Date: 1590
Artist: Allessandro Allori
Location: Galleria Degli Uffizi Florence, Italy
Medium: Oil Painting on Copper
Dimension:
15.7 x 18.5 in
Style: Mannerism
The Miracle:
Matthew 14:4-32
The painting Peter Walking on Water by Allessandro Allori is an enchanting piece illustrating the moment where Peter miraculously walks toward his savior upon the sea. The story previously follows the feeding of the five thousand, where the disciples are getting ready to depart to Gennesaret by boat. Suddenly, Jesus decides to part from them to go and pray in solitude on the mountainside alone at night. He tells the disciples to journey on ahead without him. The disciples grew a great distance from land, due to the violent winds and waves pushing the boat. Before dawn, Jesus walks out to his faithful followers on the lake. At first the disciples were petrified and cried, “It’s a ghost.” Jesus answered them strongly, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” The disciple Peter then replies, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus encourages Peter to join him on the water. Peter proceeds to climb out of the boat and walk on the water in the direction of the ominous figure on the sea. Peter hears the fierce wind, becomes frightened, and starts to sink into the sea. He cries out, “Lord, save me!” Instantly Jesus clutches Peter’s hand and delivers him from the woeful waters. Jesus states, “You of little faith…Why did you doubt?” They climb back into the boat and the wind grew silent. The disciples worshiped the miraculous event in saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Allori captures this scene with such dynamic movement and emotion. The scene is painted at an hour of darkness as the story states being, just before the sunrises. The sky is storming and foreboding. The waves are aggressive, dark, and brooding with calamity. The disciples are crowded within a small fishing boat at a distance from Jesus and Peter. Three are shown fervently rowing the boat to safe waters, another is crying out to Peter and Christ with his arms extended, and two appear to be in a deep conversation. The city of Bethsaida Julias is displayed in the background as the waves of the Sea of Galilee pound on the shore.
Peter is kneeling before Jesus with the right foot drowned beneath the sea and the left slowly sinking. His head tilts toward Christ in anguish and unease as he pleads to his savior for deliverance. Allori paints Peter gripping Christ’s right hand with both arms, rather than one, to convey his desperation. Christ stands stoic and firm upon the waters with his right hand outstretched to Peter and his left hand signaling the disciple to rise in confidence without fear. Christ’s face is illuminated and conveys a tranquil, unperturbed, and divine presence. He is dressed in a crimson cloak, which symbolizes “blood, sacrifice, and the remission of sin”(5). The blue scarf that wraps around him conveys a “holy covering, a heavenly presence, and a holy service” (5). His clothing expresses Christ’s characteristics as a celestial human, sent from above as a sacrifice to deliver man from the darkness, the perilous waters. Peter is clothed in a black cloak, which portrays “sin, sorrow, death, and judgment.” He is wrapped in a scarlet cloth, which symbolizes Christ’s redemption and liberation from sin, doubt, and the sea.
The story of Peter Walking on Water has always been one of my favorite narratives regarding the struggle of faith. In my own life I have combated anxiety and stress. It is challenging for me to even get out of the boat and follow Christ, let alone walk on the treacherous waves. I feel confined in my sin and reading this passage reminds me to not drown myself in anguish, but rather trust and understand that God is constantly protecting me and guiding my life in love, grace, and discernment.
I have a powerful connection to the sea being an ocean swimmer and fashioned an archaic lighthouse from clay, wire, pebbles, and stones, as a portrayal of God. The Almighty Creator illuminates uncertainties and teaches me daily to release my fear and control over the sea of life. I need to jump into the ocean, walk upon the waves of uncertainty, knowing that my savior is the stoic and enchanting surveyor of the vast and unknown.
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