Henry Ossawa Tanner
1859 USA–1937 France
Born: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1859
Died: Paris, France 1937
"My effort has been to not only put the Biblical incident in the original setting . . . but at the same time give the human touch 'which makes the whole world kin' and which ever remains the same." Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1924, quoted in Hartigan, Sharing Traditions: Five Black Artists in Nineteenth-century America, 1985
Henry Ossawa Tanner was the son of a highly respected but outspoken bishop of the African Methodist Church. At age twenty-one, over the resistance of his family and members of the white art community, he was admitted to the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. Thomas Eakins, who became both teacher and friend, greatly influenced the somber realistic style of Tanner's early work.
In 1880 he moved to Atlanta where he established a photographic studio and taught painting at Clark College. Patrons impressed by his talent arranged to send him abroad for further study, and as with many other young Americans he gravitated to the flexible regimen of the Académie Julian in Paris. This experience proved revelatory for him and prompted an expansion of his subject matter from landscape and genre to religious studies, one of which was purchased by the French government. In 1897 the Philadelphia merchant Rodman Wanamaker sent Tanner to the Holy Land to further his career as a painter of religious subjects. At the turn of the century Tanner's increased exposure to the work of the impressionists brought about a change in his treatment of color, light, and form and led to more radical statements such as the painting in this show, Haystacks (about 1930). Enjoying his freedom from American racism, Tanner, like the great jazzman Sidney Bechet and many other black artists, spent the rest of his life in Paris, where he continued to turn out large-scale religious paintings until his death in 1937
Henry Ossawa Tanner was an African American artist who earned international acclaim for his religious paintings. His father was a prominent minister and his mother a former slave who escaped the South through the Underground Railroad. At age eleven, Tanner decided to become an artist, and nine years later the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts accepted him, the only African American out of two hundred students. At the suggestion of his teacher Thomas Eakins, Tanner tried his hand at photography but had little success. Like many American artists in the nineteenth century, he went to Europe, intending to study in Rome. After fourteen days in Paris, however, he decided to stay in France and enrolled in the Académie Julian. Sales of his paintings of Bible stories financed his trips to Palestine, Egypt, and Morocco. Tanner kept close ties with his native country and was proud of his contributions as a black American, but chose to live in France, where he felt that his race mattered less to other artists and critics.
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/media.cfm?key=372&artistmedia=381&subkey=381&artist=4742&ob=2481
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/media.cfm?key=372&artistmedia=381&subkey=382&artist=4742&ob=2481
All paintings in the following links have a text attached to them: http://americanart.si.edu/luce/lightbox.cfmcategoryID=&misspellings=true§ion=&search_artist=%20tanner&user=&search_drawer=&printall=&searchtype=advanced&search_case=&showinfo=all&msg=&key=0&search=&subkey=0&old=&category=&preview=&search_title=&search_acc=&display=6&sortby=&page=1
Mother of Henry O. Tanner
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23670
oil on plywood
13 x 9 1/4 in. (33.0 x 23.5 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Nicholas Zervas
1983.95.213
Henry Ossawa Tanner’s mother, Sarah Elizabeth Miller, was one of eleven children born to a slave who sent her children to freedom by the Underground Railroad. Members of the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society divided the children into various families, sending Sarah to Pittsburgh. In this portrait, Tanner captured the wisdom and experience of a woman who had endured much in her life, rising from slavery to raise well-educated and successful children. Tanner kept this portrait in his personal collection and spoke affectionately of it in letters to his family.
Study for the Bagpipe Lesson
1892
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23685
oil on plywood
13 x 9 1/4 in. (33.0 x 23.5 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. Nicholas Zervas
1983.95.213
Henry Ossawa Tanner’s mother, Sarah Elizabeth Miller, was one of eleven children born to a slave who sent her children to freedom by the Underground Railroad. Members of the Pennsylvania Abolitionist Society divided the children into various families, sending Sarah to Pittsburgh. In this portrait, Tanner captured the wisdom and experience of a woman who had endured much in her life, rising from slavery to raise well-educated and successful children. Tanner kept this portrait in his personal collection and spoke affectionately of it in letters to his family.
