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Christ on the Sea of Galilee

Eugène Delacroix1854

The Walters Art Museum

The Walters Art Museum
Baltimore, United States

This scene is based on an incident recounted in three Gospels of the New Testament: a furious storm breaks out while Jesus and his disciples sail across the Sea of Galilee to spread Christ's message. To the disciples' amazement, Jesus calms the wind and the storm, dramatizing the power of Christian belief.

Delacroix produced multiple variations on this theme in 1853 and 1854, when this particular biblical subject became popular with French Catholics during the reign of Louis-Napoléon (r. 1852-70).

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  • Title: Christ on the Sea of Galilee
  • Creator: Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798-1863)
  • Date Created: 1854
  • Subject Keywords: seascape; ocean; wave; storm; boat
  • External Link: For more information about this and thousands of other works of art in the Walters Art Museum collection, please visit art.thewalters.org
  • Roles: Artist: Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798-1863)
  • Provenance: Sale (by the artist); Beugniet (date and mode of acquisition unknown); Tabourier (date and mode of acquisition unknown); Troyon (date and mode of acquisition unknown); Viot Sale, Paris, May 25, 1886, no. 2; Levesque (date and mode of acquisition unknown); purchased by William T. Walters (through George A. Lucas as agent), Baltimore, November 25, 1886 [1]; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931. [1] The Diary of George A. Lucas, p. 640.
  • Object Type: oil paintings
  • Medium: oil on canvas
  • Inscriptions: [Signature] Lower right: Eug. Delacroix; [Date] Lower right: 54
  • Exhibitions: From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2014-2016., Déjà Vu? Revealing Repetition in French Masterpieces. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix. 2007-2008., From Delacroix to Cézanne: French Watercolor Landscapes of the Nineteenth Century. Art Gallery, University of Maryland, College Park; Speed Art Museum, Louisville; The University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor. 1977-1978., 19th Century Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin. 2010-2011., A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte. 2002-2004., Delacroix: les dernières années. Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. 1998-1999., Eugène Delacroix. Fundaci├│n "la Caixa", Barcelona; Fundaci├│n "la Caixa", Barcelona. 2011-2012., Triumph of French Painting: Masterpieces from Ingres to Matisse. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach; Dayton Art Institute, Dayton; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. 2000-2002., The Works of Antoine-Louis Barye. American Art Gallery (New York), New York. 1889-1890., Masterpieces 19th Century. Seattle Art Museum, Seattle. 1951., From Ingres to Gauguin: French Nineteenth Century Paintings Owned in Maryland. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 1951., Cent Chefs d'Oeuvres 1883. 1883., Centennial Exhibition, Texas, 1949. Public Library, Fort Worth, Fort Worth. 1949., Manet and the Sea. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia; Amsterdam: Van Gogh Museum, AJ Amsterdam. 2003-2004., Vive la France! French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1999-2000., Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863): Paintings, Drawings, and Prints from North American Collections. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 1991., Eugène Delacroix. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid; Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich; Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main. 1987-1988., From El Greco to Pollock: Early and Late Works by European and American Artists. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 1968.
  • Dimensions: H: 23 9/16 x W: 28 7/8 in. (59.8 x 73.3 cm); Framed H with build-up: 35 3/4 x W: 40 11/16 x D: 5 3/4 in. (90.81 x 103.35 x 14.61 cm)
  • Credit Line: Acquired by William T. Walters, 1889
  • Classification: Painting & Drawing
  • Accession Number: 37.186
The Walters Art Museum

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