Christ Asleep during the Tempest

Delacroix was deeply attracted to this New Testament lesson of faith: when awakened by his terrified disciples during a storm on the Sea of Galilee (also known as the Lake of Gennesareth and by other names), Christ scolded them for their lack of trust in Providence. The story is recounted in three of the Gospels: Matthew 8:23–27, Luke 8:22–25, and Mark 4:36–41. Luke’s description is the most animated: "Now it came to pass, on a certain day, that he went into a boat with his disciples; and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed he fell asleep; and there came down a storm of wind on the lake, and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water; and they ceased, and there was a calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they, being afraid, marveled, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! For he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him."

There are six fully autograph versions of the subject, four replicas were executed largely or entirely by Delacroix’s assistants, and there are hints of yet other examples that remain untraced (see Johnson 1986, vol. 3, pp. 232–38, 286, 305–5). The early histories of most of these works are somewhat confused. An outline of the six indisputable works follows. Four, including The Met’s canvas, feature a rowboat carrying ten figures; in each the boat bears toward the viewer at a diagonal, down and to the right. The first in the rowboat group is an oil study (Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City; Johnson no. 451) that may be dated to 1841 or afterward, given its resemblance to The Shipwreck of Don Juan, exhibited at the Salon of 1840 (Musée du Louvre, Paris; Johnson no. 276). The study served as the basis for a second, more finished version, thought to date to the same period (Portland Art Museum, Oregon; Johnson no. 452). These were followed by two versions more or less securely datable to 1853 (private collection, Switzerland; Johnson no. 453; and the present picture, Johnson no. 454). In the second group, the rowboat has been replaced by a sailboat and there are now seven figures. In the first, dated 1853, the boat travels away from the viewer, up and to the right (E. G. Bührle Foundation, Zürich; Johnson no. 455). In the second, dated 1854, the boat travels away from the viewer, up and to the left (Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Johnson no. 456). The sequence and early histories of these six paintings as established by Johnson (1981) have been accepted with minor deviations by all subsequent scholars (including Pomarède 2001, which, together with Johnson 1986, are the principal sources for the present entry).

A true product of the Enlightenment, Delacroix was not a religious man and remained a sceptic throughout his life. But he was deeply engaged by questions of faith, morality, and justice. Biblical themes were a mainstay of his thought and his creative output. His work is replete with Christian subjects and ranges from cabinet-size devotional pictures to official commissions, some of them exhibited at the official Salons. The paintings from the series depicting Christ Asleep during the Tempest were made for friends and collectors; the present example seems to have been painted for the Parisian art dealer Francis Petit.

Simply put, the motif of the boat in Delacroix’s art originates with his first Salon picture, The Barque of Dante (1823, Louvre, Paris), and reaches back even further, to his apprenticeship in Théodore Gericault’s atelier during the painting of The Raft of the Medusa (1819, Louvre, Paris), a rather fitting experience for the agnostic painter. To put it in another context, the present work is complemented by ones in which faith is tested, such as The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (probably 1853, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne; Johnson no. 463) and The Supper at Emmaus (1853, Brooklyn Museum; Johnson no. 458). Johnson has noted that the rowboat versions, of which The Met’s picture is the culminating work, "mark a resolution of the spatial disunity of the Death of Sardanapalus" of 1827 (Louvre, Paris; Johnson no. 125; see vol. 3, p. 233). Delacroix’s most direct sources for this subject (in all its variants) include versions by Rembrandt (Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, by means of reproductive prints) and Jacob Jordaens (Gëmaldegalerie, Dresden).

The Met’s painting may have been exhibited once during Delacroix’s lifetime (Paris 1860) and was included in the two memorial exhibitions (Paris 1864 and 1885), but enjoyed a very particular sort of notoriety when it was described rapturously by Mantz (1886), who saw it in the exhibition "Maîtres du Siècle" held at Gustave Doré’s former studio in Paris from April to May 1886. Sharing his sentiment was Vincent van Gogh, who also saw the exhibition. The following summer and in later years he recalled the painting in six letters to his brother Theo and to the painter Émile Bernard (see Notes). A few remarkable excerpts are quoted here. On June 26, 1888, he wrote to Bernard: "Ah – E. DELACROIX’s beautiful painting – Christ’s boat on the sea of Gennesaret, he – with his pale lemon halo – sleeping, luminous – within the dramatic violet, dark blue, blood-red patch of the group of stunned disciples. On the terrifying emerald sea, rising, rising all the way up to the top of the frame. Ah – the brilliant sketch." About June 28, he wrote to Theo: "Christ’s boat – I’m talking about the blue and green sketch with touches of purple and red and a little yellow for the halo, the aureole – speaks a symbolic language through color itself." One month later, on July 29, he wrote again to Bernard: "Delacroix paints a Christ using an unexpected light lemon note, this colorful and luminous note in the painting being what the ineffable strangeness and charm of a star is in a corner of the firmament."