Study for the Bagpipe Lesson
1892
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23685
oil on paperboard
sheet: 5 x 5 15/16 in. (12.7 x 15.1 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.42
This study shows a boy practicing the bagpipe, but for the final version, Henry Ossawa Tanner added a teacher and two more figures. Bagpipe players were common in the French region of Pont-Aven and Concarneau, where Tanner spent his summers in the 1890s. Here, he used bold colors and loose brushwork to capture the scene. Tanner entered a finished version in the annual Paris exhibition, but it was rejected; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, however, accepted it for their yearly show
****The Man Who Rented Boats
sheet: 5 x 5 15/16 in. (12.7 x 15.1 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.42
This study shows a boy practicing the bagpipe, but for the final version, Henry Ossawa Tanner added a teacher and two more figures. Bagpipe players were common in the French region of Pont-Aven and Concarneau, where Tanner spent his summers in the 1890s. Here, he used bold colors and loose brushwork to capture the scene. Tanner entered a finished version in the annual Paris exhibition, but it was rejected; the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, however, accepted it for their yearly show
****The Man Who Rented Boats
oil on canvas
9 1/4 x 12 3/8 in. (23.5 x 31.4 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
This spot in a Paris park where vendors rented toy boats reflects the charm that led Henry Ossawa Tanner to settle in Paris in 1891. In 1909, Tanner wrote that, “After having been in Paris a week, I [found] conditions so to my liking that I completely forgot that when I left New York I had made my plans to study in Rome.” (Mosby, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991) As in many of his studies, he sketched this scene in oil instead of pencil.
Study for the Young Sabot Maker
****Portrait of the Artist's Wife
1897?
9 1/4 x 12 3/8 in. (23.5 x 31.4 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
This spot in a Paris park where vendors rented toy boats reflects the charm that led Henry Ossawa Tanner to settle in Paris in 1891. In 1909, Tanner wrote that, “After having been in Paris a week, I [found] conditions so to my liking that I completely forgot that when I left New York I had made my plans to study in Rome.” (Mosby, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991) As in many of his studies, he sketched this scene in oil instead of pencil.
Study for the Young Sabot Maker
oil on canvas
16 1/4 x 13 in. (41.3 x 33.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
After Henry Ossawa Tanner moved to France in 1891, he spent a few summers in Pont-Aven and Concarneau, where wooden shoes called sabots were common. This study shows a young student learning the trade from his teacher, a frequent theme in Tanner’s early work. In the final painting the young sabot-maker is not French but African American, reflecting Tanner’s own racial heritage. The Young Sabot Maker was his second painting to be accepted by the annual Paris exhibition, a coveted sign of official recognition from the French art establishment.
16 1/4 x 13 in. (41.3 x 33.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
After Henry Ossawa Tanner moved to France in 1891, he spent a few summers in Pont-Aven and Concarneau, where wooden shoes called sabots were common. This study shows a young student learning the trade from his teacher, a frequent theme in Tanner’s early work. In the final painting the young sabot-maker is not French but African American, reflecting Tanner’s own racial heritage. The Young Sabot Maker was his second painting to be accepted by the annual Paris exhibition, a coveted sign of official recognition from the French art establishment.
1897?
oil on fiberboard
22 3/8 x 18 7/8 in. (56.8 x 47.9 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Jessie Macauley Olssen first met Henry Ossawa Tanner in Barbizon, France. They married in Paris in 1899 and had one child together. In this portrait, Mrs. Tanner is shown in a highly studied pose meant to look informal and casual. Tanner painted Jessie’s face with greater detail than her dress, which he painted in a loose, unfinished manner.
22 3/8 x 18 7/8 in. (56.8 x 47.9 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Jessie Macauley Olssen first met Henry Ossawa Tanner in Barbizon, France. They married in Paris in 1899 and had one child together. In this portrait, Mrs. Tanner is shown in a highly studied pose meant to look informal and casual. Tanner painted Jessie’s face with greater detail than her dress, which he painted in a loose, unfinished manner.
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/media.cfm?key=372&artistmedia=381&object=1906&subkey=1381
podcasthttp://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/holton/holton_2009/rose_s_holton_2009.m4v
****Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Atherton Curtis with Still Life
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23647
oil on plywood
26 5/8 x 28 7/8 in. (67.6 x 73.3cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Atherton Curtis was a wealthy American living in France who made his fortune in medicine patents. The couple, who supported many artists, met Henry Ossawa Tanner in 1897 and became ardent supporters of his art. Tanner later used the composition of this portrait in a painting of Christ sitting down to dinner with Lazarus and his sister.
****Profile of a Woman's Head
podcasthttp://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/holton/holton_2009/rose_s_holton_2009.m4v
****Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Atherton Curtis with Still Life
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23647
oil on plywood
26 5/8 x 28 7/8 in. (67.6 x 73.3cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Atherton Curtis was a wealthy American living in France who made his fortune in medicine patents. The couple, who supported many artists, met Henry Ossawa Tanner in 1897 and became ardent supporters of his art. Tanner later used the composition of this portrait in a painting of Christ sitting down to dinner with Lazarus and his sister.
