Christ Asleep during the Tempest c. 1853

Eugène Delacroix painted “Christ Asleep during the Tempest” in France during the first half of the 19th century. The painting depicts a scene from the Gospel of Matthew, in which Jesus sleeps through a storm as his disciples struggle to keep their boat afloat. Delacroix was a leading figure in the Romantic movement, which emphasized emotion, individualism, and the power of nature, ideas which were in many ways a reaction against the Enlightenment that came before. France in this period had gone through many social and political upheavals. The French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the restoration of the monarchy all contributed to a sense of uncertainty and change, mirrored in the emotional pitch of this painting. To better understand Delacroix's choices, we might consult religious commentaries from the time and also analyses of French society in a period of great instability. By situating the artwork in its precise moment, we can form a richer understanding of its place in cultural history.