Asher Ethan Miller 2014

Inscription: Signed (lower left): Eug. Delacroix

?[Francis Petit, Paris, from 1853]; ?Bouruet-Aubertot, Paris (by 1860); ?Monsieur R.-L. L. (until 1876; his sale, Paris, April 22, 1876, no. II); John Saulnier, Bordeaux (by 1873?–d. 1886; his estate sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 5, 1886, no. 35, for Fr 14,000, bought in; his estate sale, Galerie Charles Sedelmeyer, Paris, March 25, 1892, no. 8, for Fr 26,000 to Durand-Ruel); [Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1892; stock no. 2066; sold on December 13 for Fr 40,000 to Durand-Ruel, New York]; [Durand-Ruel, New York, 1892–94; sold on January 16, 1894 to Havemeyer]; Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, New York (1894–his d. 1907); Mrs. H. O. (Louisine W.) Havemeyer, New York (1907–d. 1929; cat., 1931, pp. 134–35, ill.)

Paris. 26, Boulevard des Italiens [Francis Petit]. "Tableaux tirés de collections d'amateurs . . .," 1860, no. 349 (as "Le Christ sur le lac de Nazareth," lent by Brouet-Aubertot [sic], possibly this work [or J453]).

Paris. 26, Boulevard des Italiens. "Exposition des œuvres d'Eugène Delacroix," 1864, no. 125 (as "Jésus endormi dans la barque pendant la tempête," lent by M. Bourruet [sic], possibly this work).

Paris. École Nationale des Beaux-Arts. "Exposition Eugène Delacroix au profit de la souscription destinée à élever à Paris un monument à sa mémoire," March 6–April 15, 1885, no. 201 (as "Jésus dans la barque pendant la tempête," lent by M. John Saulnier, Bordeaux).

Paris. 3 rue Bayard (former studio of Gustave Doré). "Maîtres du Siècle," April–May 1886, no. 78 [see Johnson 1986].

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The H. O. Havemeyer Collection," March 10–November 2, 1930, no. 59 (as "Christ on Lake Gennesaret") [2nd ed., 1958, no. 137].

Los Angeles Museum. "The Development of Impressionism," January 12–February 28, 1940, no. 23.

Honolulu Academy of Arts. "Four Centuries of European Painting," December 8, 1949–January 29, 1950, no. 20.

Art Gallery of Toronto. "Fifty Paintings by Old Masters," April 21–May 21, 1950, no. 10.

Hempstead, N. Y. Hofstra College. "Metropolitan Museum Masterpieces," June 26–September 1, 1952, no. 36.

Atlanta Art Association Galleries. "Painting: School of France," September 20–October 4, 1955, no. 6.

Birmingham, Ala. Birmingham Museum of Art. "Painting: School of France," October 16–November 5, 1955, no. 6.

Columbia, S.C. Columbia Museum of Art. "Impressionism," April 3–May 8, 1960, no. 14.

Tokyo National Museum. "Treasured Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," August 10–October 1, 1972, no. 91.

Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. "Treasured Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 8–November 26, 1972, no. 91.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Van Gogh as Critic and Self-Critic," October 30, 1973–January 6, 1974, no. 37.

Amsterdam. Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh. "Franse meesters uit het Metropolitan Museum of Art: Realisten en Impressionisten," March 15–May 31, 1987, no. 1.

Kunsthaus Zürich. "Eugène Delacroix," June 5–August 23, 1987, no. 95.

Frankfurt. Städtische Galerie im Städelschen Kunstinstitut. "Eugène Delacroix," September 24, 1987–January 10, 1988, no. 95.

Yokohama Museum of Art. "Treasures from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: French Art from the Middle Ages to the Twentieth Century," March 25–June 4, 1989, no. 81.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863): Paintings, Drawings, and Prints from North American Collections," April 10–June 16, 1991, no. 9 (as "Christ and His Disciples Crossing the Sea of Galilee").

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection," March 27–June 20, 1993, no. A261.

Paris. Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. "Delacroix: Les dernières années," April 7–July 20, 1998, no. 115.

Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Delacroix: The Late Work," September 15, 1998–January 3, 1999, no. 115 (as "Christ on the Sea of Galilee").

Amsterdam. Van Gogh Museum. "Vincent's Choice: Van Gogh's Musée Imaginaire," February 14–June 15, 2003, unnumbered cat. (pl. 124).

Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe. "Eugène Delacroix," November 1, 2003–February 1, 2004, no. 172.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art. "Tempests and Romantic Visionaries: Images of Storms in European and American Art," April 21–August 13, 2006, no. 22.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920," February 4–May 6, 2007, no. 17.

Berlin. Neue Nationalgalerie. "Französische Meisterwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts aus dem Metropolitan Museum of Art," June 1–October 7, 2007, unnumbered cat.

Baltimore. Walters Art Museum. "Déjà Vu? Revealing Repetition in French Masterpieces," October 7, 2007–January 1, 2008, no. 11.

Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. "Earth, Sea, and Sky: Nature in Western Art—Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," October 6, 2012–January 4, 2013, no. 23.

Beijing. National Museum of China. "Earth, Sea, and Sky: Nature in Western Art—Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 8–May 9, 2013, no. 23.

Minneapolis Institute of Art. "Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art," October 18, 2015–January 10, 2016, no. 43 (as "Christ on the Sea of Galilee," 1853).

London. The National Gallery. "Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art," February 17–May 22, 2016, no. 43 (as "Christ on the Sea of Galilee," 1853).

Paris. Musée du Louvre. "Delacroix, 1798–1863," March 29–July 23, 2018, no. 161 (as "Le Christ sur le lac de Génésareth").

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Delacroix," September 17, 2018–January 6, 2019, no. 129.

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. September 26, 1853 [published in Joubin 1932, vol. 2, p. 77; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 680], as "Christ dans le bateau" [see Johnson 1986].

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. October 9, 1853 [published in Joubin 1932, vol. 2, p. 82; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 684], notes that he was working on "Christ dans la barque" [see Johnson 1986].

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. October 10, 1853 [published in Joubin 1932, vol. 2, p. 83; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 684], calls it "Christ dans la barque" and notes that he is painting it for Petit [see Johnson 1986].

Eugène Delacroix. Journal entry. October 13, 1853 [published in Joubin 1932, vol. 2, p. 88; Hannoosh 2009, vol. 1, p. 689], refers to it as "Christ dormant dans la tempête" and restates that it is for Petit [see Johnson 1986].

Théophile Silvestre. Delacroix. Paris, 1855, p. 81, probably not this picture [see Ref. Johnson 1986, p. 235 n. 1 under no. 452].

Théophile Gautier. "Exposition de tableaux modernes, tirés de collections d'amateurs—1er article." Gazette des beaux-arts 5 (February 15, 1860), p. 202, as "Christ endormi pendant la tempête," praises the work, saying that although small, it expresses "toute l'immensité de la mer et tout l'effroi de l'oura".

Amédée Cantaloube. Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 1864, p. 98, lists two pictures as having been included in the 1864 Paris exhibition under the title of "Jésus endormi dans la barque pendant la tempête".

H. de la Madelène. Eugène Delacroix à l'exposition du Boulevard des Italiens. Paris, 1864, p. 17.

Adolphe Moreau. E. Delacroix et son œuvre. Paris, 1873, p. 262, second picture mentioned under note 1, as "Jésus pendant une tempête sur le lac de Génésareth"; dates it 1854, and correctly notes the placement of the signature [see Ref. Robaut 1885]; states that it was included in the 1864 Paris exhibition, and that Saulnier acquired it from Bouruet-Aubertot.

Alfred Robaut. L'œuvre complet de Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 1885, p. 326, no. 1215, ill. (engraving), as "Le Christ sur le lac de Génézareth"; dates it 1854; states incorrectly that it is signed at the right [rather than the left]; includes it in the 1864 Paris exhibition; states that it was etched by Amédée Greux for the Durand-Ruel gallery; gives extensive provenance information, much of which is not accepted by Johnson [see Ref. 1986].

Paul Mantz. "La collection John Saulnier." Le temps (June 3, 1886), p. 3.

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to Émile Bernard. [June 26, 1888] [Thaw Collection, Morgan Library & Museum, New York; pub. in Van Gogh Letters 1958, letter no. B8; Van Gogh Letters 2009, letter no. 632], praises the color in this picture.

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo. [on or about June 28, 1888] [Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, inv. no. b544 V/1962; pub. in Van Gogh Letters 1958, letter no. 503; Van Gogh Letters 2009, letter no. 634], comments on the use of color in this work, noting that it "speaks a symbolic language through color itself".

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to Émile Bernard. [July 29, 1888] [Thaw Collection, Morgan Library & Museum, New York; pub. in Van Gogh Letters 1958, letter no. B12; Van Gogh Letters 2009, letter no. 649], probably referring to this picture, states that "Delacroix paints a Christ using an unexpected light lemon note, this colourful and luminous note in the painting being what the ineffable strangeness and charm of a star is in a corner of the firmament".

