Description
The Seine
Henry Ossawa Tanner, c. 1902
About this Piece
This piece, painted 11 years after Tanner first settled in Paris, was one of his few depictions of the French capital. Tanner utilizes loose brushstrokes to fill the scene with light and scattered reflections, contributing to the overall hazy effect. Many art historians marvel at this piece, believing it to be surprisingly modern compared to most of Tanner’s other works. It is also believed that this piece was originally intended as a quick study and never meant for exhibition.
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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.
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