****Profile of a Woman's Head
oil on wood
14 1/8 x 11 3/4 in. (35.8 x 30.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum,
Henry Ossawa Tanner made many portraits while visiting the Holy Land to use as studies for his religious paintings. In the traditional dress of the Middle East, this woman resembles the images of Christ’s mother that Tanner created, such as Mary from about 1914. Tanner placed the woman against a dark background, a compositional trick that he learned from his teacher Thomas Eakins.
Head of a Jew in Palestine
14 1/8 x 11 3/4 in. (35.8 x 30.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum,
Henry Ossawa Tanner made many portraits while visiting the Holy Land to use as studies for his religious paintings. In the traditional dress of the Middle East, this woman resembles the images of Christ’s mother that Tanner created, such as Mary from about 1914. Tanner placed the woman against a dark background, a compositional trick that he learned from his teacher Thomas Eakins.
Head of a Jew in Palestine
1899, reworked about 1918-20
oil on canvas
24 x 21 1/4 in. (61 x 53.9 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Ossawa Tanner used the local people as models in his religious paintings during his trips to the Middle East and North Africa. He may have used this portrait for the figure of Nicodemus in Nicodemus Visiting Jesus,painted in Jerusalem in 1898. This old but dignified man made quite an impression on Tanner, who later wrote, “I still remember with pleasure the fine head of the old Yemenite Jew who posed for Nicodemus.”
oil on canvas
24 x 21 1/4 in. (61 x 53.9 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Ossawa Tanner used the local people as models in his religious paintings during his trips to the Middle East and North Africa. He may have used this portrait for the figure of Nicodemus in Nicodemus Visiting Jesus,painted in Jerusalem in 1898. This old but dignified man made quite an impression on Tanner, who later wrote, “I still remember with pleasure the fine head of the old Yemenite Jew who posed for Nicodemus.”
****Head of a Woman in Jerusalem
While visiting Jerusalem, Henry Ossawa Tanner painted portraits of the local people and used them for figures in his religious paintings. Tanner worked with an almost dry paintbrush to create the rough texture in this painting, a technique he used in other works.
While visiting Jerusalem, Henry Ossawa Tanner painted portraits of the local people and used them for figures in his religious paintings. Tanner worked with an almost dry paintbrush to create the rough texture in this painting, a technique he used in other works.
While visiting Jerusalem, Henry Ossawa Tanner painted portraits of the local people and used them for figures in his religious paintings. Tanner worked with an almost dry paintbrush to create the rough texture in this painting, a technique he used in other works.
****Lions in the Desertabout 1897-1900
oil
on canvas mounted on plywood
15 1/2 x 29 3/8 in. (39.5 x 74.5 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Henry Ossawa Tanner grew up in a religious home and his family took special pride in the history of the biblical Hamatic races of African origin (Mosby,Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991). It is possible that he regarded the lion as a symbol of his African heritage. Tanner learned to draw lions from trips to the zoo in Philadelphia, where he grew up and attended art school. While in Paris in 1891, he sketched them at the Jardin des Plantes and took an animal anatomy course at the natural history museum. Tanner painted Lions in the Desert during one of his visits to the Middle East, which he described as a barren landscape. He did not see actual lions there, but later added them to the painting in his studio.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Henry Ossawa Tanner grew up in a religious home and his family took special pride in the history of the biblical Hamatic races of African origin (Mosby,Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991). It is possible that he regarded the lion as a symbol of his African heritage. Tanner learned to draw lions from trips to the zoo in Philadelphia, where he grew up and attended art school. While in Paris in 1891, he sketched them at the Jardin des Plantes and took an animal anatomy course at the natural history museum. Tanner painted Lions in the Desert during one of his visits to the Middle East, which he described as a barren landscape. He did not see actual lions there, but later added them to the painting in his studio.
http://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/gwu/gwu_2011/brennan_e_gw_2011.m4v
****The Canyonn.d.
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=2442
****The Canyonn.d.
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=2442
oil on canvas
16 x 13 in. (40.6 x33.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
This barren landscape suggests a scene that Henry Ossawa Tanner probably saw while in the Middle East in 1897 or 1898. The clear blue sky that appears through the opening of the deep canyon evokes a hot, sunny day in the desert region. Tanner applied thick paint and left his brushstrokes visible in order to convey the canyon’s rough terrain.
Study for the Annunciationabout 1898
16 x 13 in. (40.6 x33.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
This barren landscape suggests a scene that Henry Ossawa Tanner probably saw while in the Middle East in 1897 or 1898. The clear blue sky that appears through the opening of the deep canyon evokes a hot, sunny day in the desert region. Tanner applied thick paint and left his brushstrokes visible in order to convey the canyon’s rough terrain.