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo. [September 3, 1888] [Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, inv. nos. b573 a-b V/1962; pub. in Van Gogh Letters 1958, letter no. 531; Van Gogh Letters 2009, letter no. 673], states that "that Belgian [Eugène Guillaume Boch, 1855–1941] knew the violent sketch of Christ's boat," referring to this picture.

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo. [September 8, 1888] [Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, inv. no. b575 V/1962; pub. in Van Gogh Letters 1958, letter no. 533; Van Gogh Letters 2009, letter no. 676], recalls seeing it with him “in the Champs-Elysées” (alluding to Paris 1886; see Exhibitions and Notes) and quotes Mantz's (1886) comments on the picture.

Vincent van Gogh. Letter to his brother Theo. [September 10, 1889] [Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, inv. nos. b653 a-c V/1962; pub. in Van Gogh Letters 1958, letter no. 605; Van Gogh Letters 2009, letter no. 801], calls it "Christ's barque".

Paul Signac. Journal. February 7, 1899 [see Hellman 2021], mentions that he has bought a lithograph by [Achille] Sirouy after the painting.

Paul Signac. Journal. May 15, 1899 [see Hellman 2021], praises Delacroix's ability to capture "les grands drames de la mer et du vent" (the great dramas of the sea and the wind) in the painting.

Jul. Meier-Graefe. Manet und sein Kreis. Berlin, 1902, ill. opp. p. 10, as "Jesus endormi dans la barque pendant la tempête," in a private collection.

Etienne Moreau-Nélaton. Delacroix raconté par lui-même. Paris, 1916, vol. 2, p. 115, fig. 335, as "Le Christ sur le lac de Génésareth".

Julius Meier-Graefe. Eugène Delacroix: Beiträge zu einer Analyse. Munich, 1922, ill. p. 199, as "Le Christ sur le lac de Génésareth," dates it 1855.

The H.O. Havemeyer Collection: A Catalogue of the Temporary Exhibition. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1930, p. 10, no. 59, dates it 1853 and notes that this is the second of the seven renderings of this subject.

Frank Jewett Mather Jr. "The Havemeyer Pictures." The Arts 16 (March 1930), p. 469, ill. p. 461, calls it "important beyond its scale".

André Joubin. Journal de Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 1932, vol. 2, pp. 77, 82–83, 88, publishes and annotates Delacroix's 1853 journal entries.

Edward S. King. "Delacroix's Paintings in the Walters Art Gallery." Journal of the Walters Art Gallery 1 (1938), pp. 90, 92–93, 109 n. 14, p. 110 nn. 30 and 36, fig. 6, calls it "Christ on the Sea of Galilee" and dates it 1853; finds the gesture of the central figure with upraised arms very similar to poses used frequently by Raphael and Rubens, and relates the figure in a similar pose, but seen from the back, to Rubens, and also to Sacchi.

Virginia N. Whitehill. Stepping-Stones in French Nineteenth-Century Painting. New York, 1941, fig. 4, calls it "Christ on Lake Gennesaret".

Loan Exhibition of Masterpieces by Delacroix and Renoir. Exh. cat., Paul Rosenberg. New York, 1948, p. 38, under no. 8.

Fifty Paintings by Old Masters. Exh. cat., Art Gallery of Toronto. Toronto, 1950, unpaginated, no. 10, dates it 1854 and notes that this is the third in the series of seven paintings of this subject.

Hubert Wellington, ed. The Journal of Eugène Delacroix.. By Eugène Delacroix. London, 1951, pl. 52 (listed as pl. 53 in "Notes on the Plates"), dates it 1853.

Walter Friedlaender. David to Delacroix. New York, 1952, pp. 125, 133, fig. 81, calls it "Christ on the Sea of Galilee," dates all of Delacroix's versions of this subject about 1853.

Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 29.

Painting: School of France. Exh. cat., Atlanta Art Association Galleries. Atlanta, 1955, unpaginated, no. 6, dates it 1854 and restates that this is the third painting in the series.

Lee Johnson. "Delacroix at the Biennale." Burlington Magazine 98 (September 1956), p. 329 nn. 9 and 10, identifies the MMA work as Robaut no. 1215, in spite of the fact that Robaut states that it is signed on the right rather than the left [see Ref. Robaut 1885]; also tentatively identifies it with the version mentioned by Van Gogh in several letters [see Refs. Van Gogh 1888], and suggests the probability that Van Gogh saw it in Paris 1886 (see Exhibitions).

