Christ at the Sea of Galilee

The resurrected Christ is depicted backlit by the rising sun on the shore of Lake Galilee as he appears to seven of his believers in a boat. As told in John 21:1–13, they had been fishing all night without success. Christ told them to cast their nets to the right side of the boat, where the catch would be plentiful. When Peter saw Christ, he jumped into the water to swim to shore. Here, as daylight begins to brighten the waves and sky, Peter extends his leg from the boat, about to jump.

Although the attribution cannot be confirmed with certainty, this work was probably created by the Amsterdam-born painter Lambert Sustris. As a young man, he moved to Venice and is believed to have worked in the studios of both Jacopo Tintoretto (Venetian, 1518 or 1519 - 1594) and Titian (Venetian, 1488/1490 - 1576), painting landscapes. _Christ at the Sea of Galilee_ was likely produced during Sustris’s later career in Venice, which has remained largely unexplored. The attribution of the Gallery’s picture is based upon strong similarities in works by Sustris to the figure of Christ, the small figures of the apostles, and the landscape. Two unfinished paintings revealed to lie beneath its surface also appear consistent with the artist’s work.

This painting has previously been attributed to Tintoretto based on stylistic elements such as the dramatic treatment of light and the dry white brushwork that highlights the rolling waves. However, the painting’s lack of impasto—thick buildup of paint on the surface—and differences in figural types and coloring cast uncertainty on the attribution to Tintoretto and point to Sustris as its author.