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contact:
malbon@vt.edu

Kelly J. Baker is a Ph.D. student at Flrodia State University; she completed a Master's Thesis on the paintings of Henry Ossawa Tanner.

Abstract: “I paint things that I see and believe . . . I believe in my religion. I have chosen the character of my art because it conveys my message and tells what I want to tell my own generation and leave to the future,” stated Henry Ossawa Tanner, an artist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tanner, who is most well known for "The Banjo Lesson" and "The Thankful Poor," primarily painted biblical narratives because these works portrayed the God of his beliefs. This artist chose biblical scenes that represented the interaction between divinity and humanity. Tanner displayed these scenes on canvas yet it was his own understanding of the word of God. This paper explores two of Tanner’s paintings located in museums in Philadelphia, "The Annunciation" and "Jesus and Nicodemus," the biblical narratives these works represent, his own commentary about his works, and the cultural frame of reference for each work. These paintings exemplify Tanner’s belief in the relationship between divine and human, and this artist hoped his paintings would be the venue for the viewers to partake in this relationship as well. Tanner represented the Bible in his art but in his own terms, and his painting of these New Testament narratives conveyed a Bible filled with domesticity, humanity, and an unwavering faith in God.

2005, Philadelphia


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