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The Storm on the Sea of Galilee is a 1633
painting by the Dutch master Rembrand van Rijn that was in the
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum prior to being stolen on March 18,
1990.
The painting
The painting depicts the miracle of Jesus calming the waves on the Sea
of Galilee (now modern Israel), as depicted in fourth chapter of the
Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the
Christian Bible.
It is Rembrandt's only seascape.
Theft
On the morning of March 18, 1990, thieves disguised as police officers
broke into the museum and stole The Storm on the Sea of Galilee and
twelve other artworks, including a painting by Vermeer (The Concert)
and two other Rembrandts as well as works by Manet, Degas, Govaert
Flinck, and a French and a Chinese artifact. It is considered the
biggest art theft in US history and remains unsolved. The museum still
displays the paintings' empty frames in their original locations due
to the strict provisions of Gardner's will, which instructed that the
collection be maintained unchanged. The thefts are a subject of a 2005
documentary called Stolen which in a slightly different version had
earlier appeared on Court TV.
As of 2008, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee is still missing.
Biblical references
* Mark
4:35-40,
MR 4:35 And the same day, when
the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other
side.
MR 4:36 And when they had sent away the
multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were
also with him other little ships.
MR 4:37 And there arose a great storm
of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
MR 4:38 And he was in the hinder part
of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him,
Master, carest thou not that we perish?
MR 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the
wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and
there was a great calm.
MR 4:40 And he said unto them, Why are
ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
MR 4:41 And they feared exceedingly,
and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the
wind and the sea obey him?
MR 5:1 And they came over unto the
other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
Link
Forbes
on the theft |
