It is said that Assisi is filled with such a variety of wild flowers because God knew one day St. Francis would walk there. I can imagine Vasily Polenov had a similar insight when he first saw this panoramic view of Lake Gennesaret, full of blue and green space, light and air. God knew one day Jesus of Nazareth would walk and teach here.
Polenov was fascinated with the person and story of Jesus. With this early landscape the artist seems to pull up the curtain on what will follow — his extensive Life of Christ Cycle. But Vasily doesn't paint the Jesus of high-theology; his interest was the historical Jesus, who we would have encountered were we to have walked along this blue sea.
Of course, the canvas has limiting parameters and so we see only a small corner and edge of the Sea of Galilee (aka Gennesaret) which is Israel's largest freshwater lake — 38 miles around, 13 miles long, 8 miles wide, 141 feet deep.
Polenov traveled extensively to this part of the world to experience first hand the geography, architecture, people, culture, and perhaps especially the light. It's an abundant light. Vasily might say, abundantly bright, as Christ's teachings are bright. Look at that great rock in the bottom right corner of the painting. The sun is rising (or setting—the back half is in shadow) which makes the rock seem to glow. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount glows (Matthew 5,6,7).
And as this light-filled, beauty-filled panorama is vast, so is our interior landscape vast. Why do we try to fill it with so much else — conspiracy, foolishness, denial and desire.
In his encyclical letter, Fratelli tutti, Pope Francis writes:
I ask God to prepare our hearts to encounter our brothers and sisters, so that we may overcome our differences rooted in political thinking, language, culture and religion. Let us ask him to anoint our whole being with the balm of his mercy, which heals the injuries caused by mistakes, misunderstandings and disputes. And Let us ask God for the grace to send us forth, in humility and meekness, along the demanding but enriching path of seeking peace.