Vincent van Gogh. The Complete Letters of Vincent van Gogh with Reproductions of All the Drawings in the Correspondence. Greenwich, Conn., 1958, under letter nos. 503, 531, 533, 605, B8, B12 (the last is probably a reference to this work).

Lee Johnson. "The Etruscan Sources of Delacroix's 'Death of Sardanapalus'." Art Bulletin 42 (December 1960), p. 300, dates it to the 1850s; relates the composition of some of the works in this series to that of the "Death of Sardanapalus".

Lee Johnson. Delacroix. Exh. cat., Art Gallery of Toronto. Toronto, 1962, pp. 45–46, under no. 18.

René Huyghe. Delacroix. New York, 1963, pp. 469, 537.

Felix Baumann and Hugo Wagner. Eugène Delacroix. Exh. cat., Kunstmuseum Bern. Bern, 1963, unpaginated, under no. 78.

Maurice Sérullaz. Mémorial de l'Exposition Eugène Delacroix. Exh. cat., Musée du Louvre. Paris, 1963, pp. 340–41, under nos. 448 and 449.

Charles Sterling and Margaretta M. Salinger. French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 2, XIX Century. New York, 1966, pp. 27–30, ill., remark that Delacroix "painted at least ten pictures with this subject, six showing Jesus and the disciples in a rowboat, and four showing them in a boat with sails according to the seventeenth-century tradition, especially as it was formulated by Rembrandt"; state without qualification that Van Gogh saw this version in Paris 1886 (see Exhibitions).

Janice Cooper. "Delacroix's 'Christ on the Lake of Gennesaret' in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Vassar Journal of Undergraduate Studies 21 (December 1968), pp. 48–55, figs. 1 and 5, dates it 1853.

Luigina Rossi Bortolatto. L'opera pittorica completa di Delacroix. Milan, 1972, p. 125, no. 655, ill., dates it 1853; erroneously lists it as no. 34 in a 1956 exhibition (the Venice Biennale?).

Charles S. Moffett. Van Gogh as Critic and Self-Critic. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1973, unpaginated, no. 37, dates it about 1853–54.

Charles S. Moffett. "'Ah! that lovely picture by Delacroix': Van Gogh as Critic and Self-Critic." Art News 72 (December 1973), p. 40, ill. p. 38.

Susan Elizabeth Strauber. "The Religious Paintings of Eugène Delacroix." PhD diss., Brown University, 1980, pp. 239, 258–59, 267–79, 344 nn. 100 and 105, p. 345 n. 105 (cont'd.), p. 346 n. 112, fig. 56, discusses the chronology and provenances of the various versions of this subject, differing in many instances from conclusions reached by Johnson [see Ref. 1986]; explains the importance of this series in Delacroix's oeuvre.

Mahonri Sharp Young. "Letter from the U.S.A.: New Rooms for Old Glories." Apollo 112 (July 1980), p. 59, fig. 3.

Lee Johnson. The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix: A Critical Catalogue. Vol. 1, Oxford, 1981, p. 118.

Maurice Sérullaz. Delacroix. Paris, 1981, p. 195, no. 386, ill., dates it 1853.

William R. Johnston. The Nineteenth Century Paintings in the Walters Art Gallery. Baltimore, 1982, p. 49.

Ronald Pickvance. Van Gogh in Arles. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1984, p. 103.

Frances Weitzenhoffer. The Havemeyers: Impressionism Comes to America. New York, 1986, pp. 98, 258, pl. 45, states that the Havemeyers bought this picture from Durand-Ruel in 1894.

Lee Johnson. The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix: A Critical Catalogue. Vol. 3, Oxford, 1986, pp. 232–33, 235 n. 1, pp. 236, 348, 354, no. 454, as "Christ on the Sea of Galilee," dates it probably 1853; thoroughly discusses the ten pictures in this series [see Notes]; cites Mantz's comments of 1886 on this work [see Ref.].

Lee Johnson. The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix: A Critical Catalogue. Vol. 4, Oxford, 1986, pl. 263.

Sjraar van Heutgen et al. in Franse meesters uit het Metropolitan Museum of Art: Realisten en Impressionisten. Exh. cat., Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam. Zwolle, The Netherlands, 1987, pp. 15, 17, 28–29, no. 1, ill. (color, overall and detail).

Günter Metken in Eugène Delacroix. Exh. cat., Kunsthaus Zürich. Zürich, 1987, pp. 232–33, no. 95, ill. (color).

Judy Sund. "The Sower and the Sheaf: Biblical Metaphor in the Art of Vincent van Gogh." Art Bulletin 70 (December 1988), pp. 666–68 n. 53, fig. 5, dates it about 1855; discusses Van Gogh's response to Delacroix's expressive use of color in this picture.

