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Henry Ossawa Tanner Defied Convention in His Biblical Art
The famous African American painter pointed his brush at poignant scenes
Art has long been a way for people to make sense of the world. In religion too, believers have often turned to visual representations to portray their religious experiences, be it in literal or symbolic form. Representations of biblical scenes remained popular because they gave the viewer, who might have been illiterate, a new perspective.
Each artist also brought something of themselves to their representations. Henry Ossawa Tanner would bring his own experiences of growing up as a Black man after the Civil War to the easel. Through his skill, he synthesized various influences to create something new in the genre of religious art.
Life in a city of brotherly love
The year 1859, when Sarah Tanner (née Miller) gave birth to her son Henry, was a time of tension in the USA. Over the last couple of years, pro-slavery and anti-slavery Americans had clashed in various regions, including in so-called frontier areas like Kansas. Sarah herself had escaped enslavement, after which she attended Avery College, where she met Benjamin Tanner, her future husband.
