The Two Disciples at the Tomb

Description

The Two Disciples at the Tomb

Henry Ossawa Tanner, c. 1906

About this Piece

Tanner painted this piece while working in Paris. The scene here depicts a moment recorded in the Gospel of Saint John, in which Peter and John first arrive at Christ’s empty tomb. Peter gazes downward with a solemn expression while John appears transfixed by something in front of him. His face is bathed in a golden light meant to signify the presence of the Christ. Tanner grounds this portrayal in the individualistic, thoughtful expressions of these disciples.

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More About Tanner

Henry Ossawa Tanner was perhaps the most prominent American religious artist at the turn of the 20th century. He was the first child born to Reverend Benjamin Tucker Tanner (of the African Methodist Episcopal Church) and Sarah Tanner (who had escaped enslavement via the Underground Railroad). As a young artist, he met a bishop for the Methodist Episcopal Church named Joseph Crane Hartzell, who arranged a teaching position for him at Clark University. In 1890, Hartzell also organized an exhibition of Tanner’s art. When none of the pieces sold, Hartzell and his wife purchased them in order to fund Tanner’s upcoming trip to Europe.

He spent much of his life studying and practicing art in France, as well as journeying to the Middle East in order to increase the detail in his biblical pieces. He was a regular contributor to the NAACP after its founding in 1910, a member of the National Academy of Design, and a loyal contributor to the American Red Cross’ effort during World War I. One of his greatest distinctions came in 1923, when the French government named him chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the highest French decoration and one of the most famous in the world.