Evert van Uitert et al. Vincent van Gogh: Paintings. Exh. cat., Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam. Milan, 1990, p. 118, fig. 44b.

Lee Johnson et al. Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863): Paintings, Drawings, and Prints from North American Collections. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1991, pp. 16, 26, 72, no. 9, ill.

Susan Alyson Stein in Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, p. 284, colorpl. 197.

Richard Kendall. Degas Landscapes. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. New Haven, 1993, pp. 44, 280 n. 25, as "Christ on the Lake of Genesareth"; notes that Degas copied the version exhibited in 1860—possibly this one—in his notebook (no. 16, p. 20A).

Gretchen Wold in Splendid Legacy: The Havemeyer Collection. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1993, pp. 338–39, no. A261, ill.

Fred Leeman in Odilon Redon: Prince of Dreams 1840–1916. Exh. cat., Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago, 1994, p. 233, ill., dates it 1854.

Debora Silverman in Lost Paradise: Symbolist Europe. Exh. cat., Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Montreal, 1995, pp. 107, 112, ill., dates it 1853.

Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 412, ill.

Peter Rautmann. Delacroix. Paris, 1997, p. 292, fig. 284 (color), dates it about 1853.

Naomi Margolis Maurer. The Pursuit of Spiritual Wisdom: The Thought and Art of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Madison, N.J., 1998, p. 7, fig. 10 (color), dates it 1853.

Louis van Tilborgh in Millet/Van Gogh. Exh. cat., Musée d'Orsay. Paris, 1998, p. 105 n. 33.

Arlette Sérullaz and Annick Doutriaux. Delacroix: "Une fête pour l'œil". Paris, 1998, p. 123, ill. p. 122 (color), dates it 1854.

Vincent Pomarède in Delacroix: The Late Work. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 1998, pp. 269, 279–81, 283, 286, 375, no. 115, ill. (color and black and white) [French ed., 1998, pp. 269, 281–82, 286–87, 375, no. 115, ill. (color and black and white)].

Lee Johnson in Delacroix: The Late Work. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia, 1998, p. 29 [French ed., 1998, p. 28].

Kathleen Powers Erickson. At Eternity's Gate: The Spiritual Vision of Vincent van Gogh. Grand Rapids, Mich., 1998, pp. 97–100, 155, fig. 9, dates it about 1854.

Juliet Wilson-Bareau with David C. Degener. Manet and the American Civil War: The Battle of the U.S.S. "Kearsage" and C.S.S. "Alabama". Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2003, p. 73, fig. 53 (color), cite its possible influence on Manet's paintings of the sea.

Roelie Zwikker in Vincent's Choice: Van Gogh's Musée Imaginaire. Exh. cat., Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. London, 2003, p. 46, colorpl. 124, states that Van Gogh and his brother saw the painting in 1886.

Joan Greer in Vincent's Choice: Van Gogh's Musée Imaginaire. Exh. cat., Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. London, 2003, pp. 61, 71, states that Van Gogh's admiration for this painting fits into the theoretical framework outlined in Théophile Thoré's book "Musées de la Hollande".

Sjraar van Heugten in Vincent's Choice: Van Gogh's Musée Imaginaire. Exh. cat., Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. London, 2003, p. 131, states that Van Gogh saw the painting at an 1886 exhibition in Paris.

Nienke Bakker in Vincent's Choice: Van Gogh's Musée Imaginaire. Exh. cat., Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. London, 2003, p. 304, states that Van Gogh saw the painting in the 1886 Saulnier "sale-exhibition".

Geoffrey Quilley in Tempests and Romantic Visionaries: Images of Storms in European and American Art. Ed. Hardy S. George. Exh. cat., Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Oklahoma City, 2006, pp. 11, 124, no. 22, ill. p. 10 (color).

Lawrence O. Goedde in Tempests and Romantic Visionaries: Images of Storms in European and American Art. Ed. Hardy S. George. Exh. cat., Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Oklahoma City, 2006, p. 27, discusses the sixteenth-century prototype of storm paintings focusing on the human protagonists, mentioning this picture as a late example of the religious subjects for which such compositions were originally invented.

Hardy S. George in Tempests and Romantic Visionaries: Images of Storms in European and American Art. Ed. Hardy S. George. Exh. cat., Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Oklahoma City, 2006, p. 69.

Gary Tinterow in The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. New York, 2007, pp. 37, 212–13, no. 17, ill. (color and black and white).