Study for the Annunciationabout 1898
oil on wood
8 1/2 x 10 3/4 in. (21.5 x 27.4 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.187
8 1/2 x 10 3/4 in. (21.5 x 27.4 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.187
In this painting the vertical line of white paint on the left represents the divine presence of the angel who will tell Mary that she bears the Son of God. The finished painting made from this study was well received in Paris and was Henry Ossawa Tanner’s first work to be acquired by an American museum.
****And He Disappeared out of Their Sight
ca. 1898
oil on plywood
10 5/8 x 13 3/4 in. (27.1 x 35.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.200
Smithsonian American Art Museum
3rd Floor, Luce Foundation Center
The son of a minister, Henry Ossawa Tanner dedicated himself to painting religious subjects, and his trips to the Holy Land in 1897 and 1898 helped to inspire his work. This scene from the Gospel of Luke shows the resurrected Christ and two of his disciples sitting down to dinner. His followers do not recognize Jesus until he blesses the bread and disappears, leaving only a shadow to represent his ever-present spirit.
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=0&subkey=92
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23637
Salomeabout 1900
http://www.americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23677
Salome stands out from Henry Ossawa Tanner's other religious images, which are more conservative than this provocative painting. Salome's demand for the head of John the Baptist is one of the most lurid stories in the Bible. She dances for her stepfather, who rewards her beauty by giving her the prophet’s head on a platter. Here, Tanner presented Salome in a revealing gown, emphasizing her sensuality. The yellow shape in the lower left of the image, marked with red paint, suggests the corpse of John the Baptist.
****And He Disappeared out of Their Sight
ca. 1898
oil on plywood
10 5/8 x 13 3/4 in. (27.1 x 35.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.200
Smithsonian American Art Museum
3rd Floor, Luce Foundation Center
The son of a minister, Henry Ossawa Tanner dedicated himself to painting religious subjects, and his trips to the Holy Land in 1897 and 1898 helped to inspire his work. This scene from the Gospel of Luke shows the resurrected Christ and two of his disciples sitting down to dinner. His followers do not recognize Jesus until he blesses the bread and disappears, leaving only a shadow to represent his ever-present spirit.
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=0&subkey=92
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23637
Salomeabout 1900
http://www.americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23677
Salome stands out from Henry Ossawa Tanner's other religious images, which are more conservative than this provocative painting. Salome's demand for the head of John the Baptist is one of the most lurid stories in the Bible. She dances for her stepfather, who rewards her beauty by giving her the prophet’s head on a platter. Here, Tanner presented Salome in a revealing gown, emphasizing her sensuality. The yellow shape in the lower left of the image, marked with red paint, suggests the corpse of John the Baptist.
Diaphanous folds of her gown skim Salomé's lush body, heightening her dangerous eroticism. The femme fatale was a frequent subject of art, literature, and opera at the end of the century. Under the spell of the symbolist aesthetic, emphasizing feelings and imagination over realism, Tanner chose a palette of moody, jeweled hues. The painting's strange, indeterminate space conjures up the sensual evil of a seductress whose dances so aroused King Herod that he presented her the head of John the Baptist.
The Saviorabout 1900-05
oil on canvas mounted on plywood
29 1/8 x 21 3/4 in. (73.9 x 55.3 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins1983.95.191
The story of Christ’s crucifixion occupied Henry Ossawa Tanner’s mind throughout his career. The Savior shows Jesus meditating as he waits for his crown of thorns and purple robe, in which he would be mocked as the “King of the Jews.” Tanner portrayed him as a real person in contemplation and prayer rather than as an idealized figure. But the yellow color in his face and outlining his profile is like a glowing light that suggests Christ’s uniqueness as a spiritual being, able to transcend flesh and blood
Podcasthttp://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/holton/holton_2009/sara_p_holton_2009.m4v
The Fisherman's Returnafter 1900
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=2460
29 1/8 x 21 3/4 in. (73.9 x 55.3 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins1983.95.191
The story of Christ’s crucifixion occupied Henry Ossawa Tanner’s mind throughout his career. The Savior shows Jesus meditating as he waits for his crown of thorns and purple robe, in which he would be mocked as the “King of the Jews.” Tanner portrayed him as a real person in contemplation and prayer rather than as an idealized figure. But the yellow color in his face and outlining his profile is like a glowing light that suggests Christ’s uniqueness as a spiritual being, able to transcend flesh and blood
Podcasthttp://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/holton/holton_2009/sara_p_holton_2009.m4v
The Fisherman's Returnafter 1900
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=2460
oil on canvas
25 1/2 x 19 1/4 in. (64.8 x 49.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
25 1/2 x 19 1/4 in. (64.8 x 49.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Fisherman's Return is one of two studies that Henry Ossawa Tanner created for a work titled Night, in which a fisherman and his son return home by lantern light. Beginning in the summer of 1900, the artist spent his vacations at Etaples, off the northern coast of France. Tanner may have painted this work as an homage to his father, a minister whom he greatly admired and who had praised him for dedicating his talents to religious images.
