The Bible In Paintings >>> Featured Artists Series ✝️ The Best of HENRY OSSAWA TANNER ✝️

[Hebrews 11:6]

The Bible
In Paintings

The Best of
H E N R Y
O S S A W A
T A N N E R

“HENRY OSSAWA TANNER (1859 – 1937) was an American artist and the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris, France, in 1891 to study at the Académie Julian and gained acclaim in French artistic circles. His painting Daniel in the Lions' Den was accepted into the 1896 Salon, the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Tanner's Resurrection of Lazarus was purchased by the French government after winning the third-place medal at the 1897 Salon.

“After pursuing art on his own as a young man, Tanner enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1879. The only black student, he became a favorite of the painter Thomas Eakins, who had recently started teaching there.

“Earlier, Tanner had painted marine scenes of man's struggle with the sea, but by 1895 he was creating mostly religious works. His shift to painting biblical scenes occurred as he was undergoing a spiritual struggle. In a letter he wrote to his parents on Christmas 1896, he stated, ‘I have made up my mind to serve Him [God] more faithfully.’

“Upon seeing The Resurrection of Lazarus, art critic Rodman Wanamaker offered to pay all the expenses for a journey by Tanner to the Middle East. Wanamaker felt that any serious painter of biblical scenes needed to see the environment firsthand and that a painter of Tanner's caliber was well worth the investment.

“Tanner painted landscapes, religious subjects, and scenes of daily life in a realistic style that echoed that of Eakins. Tanner was not limited to one specific approach to painting and drawing. His works reflect at times meticulous attention to detail and loose, expressive brushstrokes in others. Often both methods are employed simultaneously. Tanner was also interested in the effects that color could have in a painting. Warmer compositions such as The Resurrection of Lazarus and The Annunciation express the intensity and fire of religious moments, and the elation of transcendence between the divine and humanity. Other paintings emphasize cool hues, which became dominant in his work after the mid-1890s.”

1973 U.S. commemorative stamp honoring Tanner
excerpted from Wikipedia

1
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah"

2
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"Sodom and Gomorrah"

3
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"Moses and the Burning Bush"

4
HENRY OSSAWA
"Daniel in the Lions' Den"

5
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"The Annunciation"

6
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"The Annunciation to the Shepherds"

7
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"Angels Appearing before the Shepherds"

8
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"Flight Into Egypt"

9
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"Christ and His Mother Studying the Scriptures"

10
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"Nicodemus and Jesus on a Rooftop"

11
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"The Miraculous Haul of Fishes"

12
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"Christ and His Disciples on the Sea of Galilee"

13
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"The Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water"

14
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"The Raising of Lazarus"

15
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"Two Disciples at the Tomb"

→ a n d... f i n a l l y ←

16
HENRY OSSAWA TANNER
"Two Disciples at the Tomb"

Next time:
LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY

[Hebrews 11:6]

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[Hebrews 11:6]

Feel free to comment below.

No expertise is needed,
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so please jump right in!

A FRIENDLY FORUM

[texas booster]

Thank you!

Would not have known about Tanner, except for your series.

[InkStone]

Good Morning Dan, and hello to all!

Tanner has a beautiful style, and he’s a good choice for today. Yesterday we talked about ‘methods of painting’ and in your description above, Tanner’s manner of his two styles are mentioned.

Greatly enjoy visiting your Gallery Dan, thank you.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Would not have known about Tanner, except for your series.

Nor would I, inasmuch as I am an art ignoramus.

To my untrained eye, he has a style I find interesting, which I would call "soft smokiness."

[Hebrews 11:6]

Greatly enjoy visiting your Gallery

Greatly enjoy your Gallery visits, Leon.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

I very much like Tanner’s work. Perhaps it is because I am near-sighted, many of his scenes remind me of how I see things as I am in motion, or they are in motion around me - without a razor-sharp focus. His rendition of the flight to Egypt or Moses first seeing the burning bush remind me of that…there is a mystery to what is happening in the moment, it’s not sharp and in focus and it leads you to think “what did I just see?”

And yeah, being near-sighted is a bit like that at times!

[No name given]

His paintings are pretty beautiful.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Interesting take, Scott! I get it, now that you mention it.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Yes, I think he valued beauty in his paintings. He aspired to it.

There is a certain responsibility which is inherent for an artist portraying Scripture. Reacting to that by aspiring to beauty is a laudable approach.

[xp38]

The Annunciation is interesting. I’ve saved it. Thanks Dan

[Hebrews 11:6]

Angels have the innate ability to assume any physical form. Only Gabriel and Mary can say what he looked like on that occasion, and to me Tanner’s whimsy is as good as any, and better than most.

[AnAmericanMother]

No. 9 is not a common subject - but how perfect! Of course Christ's Mother was his teacher!

Have always loved this artist . . . amazing vision and technical skill . . . came into his Biblical paintings from his wonderful, gritty, detailed genre paintings of rural African-American life, and his amazing portrait of Booker T. Washington.

The Banjo Lesson

Booker T. Washington

[Hebrews 11:6]

You’ve expressed your admiration of Tanner previously, so you were the one viewer I was hoping would notice and comment.

[AnAmericanMother]

I agree. And thanks to Tanner for expanding our thinking on the Annunciation. Of *course* the great Archangel could appear in any form he thought fit! and on such a mighty errand, perhaps only that light straight from the heart of Heaven could even begin to emphasize its importance!

[AnAmericanMother]

I'm so glad that you added him to your portfolio! He's by no means as well known as he ought to be.

He and Washington were two birds of a feather -- trying to navigate the difficult and complicated issues of race in America in their time -- and standing ultimately upon their own merits, without self-pity. Brave men both!

[Hebrews 11:6]

trying to navigate the difficult and complicated issues of race in America in their time

Although Tanner's ultimate solution involved navigating to Europe.

[AnAmericanMother]

He was in the Paris art scene (the place to be at the time). But he traveled regularly to the U.S. to speak and teach. So he may have moved his base to Paris, but he was still very involved at home. His father was an A.M.E. bishop (that was - and really still is - a very upper-crust denomination) and he had some significant patrons.

His popularity waned after WWI - really everything in Europe was unsettled between the wars - but he was still very well thought of.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Thanks for that extra information.

[SisterK]

I love this.

Thank you for sharing and introducing me to a brilliant artist.