Richard Shiff in The Repeating Image: Multiples in French Painting from David to Matisse. Ed. Eik Kahng. Exh. cat., Walters Art Museum. Baltimore, 2007, pp. 136, 194, no. 11, fig. 9 (color).

Chris Stolwijk in Van Gogh and the Colours of the Night. Exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art. New York, 2008, pp. 30–31, 146 n. 55.

Joyce Carol Polistena. The Religious Paintings of Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863): The Initiator of the Style of Modern Religious Art. Lewiston, New York, 2008, pp. 89–92, 94, 125 nn. 5, 7, 8, pp. 150, 272, 274, states that the varied titles of this subject in Delacroix's work can be attributed to posthumous labels by collectors and critics; sees Turner's influence on the colors chosen and the style of painting in Delacroix's versions of this subject.

Barthélémy Jobert in Une passion pour Delacroix: La collection Karen B. Cohen. Exh. cat., Musée National Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 2009, pp. 23, 27 n. 41.

Colta Ives in Une passion pour Delacroix: La collection Karen B. Cohen. Exh. cat., Musée National Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 2009, pp. 31, 33.

Vincent van Gogh. Vincent van Gogh—The Letters. Ed. Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten, and Nienke Bakker. London, 2009, vol. 4, pp. 154–55, fig. 3 (color), under letter no. 632, p. 158, fig. 3 (color), under letter no. 634, pp. 196–97, fig. 1 (color), under letter no. 649, p. 253, fig. 1 (color) (probably this work), under letter no. 673, p. 260, under letter no. 676; vol. 5, p. 92, fig. 10 (color), under letter no. 801, state that Van Gogh saw the painting in the 1886 Saulnier sale preview, noting that the artist’s description of it in his June 26, 1886 letter to Bernard echoes Mantz 1886, which Van Gogh quotes in his September 8, 1888 letter to his brother Theo.

Michèle Hannoosh, ed. Eugène Delacroix: Journal. Paris, 2009, vol. 1, pp. 680, 684, 689, 1333 n. 155, p. 1453, publishes Delacroix's 1853 journal entries; notes that the painting was possibly included in Paris 1860; adds (pp. 1454–55) that its subject, "Jésus endormi pendant la tempête sur sa barque, disciples effrayés," was mentioned by the artist as early as 1824–26, in a notebook now in the Louvre ("Carnet du Louvre 1750," inv. RF 9145).

19th Century European Art, including Orientalist Art. Christie’s, King Street. June 15, 2011, p. 10, under no. 203, ill. (color), compares it to a treatment of the subject formerly in the collection of Walter Pach, New York.

Ella Hendriks et al. Vincent van Gogh: Paintings. Vol. 2, Antwerp & Paris, 1885–1888: Van Gogh Museum. Amsterdam, 2011, p. 236.

Louis van Tilborgh in Ella Hendriks et al. Vincent van Gogh: Paintings. Vol. 2, Antwerp & Paris, 1885–1888: Van Gogh Museum. Amsterdam, 2011, p.70, fig. 18 (color), notes that Van Gogh saw the painting in the Drouot auction rooms in Paris and that it brought him to experiment again with color and freer brushwork.

Jennifer A. Thompson in Van Gogh: Up Close. Ed. Cornelia Homburg. Exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art. New Haven, 2012, pp. 74, 76, 271, fig. 54 (color), states that Van Gogh saw it at the 1886 Saulnier sale.

Gary Tinterow in Earth, Sea, and Sky: Nature in Western Art; Masterpieces from The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. [Tokyo], 2012, pp. 60, 73, 216, no. 23, ill. (color and b&w) [Chinese ed., Hefei Shi, 2013, pp. 54–55, no. 23, ill. (color)].

Nienke Bakker and Maite van Dijk. "Van Gogh in 'The Country of Paintings': An Overview of his Visits to Museums and Exhibitions." Van Gogh's Studio Practice. Ed. Marije Vellekoop et al. Brussels, 2013, p. 68, note that Van Gogh saw it at the sale exhibition of June 1886 at Drouot auction house.

Sjraar van Heugten. Van Gogh: Colours of the North, Colours of the South. Exh. cat., Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles. Arles, 2014, pp. 69, 96, fig. 20 (color), states that Van Gogh saw the work at a sale exhibition in June 1886.

Patrick Noon in Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art. Exh. cat., Minneapolis Institute of Art. London, 2015, pp. 15, 30, 166, 169–70, 172, no. 43, ill. pp. 167–68 (color, overall and detail), as "Christ on the Sea of Galilee"; states that the artist painted this subject at least six times between 1841 and 1854 and that he started work on The Met's picture at the same time as his "Weislingen captured by Goetz's Men" (1853, Saint Louis Art Museum); notes its affinities with Jacob Jordaens's depictions of the same subject; states that Van Gogh probably also knew another version Delacroix produced of this subject for a Paris dealer in 1854 that was purchased by Constant Troyon and that that version may have been the source of Van Gogh's repeated reference to the painting as "a sketch"; notes that Odilon Redon would have been most familiar with this version of the subject and that Redon made two pencil studies after it.