**** Abraham's Oak
1905
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23636
oil on canvas
21 3/8 x 28 5/8 in. (54.4 x 72.8 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.185
Smithsonian American Art Museum
http://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/holton/holton_2009/jing_j_holton_2009.m4v
PLEASE OPEN THIS LINK THAT DESCRIBE THE PAINTING.
Angels Appearing before the Shepherds
ca. 1910
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23638
oil on canvas
25 3/4 x 31 7/8 in. (65.3 x 81.1 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.195
Podcasthttp://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/holton/holton_2009/jenny_m_holton_2009.m4v
Gateway, Tangier
****Scene of Algiersn.d.
****Street Scene, Tangier (Man Leading Calf)about 1910
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=2300
oil on paperboard
10 5/8 x 13 3/4 in. (27.0 x 34.9 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.196a
Henry Ossawa Tanner probably painted this scene in his Paris studio from postcards or photographs of Tangier, which he visited two years later. By 1910, Tanner had established himself as a religious painter and used his trips to North Africa and the Middle East for inspiration. This street scene refers to the passage in the Bible in which a man is told to go into the village and retrieve a donkey that will carry Christ into Jerusalem.
****Street in Tangierabout 1910
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=2299
**** Abraham's Oak
1905
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23636
oil on canvas
21 3/8 x 28 5/8 in. (54.4 x 72.8 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.185
Smithsonian American Art Museum
http://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/holton/holton_2009/jing_j_holton_2009.m4v
PLEASE OPEN THIS LINK THAT DESCRIBE THE PAINTING.
Angels Appearing before the Shepherds
ca. 1910
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23638
oil on canvas
25 3/4 x 31 7/8 in. (65.3 x 81.1 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.195
Podcasthttp://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/holton/holton_2009/jenny_m_holton_2009.m4v
Gateway, Tangier
ca. 1910
oil on plywood
22 1/2 x 19 in. (57.2 x 48.3 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.190
Not currently on view
After a trip to Algeria in 1908, Henry Ossawa Tanner traveled often from his Paris studio to the western coast of North Africa, where he visited Tangier, Morocco. He shared a fascination with painting the Orient with other French artists such as Eugène Delacroix, who said one must go to Tangier to experience the "rare influence of the sun, which gives penetrating light to all things." In this painting, Tanner captured the intensity of the Moroccan sun as well as Tangier's distinctive architecture. It is unclear whether Tanner painted this image in his Paris studio or on-site, but it may have been a study for a larger work, Entrance to the Casbah, which has a similar composition and was completed a couple of years later.
See what's painted on the other side of this painting.
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/media.cfmkey=372&artistmedia=0&object=174130&subkey=1480****Scene of Algiersn.d.
oil on paperboard
8 1/4 x 10 5/8 in. (21.0 x 27.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of David Silverman
1983.95.210
Henry Ossawa Tanner went to Algeria in the winter of 1908, where he encountered many of these scenes. The French government subsidized artists who traveled to its colonies, and this incentive may have encouraged Tanner to visit Algeria. (Mosby, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991) In this painting the loose brushwork and patches of color suggest trees, hills, and a faintly discernible human figure.8 1/4 x 10 5/8 in. (21.0 x 27.0 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of David Silverman
1983.95.210
****Street Scene, Tangier (Man Leading Calf)about 1910
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=2300
oil on paperboard
10 5/8 x 13 3/4 in. (27.0 x 34.9 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.196a
Henry Ossawa Tanner probably painted this scene in his Paris studio from postcards or photographs of Tangier, which he visited two years later. By 1910, Tanner had established himself as a religious painter and used his trips to North Africa and the Middle East for inspiration. This street scene refers to the passage in the Bible in which a man is told to go into the village and retrieve a donkey that will carry Christ into Jerusalem.
****Street in Tangierabout 1910
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=2299
oil on fiberboard
13 5/8 x 10 1/2 in. (34.5 x 26.7 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of James and Shirley Gordon1983.95.209
Henry Ossawa Tanner might have created this scene with a passage from the Gospel of Luke in mind. In the background, Mary and Joseph approach the inn at Bethlehem, represented by the shadowed entrance on the left (Mosby, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991). Tanner did not visit Tangier until 1912, which suggests that he probably painted this scene in his Paris studio from postcards or photographs of the Moroccan city.
