Christ walking on the Waves,
oil on lapislazuli, octagonal, 23 x 35 cm, framed

During the late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century, paintings on pietre dure (semi-precious stone) were especially sought after and prized in Florence. An appreciation for this material is also apparent in the elaborate frame of the present work, which is composed of various types of semi-precious coloured stone and especially for the prestigious lapis lazuli stone support.

The Medici family, in particular, greatly appreciated these kinds of works: Cosimo I (1519–1574) and Francesco I (1541–1587) demonstrated an interest in this type of support, as well as Ferdinando I (1549–1609) who created the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence in 1588 and Cosimo II (1590–1621). Paintings such as this evolved and attained a period of true splendour. It was at this time that artists such as Jacopo Ligozzi, Lodovico Cigoli and Filippo Napoletano received many commissions. The present painting belongs specifically within this Florentine context and should therefore be dated to the early seventeenth century.

From the end of the sixteenth century, the inventories of the most important noble families include various paintings on stone supports, mostly on alabaster, jasper and agate, as well as lapis lazuli. In the case of the latter, similar subjects to the present painting are recorded, but no indication of their author is given. One known example was in the collection of Francesco Barberini in 1626, whilst another was in the collection of the countess of Lemos, Catalina de Zúñiga, in 1628. Indeed, the subject must have been especially favoured because at this time Filippo Napoletano received ‘sc. 10 p la barca di S. Pietro depinta in lapis lazaro per Monsù del Bene’ [‘sc[udi] 10 for the boat of St. Peter painted on lapis lazuli for Monsù del Bene’] (cited in: M. Aronberg Lavin, Seventeenth-Century Barberini Documents and Inventories of Art, New York 1975, p. 26, no. 215).

The subject of the present painting is drawn from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew (Chapter 14) in which Christ saves Saint Peter. The refined depiction of Christ’s features, the hands and the drapery folds, all reflect the style of Lodovico Cigoli. The prow and mast of the ship, as well as two of the apostles, derive from an engraving of 1568 by Cornelis Cort (British Museum, London, inv. no. W.8.90), which is in turn based on a drawing by Girolamo Muziano. The author of the present painting has simplified the design by omitting a third figure on the boat. He has also narrowed the scene and only included slight indications of landscape: trees to the left of Christ and the suggestion of a town in the background. The lapis lazuli support is fully utilised becoming the protagonist of this scene. The colour of the figure’s robes – red, yellow and blue – as well as the flesh tones, contrast with the blue of the lapis lazuli, throwing the figures of Christ and Saint Peter into relief. Moreover, the precious support, which constitutes part of the apostle’s robes, as well as their fishing net, recalls the same style of design usually exemplified by the work of Antonio Tempesta. The present work, in fact, presents a mastery which demonstrates the virtuosity of its creator who employed all the tonalities of the stone with extraordinary skill, rendering the support one with the pictorial composition.

We are grateful to Anne-Laure Collomb for her help in cataloguing the present painting.