I recently discovered the art of Henry Ossawa Tanner, and I’ve found his paintings of biblical scenes to be spiritually inspiring and deeply moving. Tanner is known as the first African-American artist to gain international acclaim and fame. He was born in 1859. His father was a seminary educated bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and his mother was born into slavery and sent north to Pittsburgh by her mother in the Underground Railroad. Tanner discovered a love for art at an early age, and he enrolled as the only black student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1879. Eventually, he moved to Paris and studied under well-known artists at the famous Académie Julian. Unlike in the United States, he found no racial barriers to people recognizing and appreciating his artistic skills in Paris, so he made it his home for the rest of his life. In the 1890s, Tanner began painting biblical and religious scenes. Two of these, Daniel in the Lion’s Den (1896) and The Resurrection of Lazarus (1897), won numerous awards and accolades by prestigious voices in the Parisian art community.
Tanner painted most of his religious and biblical scenes in the artistic genre known as Realism. It is the realistic expressions, depictions, and subtle details that Tanner incorporates in his paintings of biblical scenes that have captivated me. His paintings draw me into the emotions, drama and feelings that accompany stories that have become all too familiar. As I’m drawn into these realistic aspects of the story, I find intersections with my own story and the stories in the Bible come alive to me in new ways. Through these story connections, the Holy Spirit reveals truths to me that I think would be hard for me to know otherwise.
Below are a couple paintings from Tanner that I’ve found inspiring. I encourage you to look through the library of his paintings when you have the time and see what stands out to you (https://www.wikiart.org/en/henry-ossawa-tanner/all-works).
“Christ Learning to Read” (1914)
This painting is very similar to a painting Tanner did in 1910 that he titled “Christ and His Mother Studying the Scriptures.” Tanner used his own caucasian wife and his biracial son as models for Mary and Jesus in the painting. The title makes it clear that Tanner wanted to humanize Jesus by focusing on his need to be taught by his mother. Jesus helps me to read the scriptures, but at one point in time he needed help from his own mom to learn how to read. As I reflect on this painting, I am reminded that Jesus was well acquainted with the human struggle to learn certain things, and he knows firsthand the common need we all have for patient teachers to guide us in the process of learning.
“Jesus and Nicodemus” (1899)
Tanner took numerous trips to the Holy Land in order to study the places, the culture and the people described in the biblical stories. This detail comes through in the rooftop landscape background of the painting. The facial expressions are particularly captivating to me. The status of Jesus as a young, controversial rabbi comes through as well as the humility required of Nicodemus as a sagely Pharisee to come to Jesus at night with his questions. As I reflect on this painting, I am inspired to learn from Jesus as my rabbi, but I’m also reminded that many things that a rabbi shares with his students, even the most learned and wise, they will not easily understand.
About the Author
Aaron is a passionate seeker of God and truth, and he enjoys encouraging others in their own pursuits of the same. He especially likes to think about how God is at work in the most ordinary and mundane aspects of our existence. He loves going on adventures to new places with his wife, Heather, and four kids and his perfect day would involve an excellent cup of coffee (or two!), a hike to somewhere beautiful and serene, and some good conversation over a pint at a warm pub. He currently serves as an adjunct instructor at Portland Seminary and co-leads the CitySalt Kids’ Ministry along with his wife, Heather.
