
No matter where in the world one travels, religion can be found and often plays a crucial role in society. Religion has a strong influence all over the world and varies in many different styles and views. While slightly varying in meaning, it often conveys the same message of the importance of faith and belief. The painting “Jesus Walking on Water” by Benjamin McPherson depicts the belief that the disciples had in Jesus. Jesus is painted walking on water with Peter, one of his disciples, struggling to stay afloat, as Jesus’s other eleven disciples are also fighting to stay afloat in a small boat during a storm. In this painting, Jesus seems to be a relief to the disciples and changes their dooming fait by clearing the storm. By looking at shading, contrast, and the balance of symmetry, the viewer can see how the painter interpreted this event, which is important in conveying the theme of the work.

The painting of “Jesus walking on Water” by Benjamin McPherson uses different shading techniques to demonstrate mood. The viewer can see that the left side of the painting is heavy and dark. McPherson uses a shading technique called hatching to represent the rain falling down in straight lines in order to show its severity (Watkins).  Above the heavy rain, McPherson uses very dark smudge shading in order to show the heart of the storm, which looks to be in the direct path of the disciples (Watkins). Above this, the clouds gradually become lighter, creating a gloomy mood, almost of terror, to reflect how the disciples are feeling about being stuck on the small boat during the storm. Further to the right of the painting, the horizon shows a lighter shading. These clearer skies are painted to create a mood of peace and relief. Jesus stands on this side of the painting wearing a white robe. The water beneath him is clearer and whiter and the mountains in the background act as a distraction from the storm to show the calmness Jesus brings. This aids the effect of the peace that is coming to the disciples with Jesus’s presence, a peace that lost sailors find when they see land. The painter accesses the viewer’s ethos with the use of color, using darker colors as a gloomy, irky feeling on the left side and lighter, whiter colors towards the right side where Jesus stands to show the peace and relief he provides.

This painting incorporates a large amount of contrast through the use of water. Water can be seen throughout this painting as rain, choppy waves, or calm and reflective. Looking left to right the viewer will first notice the dark waves crashing up against the boat challenging the disciples who are out at sea. These waves are not huge, but comparably to the boat, they could be troubling. In the background of the left side of the painting you can see a dark storm cloud pouring down rain off in the distance. These two forms of water bring about a cold, and wet feeling. This feeling portrayed to the viewer resembles the mindset of the disciples, who are desperately struggling. When viewing the right third of the painting, one can notice the instant change in the characteristics of the water. It is no longer choppy, it is still and peaceful. The water is directly under Jesus and complements his white outfit and is still enough to show a reflection. This contrast of water allows the viewers to understand the painter’s interpretation of the event and how Jesus appeared to the disciples.

The painter is very aware of the balance of symmetry and uses size to compensate for the left side of the painting being heavier in substance. Focusing on the foreground of the painting, the left side contains a boat with the eleven disciples and Peter in front of them struggling in the water. Off to the right, Jesus is standing alone with his right hand out gesturing to Peter. Creating an imaginary line directly from Jesus’s hand toward the back of the painting, the viewer can see this is directly where the storm ends. Although Jesus is alone, McPherson depicts him as slightly larger comparatively to the others and the boat. This compensates for the painting being lopsided and allows the viewer to see Jesus as a more significant aspect to the painting. Looking off into the background, the horizon is mostly made up of a storm that gets darker towards the left and lighter towards the right and eventually allowing the distant horizon to transition into a mountain range. The large, dark storm is positioned intentionally over the boat by the artist to illustrate the feelings of the disciples; scared and in need for help. Contrastingly, the light mountain range is positioned behind Jesus to show the light and goodness he will bring to his disciples in their time of need. These larger mountains also keep the distance from turning into endless sea and allow the storm to overtake background.

Through the use of shading the author was able to access the ethos of the viewer and open them up to how the disciples point of view varied from Jesus’s point of view. The different uses of water added to the contrast of the polar opposite sides of the painting. The painter also kept in mind the balance of symmetry by making sure Jesus was not forgotten about in all the chaos through the use of his size and peacefulness of the water.