history. The heist remains unsolved.[2][3]
On March 18, 2013, the FBI announced that they knew who was responsible for the crime.[4] Criminal analysis has suggested that the heist was committed by an organized crime group. There have been no conclusions made public, as the investigation is ongoing.[5]
In popular culture
- The painting is used on the cover of the 1996 book Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, by Peter L. Bernstein.
- The painting is used as the cover art for The Struggle (2012), the third studio album by Tenth Avenue North.
- In The Blacklist 2013 episode "Gina Zanetakos (No. 152)" (season 1, episode 6), Raymond Reddington has possession of The Storm on the Sea of Galilee and is arranging its sale to a buyer for the buyer's wedding. A forgery is also seen in the 2017 episode "Greyson Blaise (No. 37)" (season 5, episode 2).
- The painting and its theft are referred to in the 2013 film Trance.
- The painting turns up in the fictional town of Lost in Sarah Beth Durst's 2014 novel The Lost.
- In The Venture Bros., villain Phantom Limb is selling the painting to a mafioso who complains that he wanted the Mona Lisa. Limb explains the Rembrandt is not only a better painting but cheaper for the footage, as it is just over double the size.
- In season 1 (2017), episode 2 of the web television series Iron Fist, the painting hangs in the penthouse of the supposedly dead Harold Meachum.
- In Sneaky Pete Season 3 (2019), the painting is featured in multiple episodes.
- In Animal Kingdom Season 3 (2019) episode 12, the painting is referred to by the character of Frankie as having been in the possession of her father and implies he stole the painting in 1990
See also
References
- "Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee 1633". Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. May 21, 2013.
- Robert M. Poole (July 2005). "Ripped from the Walls (and the Headlines)". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on 2013-06-16.
- Guy Darst; Ulrich Boser (February 20, 2009). "Vanishing Point: As the World's Biggest Unsolved Art Theft Fades From View, a Fresh Look". The Wall Street Journal.
- Matt Pearce (March 18, 2013). "FBI says it knows who pulled off unsolved 1990 Boston art heist". Los Angeles Times.
- "The Gardner Museum Theft, Reward Offered for Return of Artwork". Federal Bureau of Investigation. March 18, 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
External links
- Artist's Self Portrait In Religious Works by Camille Gizzarelli
- Theft Overview from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- Theft Story from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
- FBI Top Ten Art Crimes: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft by the FBI Art Crime Team
- "Great Art Thefts of the 20th Century" by Forbes magazine
- Goldfarb, Hilliard T. (1995). The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: A Companion Guide and History. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300063417. OCLC 32429659.