Fishermen at Sea

Description

Fishermen at Sea

Henry Ossawa Tanner, c. 1913

About this Piece

This piece depicts man’s battle with the sea, particularly as it relates to the famous account of Christ walking on water as recorded in the book of Matthew. This image depicts the moments before the Savior and Peter meet out on the water, as the ship is being tossed by the storm. “But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.” Matthew 14:24

Looking for an easy way to display this piece in your home? Take home a 14 inch paper poster of Fishermen at Sea today.

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.