HENRY OSSAWA TANNER (1859 - 1937) Study for Christ at the Home of Martha and Mary.
Oil on wood panel, circa 1905. 199x229 mm; 7 7/8x9 inches. With the artist's estate ink stamp, and signed by the artist's son Jesse O. Tanner in ink, verso.
Provenance: estate of the artist; Grand Central Art Galleries, New York; private New York collection.
Exhibited: Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists, Boston, MA, with the label on the frame back; Afro-American Artists in Paris: 1919-1939, The Bertha and Karl Leubsdorf Art Gallery, Hunter College, New York, November 8 - December 22, 1989.
This painterly oil is an excellent example of Tanner's studies for his biblical scenes. As preliminary works, Tanner experimented in palette, medium and composition in these small scale paintings. His broad brushstrokes and unconventional palette reveal the underlying modernity of his approach to these traditional subjects. The large, final version on canvas of Christ at the Home of Martha and Mary is in the permanent collection of the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA.
