A late Realist who appeared on the
art scene near the Turn of the Century was the African American Henry Ossawa
Tanner, whose works took from Modernist and Impressionist art theory to
reinvent biblical traditions for the Modern Era. These works stray far from the Baroque pomp
and circumstance of Renaissance-esque masterworks that glorified religious
saints and martyrs with immense, tapestry-like paintings of epic scenes. His famous painting here retells a well-known
narrative tradition of biblical history: the Annunciation (which is when the
Archangel visited Mary to tell her she was going to give birth to the Messiah).
Painted in 1898, this work takes an
entirely changed perspective on the biblical story. We can cite scores of Northern European
Renaissance works that showcase the Annunciation as a prolific event, something
all-glorious and eye-popping, but here it's a simple, humble girl in a dingy
room being met by an ambiguously drawn light (representative of Gabriel, the
angel). Where are the majestically
spreading clouds, the host of singing angels, and the illustrious Holy Virgin
of those altarpiece paintings which we so fondly remember? Tanner does away with all of the prestige of
Christianity and dares to call faith an act of humility. Here the late Victorian philosophy of
Imperialistic, White-Man's-Burden Christendom is shattered under the pretense
that biblical narratives and parables should be artistically represented in a
light that emphasizes the humility to be attained in the Christian life. Raised by a staunchly religious father who
was himself a Methodist minister, Tanner chose to primarily paint biblical
scenes during the greater part of his career, and it is due to these that he is
most well-known and highly regarded today as an important figure in the
creation of Modern art.
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