Palace of Justice, Tangier
ca. 1912-1913
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23674
oil on canvas
25 5/8 x 31 7/8 in. (65.1 x 81.0 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Baxter
1970.67
Henry Ossawa Tanner traveled to Tangier in 1912, but it is unclear if he painted this scene there or in his Paris studio, using postcards of the city. The buildings in the background are the law courts, which once housed Morocco’s royal officials. The figures in the right side of the picture represent Mary and Joseph on the flight into Egypt, one of Tanner’s favorite Bible stories. His expressive brushwork and the blues and purples evoke not only an exotic, distant place, but the world of the spirit as well.
Fishermen at Sea
ca. 1913
46 x 35 1/4 in. (116.9 x 89.5 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Jesse O. Tanner
1983.95.215
Not currently on view
Conservators discovered this painting on the back of Henry Ossawa Tanner’sSalomé during restoration. Early in his career, Tanner painted marine scenes that showed man’s struggle with the sea, but by 1895 he was creating mostly religious works. In this painting, Tanner depicted a passage described in the book of Matthew: "But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary." The surging sea pushes the boat to an almost vertical position, revealing the fishermen that Tanner rendered as dabs of paint.
The son of a famous African American minister, Tanner brought a deeply spiritual viewpoint and knowledge of the Bible to his paintings. While some works take their inspiration from specific Biblical incidents and characters, others stand as parables of man's struggle in the world, here loosely based on either Jonah's trials at sea or Christ and his disciples on the Sea of Galilee.
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=0&subkey=812
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23651
From African American Masters
http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/highlights/artworks.cfm?id=AA&StartRow=53
****Mary
about 1923 oil on wood panel
13 5/8 x 10 1/2 in. (34.5 x 26.7 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of James and Shirley Gordon1983.95.209
Henry Ossawa Tanner might have created this scene with a passage from the Gospel of Luke in mind. In the background, Mary and Joseph approach the inn at Bethlehem, represented by the shadowed entrance on the left (Mosby, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991). Tanner did not visit Tangier until 1912, which suggests that he probably painted this scene in his Paris studio from postcards or photographs of the Moroccan city.
Palace of Justice, Tangier
ca. 1912-1913
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23674
oil on canvas
25 5/8 x 31 7/8 in. (65.1 x 81.0 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John Baxter
1970.67
Henry Ossawa Tanner traveled to Tangier in 1912, but it is unclear if he painted this scene there or in his Paris studio, using postcards of the city. The buildings in the background are the law courts, which once housed Morocco’s royal officials. The figures in the right side of the picture represent Mary and Joseph on the flight into Egypt, one of Tanner’s favorite Bible stories. His expressive brushwork and the blues and purples evoke not only an exotic, distant place, but the world of the spirit as well.
Fishermen at Sea
ca. 1913
46 x 35 1/4 in. (116.9 x 89.5 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Jesse O. Tanner
1983.95.215
Not currently on view
Conservators discovered this painting on the back of Henry Ossawa Tanner’sSalomé during restoration. Early in his career, Tanner painted marine scenes that showed man’s struggle with the sea, but by 1895 he was creating mostly religious works. In this painting, Tanner depicted a passage described in the book of Matthew: "But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary." The surging sea pushes the boat to an almost vertical position, revealing the fishermen that Tanner rendered as dabs of paint.
The son of a famous African American minister, Tanner brought a deeply spiritual viewpoint and knowledge of the Bible to his paintings. While some works take their inspiration from specific Biblical incidents and characters, others stand as parables of man's struggle in the world, here loosely based on either Jonah's trials at sea or Christ and his disciples on the Sea of Galilee.
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=0&subkey=812
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23651
From African American Masters
http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/highlights/artworks.cfm?id=AA&StartRow=53
****Mary
oil on canvas
45 1/2 x 34 3/4 in. (115.5 x 88.2 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Dorothy L. McGuire
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=230545 1/2 x 34 3/4 in. (115.5 x 88.2 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Dorothy L. McGuire
Henry Ossawa Tanner saw Mary, mother of Jesus, as a symbol of faith and fortitude. He painted many images of her and created this particular work during a difficult and trying time in his life. In 1914, the year his mother died, the outbreak of World War I forced his family to flee France for England. In this scene, Mary awaits the arrival of the angel who will tell her that she bears the Son of God. The glowing lamp, a symbol of God’s presence, adds mystery and suspense to the painting.
Alone among looming shadows in her chamber, Mary senses the arrival of the angel who will announce that she will bear the Son of God. Atmospheric blue and violet hues intensify this mysterious, sacred moment, while golden candlelight suggests a divine presence. With uncanny insight, Tanner captures both fragile humanity and revelation's radiant glow. To this deeply religious artist, Mary symbolized faith and fortitude. These qualities were especially significant in 1914 for war-threatened France, where Tanner had emigrated in 1891 to escape racism in the United States.
