Miracle of draught of fishes by Konrad Witz

Description

Konrad Witz: Miracle of Draught of Fishes at Tiberias, 1444, tempera on wood, 132 x 154 cm
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva, Switzerland

Class notes

Falsely attributed to Matthew's gospel
We can see Peter drowning: why did you doubt?
You need faith to walk on water
You need faith to violate physic's laws: empiricism
Aren't we all drowning?
Witz "distracts" metaphysics: he puts reality, physics, no such a spiritualist point of view

Elements

We see the fleet fishing with 2 men rowing, dressed in red. Also reflections in the lake.
We see Peter dressed but almist drowning
Christ is on the water, using a red coat and inviting with a hand extended
We see lake Leman and the view to the south. Sky and earth look realistic

Historical context

Different experts, such as Florens Deuchler suggest that he traveled to Burgundy, the Netherlands and Italy and became in contact with early Reinassance. This way he achieved a good use of perspective, as well as he allowed a better closeness between the north and the south.
The council of Basel/Florence also allowed him to contact new patrons. This council was held between 1431 and 1449, and was convoqued out of the hussite wars and the rise of the Ottoman Empire. During the rule of Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg it was held in Basel, of democratic composition and organization, outside of the domains of the Pope, whose's authority was weak at the time. Afterthe death of the emperor, the council moved to Ferrara, HRE in an interregno (during which the Habsburgs made it to the imperial throne) and Byzantine ambassadors. Big controversies were held, even with antipopes (Felix V). To avoid the plague in Ferrara, the council moved to Florence, were finally unions with various eastern churches was achieved, but Constantinople couldn't be effectively protected ultimately.

Thoughts

First, I think of the subtle symbols for ressurection: carmine coat as the blood, a tripartite aureola, the physics are being questioned by walking over water. Christ is a man, but also a ghost. The red is also cardinal red, which can be also thought as the members of the Church and not solely Peter as the ones that lead the fishing activity: the power must be divided. Probably his mecenaes were on the Basel party of the council, not caring about the Ottomans or the Hussites.
We see Peter again as an old man, in blue, drowning. The fragility of the Church, the fears of rule, what are the characteristics of a ruler after all? There, in Geneve, the Pope was drowning. An interesting propaganda for an altar piece, they wanted somehow to allign the serfs or the assistants to the Mass in Geneve against the papal authority, into the Bishop net, of this our land. Appeals to reality, not fantasies of the east: worry about Geneve, look for your soul, look for your king. Schism could be sensed.