Christopher Riopelle in Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art. Exh. cat., Minneapolis Institute of Art. London, 2015, pp. 52, 54, ill. (color detail), states that the sleeping figure of Christ inspired Gauguin's self-portrait as Christ in "Christ in the Garden of Olives" (1889, Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach); notes its influence on Redon's "The Red Barque" (ca. 1895, Musée d'Orsay, Paris).

Simon Lee. Delacroix. London, 2015, p. 295, fig. 164 (color), calls it "Christ on the Sea of Galilee" and notes that Delacroix may have seen the serene figure of Christ as a model to follow during his own last years of religious doubts.

Janet Whitmore. "Review of 'Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art'." Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide 15 (Spring 2016) [http://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/index.php/spring16/whitmore-reviews-delacroix-and-the-rise-of-modern-art].

Cornelia Homburg in Van Gogh: Into the Undergrowth. Exh. cat., Cincinnati Art Museum. Cincinnati, 2016, p. 65, fig. 28 (color).

Jane Munro. Degas: A Passion for Perfection. Exh. cat., Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. New Haven, 2017, p. 127, identifies this picture as the version copied by Degas (see Kendall 1993), noting that what interested him was its strong landscape element.

Edwart Vignot. Eugène Delacroix. Paris, 2017, ill. pp. 150–51 (color).

Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre in Delacroix. Ed. Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre. Exh. cat., Musée du Louvre. Paris, 2018, pp. 236, 260–64, 432, no. 161, ill. (color, overall and detail), as "Le Christ sur le lac de Génésareth"; note the composition is based on Rubens's "Christ Calming the Sea" (ca. 1608–9, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden), previously attributed to Jacob Jordaens, which Delacroix probably knew through an engraving; also discuss such later possible sources as Ary Scheffer's "Saint Thomas Aquinas Preaching His Confidence in God during a Tempest" (1823, Petit Palais, Paris) and François Joseph Heim's planned work known from sketches such as "Christ on the Lake of Genesareth" (ca. 1810–20, Musée Jean-Jacques Henner, Paris); note the role of gesture in conveying the narrative.

Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre in Delacroix. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, pp. 170, 190–94, 270 n. 64, ill. (color, overall and detail).

Michèle Hannoosh in Delacroix. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, p. 242.

Asher Miller in Delacroix. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2018, pp. 290 (under no. 99), 294, no. 129.

Nicole R. Myers in Van Gogh and the Olive Groves. Ed. Nienke Bakker and Nicole R. Myers. Exh. cat., Dallas Museum of Art. Dallas, 2021, p. 35.

Sjraar van Heugten in Through Vincent's Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources. Ed. Eik Kahng. Exh. cat., Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio. Santa Barbara, 2021, pp. 32, 39, 46, fig. 17 (color).

Charlotte Hellman, ed. Journal 1894–1909.. By Paul Signac. Paris, 2021, pp. 401, 432–33, 524–25 n. 1177, publishes Signac 1899.

Adam Eaker in Ian Alteveer. Cecily Brown: Death and the Maid. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2023, p. 126 n. 4.

Cornelia Homburg in Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers. Exh. cat., National Gallery. London, 2024, pp. 15, 222, fig. 1 (color).

This work was etched by Amédée Greux for Durand-Ruel (see Robaut 1885).

It is widely known that in 1886 Vincent van Gogh saw this painting in Paris. While some scholars have noted that he saw it in the exhibition “Maîtres du Siècle,” others have noted that he saw it soon afterward, in the auction of John Saulnier’s collection held at Hôtel Drouot on June 5, 1886, or at the sale preview held on the preceding days: private and public showings were held on June 2 and 4, respectively. Based on Van Gogh’s statements, one may conclude that he saw the painting in both places. Writing to his brother Theo on September 8, 1888, he cites the painting “at the exhibition that we saw in the Champs-Elysées,” alluding to the area around the boulevard that includes Rue Bayard, where “Maîtres du Siècle” was held at number 3 (the former studio of Gustave Doré). In two subsequent letters to Theo, dated August 23 or 24, 1888, and August 26, 1888, he recalls their having attended the Saulnier sale (or preview), although he mentions this in connection with a still life by Manet (see Van Gogh Letters 2009, nos. 698–99).