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/media.cfmkey=372&artistmedia=381&object=1403&subkey=1379
Podcast
http://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/holton/holton_2009/scesny_r_holton_2009.m4v
Flight into Egypt
ca. 1916-1922
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=0&subkey=824
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23652
oil on wood
16 7/8 x 16 7/8 in. (43.0 x 43.0 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.202
Henry Ossawa Tanner's trip to the Middle East in 1897 probably inspired this scene of the flight into Egypt. The story of the Holy Family fleeing Herod's wrath was a favorite of Tanner's, who created as many as fifteen works on the theme. In this painting, Mary and the donkey are barely discernible, with the suggestion of a figure representing Joseph behind them. Moonlight illuminates the path for the family to follow. Tanner's own experience of racism in the United States, which motivated him to move to Paris, may have led him to identify with the persecuted Holy Family.
Study for Christ and Nicodemus on a Rooftop
Podcast
http://americanart.si.edu/education/activities/podcasts/holton/holton_2009/scesny_r_holton_2009.m4v
Flight into Egypt
ca. 1916-1922
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=0&subkey=824
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23652
oil on wood
16 7/8 x 16 7/8 in. (43.0 x 43.0 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.202
Henry Ossawa Tanner's trip to the Middle East in 1897 probably inspired this scene of the flight into Egypt. The story of the Holy Family fleeing Herod's wrath was a favorite of Tanner's, who created as many as fifteen works on the theme. In this painting, Mary and the donkey are barely discernible, with the suggestion of a figure representing Joseph behind them. Moonlight illuminates the path for the family to follow. Tanner's own experience of racism in the United States, which motivated him to move to Paris, may have led him to identify with the persecuted Holy Family.
Study for Christ and Nicodemus on a Rooftop
about 1923 oil on wood panel
9 1/2 x 13 in. (24.0 x 33.0 cm.)
This study for Christ and Nicodemus on a Rooftop made Henry Ossawa Tanner's reputation. The story of Nicodemus visiting Christ at night spoke to African American worship habits that Tanner remembered from his youth: After emancipation, freed slaves continued to meet at night, as they had done when their masters had forbidden them to read the Bible (Mosby, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991).
Interesting crossover:John La Farge painted Nicodemus.
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=14202
The Good Shepherd (Atlas Mountains, Morocco)
about 1930
The Good Shepherd (Atlas Mountains, Morocco)
about 1930
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=2464
oil on fiberboard
29 7/8 x 36 in. (75.8 x 91.3 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
In 1912, Henry Ossawa Tanner traveled to Morocco to see the Atlas Mountains. In this painting he downplayed the story in favor of the impressive landscape itself. Tanner’s son Jesse remembered that The Good Shepherd was his father’s favorite subject. The artist believed that “God needs us to help fight with him against evil and we need God to guide us” (Jesse Tanner in Mathews, Henry Ossawa Tanner, American Artist, 1969)
****He Healed the Sick
****Haystack
oil on fiberboard
29 7/8 x 36 in. (75.8 x 91.3 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum
In 1912, Henry Ossawa Tanner traveled to Morocco to see the Atlas Mountains. In this painting he downplayed the story in favor of the impressive landscape itself. Tanner’s son Jesse remembered that The Good Shepherd was his father’s favorite subject. The artist believed that “God needs us to help fight with him against evil and we need God to guide us” (Jesse Tanner in Mathews, Henry Ossawa Tanner, American Artist, 1969)
****He Healed the Sick
oil on wood
16 1/4 x 21 1/2 in. (41.3 x 54.5 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.199 From the Gilded Age catalog
This painting is probably a study for another work by Henry Ossawa Tanner titled Disciples Healing the Sick, which is more finished and detailed. There are numerous instances in the Bible in which Christ performs miraculous healings, but none of the stories describes this particular scene. Tanner created this painting after he had recovered from a serious illness, which suggests that the subject had personal meaning for him (Mosby, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991).16 1/4 x 21 1/2 in. (41.3 x 54.5 cm)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
1983.95.199 From the Gilded Age catalog
****Haystack
oil on canvas
26 1/4 x 21 in. (66.7 x 53.3 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Irwin M. Sparr
Tanner's spontaneous brushwork and simple forms make this one of his most impressionistic compositions. The large haystacks recall Monet's interest in this subject, and muted tonalities lend a gentle, melancholic quality to Tanner's interpretation
The thick, unblended strokes of blues and purples in this image characterize Henry Ossawa Tanner’s later work. He made his reputation from his religious paintings while living in Paris from 1891 until his death in 1937. But like the French painters he admired, Tanner made a point of painting out in the countryside as well.
