A wooden boat rides rough, foam-crested waves under a heavy, mist-filled sky. Several men crowd together in the boat, some with heads covered and bodies drawn in. One robed figure stands apart with an arm extended toward the sea, recalling the Gospel scene of the storm on the lake.

The palette is almost entirely smoky greys, olives and browns. Soft, blended brushwork dissolves the horizon into fog, so the pale standing figure and the white wave crests are the brightest points in the picture. The mood is solemn, tense and quietly reverent.