Moses in the Bullrushes1921
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=1491
26 1/4 x 21 in. (66.7 x 53.3 cm.)
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Irwin M. Sparr
Tanner's spontaneous brushwork and simple forms make this one of his most impressionistic compositions. The large haystacks recall Monet's interest in this subject, and muted tonalities lend a gentle, melancholic quality to Tanner's interpretation
The thick, unblended strokes of blues and purples in this image characterize Henry Ossawa Tanner’s later work. He made his reputation from his religious paintings while living in Paris from 1891 until his death in 1937. But like the French painters he admired, Tanner made a point of painting out in the countryside as well.
Moses in the Bullrushes1921
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/object.cfm?key=338&artistmedia=381&subkey=1491
Henry Ossawa Tanner took most of his themes from the New Testament, but also made several paintings of the story of Moses. The mother of Moses had set her infant son adrift in the Nile in a basket of reeds so that Pharaoh’s soldiers would not slay the Hebrew child. Pharaoh’s daughter found the baby, who was raised in the palace until Moses rejected his royal position and led his people to freedom. The muted blues capture the nighttime scene, where the moonlight reflecting on the water may signify God’s presence.
http://americanart.si.edu/luce/media.cfmkey=372&artistmedia=381&subkey=381&artist=4742&ob=1491
Study for Moses and the Burning Bushn.d.
Henry Ossawa Tanner drew inspiration for his art from both the New Testament and his upbringing in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Old Testament, however, did show up in some works, as in this study for Moses and the Burning Bush. In this painting an angel of God, in the form of a burning bush, calls on Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land. On his second trip to the Middle East, Tanner visited the mountain range of the Sinai Peninsula, the site of this biblical episode.
****Departure into Egypt (At the Inn)
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23649
Study for Moses and the Burning Bushn.d.
Henry Ossawa Tanner drew inspiration for his art from both the New Testament and his upbringing in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The Old Testament, however, did show up in some works, as in this study for Moses and the Burning Bush. In this painting an angel of God, in the form of a burning bush, calls on Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to the Promised Land. On his second trip to the Middle East, Tanner visited the mountain range of the Sinai Peninsula, the site of this biblical episode.
****Departure into Egypt (At the Inn)
http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=23649
This painting is different from Henry Ossawa Tanner’s other paintings on the same theme, in which the Holy Family flees through the desert to save their son from Herod. In Departure into Egypt (At the Inn), Mary, who holds her newborn, is just starting her journey. The bearded man holding the lantern is not Joseph, but probably the guard who will lead them out of the city
****Country Road in France
Henry Ossawa Tanner’s teacher Thomas Eakins taught him the value of making quick sketches of everyday scenes. Tanner had a studio in Paris but spent many holidays and summers in rural France, where he painted this scene on the spot.
This painting is different from Henry Ossawa Tanner’s other paintings on the same theme, in which the Holy Family flees through the desert to save their son from Herod. In Departure into Egypt (At the Inn), Mary, who holds her newborn, is just starting her journey. The bearded man holding the lantern is not Joseph, but probably the guard who will lead them out of the city
****Country Road in France
Henry Ossawa Tanner’s teacher Thomas Eakins taught him the value of making quick sketches of everyday scenes. Tanner had a studio in Paris but spent many holidays and summers in rural France, where he painted this scene on the spot.
Study, Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciplesn.d.
Study, Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciplesn.d.
Study, Christ Washing the Feet of the Disciplesn.d.
oil on plywood
Study for Rachel from The Mothers of the Bible
This is a video from the Smithsonian about his techniques
http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/tanner/
Study for Rachel from The Mothers of the Bible
about 1898
charcoal
23 x 13 5/8 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
charcoal
23 x 13 5/8 in.
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Study for Rachel is a sketch for one of four works featuring Sarah, Hagar, Rachel, and Mary, called "The Mothers of the Bible," which Tanner published in the Ladies Home Journal. The artist, whose father was the Reverend Benjamin Tanner, was raised in a religious African American family, strongly influencing his interest in biblical subject matter.
From Graphic Masters, catalog from the Smithsonian.This is a video from the Smithsonian about his techniques
http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/tanner/
Barbizon, Pont Aven and Concarneau are all small villages, but the French Impressionists loved to go there for a few days or week to practice their painting. It is not too far from Paris, and it's quite rural.
ReplyDeleteThe Flight to Egypt can also refer to the struggle of his mother who escaped slavery through the Railroad Underground.
ReplyDelete