Henry Ossawa Tanner "Modern Spirit"

Portrait of Booker T. Washinton, 1917

We picked up our rental car and headed to Cincinnati via Columbus on 71.  It was a Monday so no museums would be open but we did catch the Taste of Cincinnati street festival highlighting the food scene of Cincinnati.

Tuesday morning, I took a cardio dance class at the Cincinnati Ballet and after a shower and checking out, we went to the Cincinnati Art Museum, located in a beautiful park to see "Modern Spirit", the work of Henry Ossawa Tanner.  I first became aware of his work in Western Art History and ever since then, I've been wanting to see his work in person.  I saw a sketch of one of my favorite paintings "The Thankful Poor" at the Dusable Museum of African American Art in Chicago, hoping that it would be in this show.  It wasn't but i wasn't too disappointed.

I wasn't allowed to use my notebook and pen so i resorted to tapping my notes on my IPhone.  I highlight a few of my favorites...

This portrait of Booker T. Washington has a Van Gogh feel.

"Nicodemus " 1899

It is difficult to tell from this image but Tanner's use of blues was really beautiful.

The Disciples See Christ Walking on the Water 1907

Every section of the painting has a complexity.  He uses multiple colors to denote the water.  The blue is spectacular.











The colors used?  Maybe ultramarine blue, viridian, prussian blue, burnt umber, cobalt teal, yellow ochre, lead white.

Sunlight, Tangier 1910

The colors are fresh.  Tanner layers the paint in the sky and foreground in a matte finish while the middle is glossy.  This one's a favorite.

A Mosque in Cairo  1897

Again, the colors are beautiful and the figures aren't in great detail but there is enough information.  You feel the heat of the day.  

Near East Scene 1910

The paint was applied more thinly and it really had a color field feeling to it eventhough there are figures in the painting.  

Algiers  1912

It is difficult to see in this image but Tanner uses a wonderful pink in the highlights that really make the building glow.

Three Marys  1910

See  verticals in "The Three Marys", most notably the figures and the brush strokes.  He knows how to light up his subjects.

Study for Rachel  1898

Just a gorgeous, simple drawing.

Tanner was one of the few male painters who painted women and children this sensitively.  The pose, the feel, the interaction between the subjects is captured beautifully.

Christ and his Mother Studying the Scriptures  1909

The Annunciation  1898

Here is an example of two paintings, the lower one being the study for the upper one.  The final painting is huge but there is something very charming about the study.  I prefer the study in all its abstract brushstrokes.

Study for The Annunciation  1898

This image does not do "The Fishermen's Return" any justice.  It was a favorite.  I love the almost sculptural heavy hand with the cobalt teal paint.

The Fishermen's Return  1925

La Sainte Marie  1898

Lovely treatment of the drapery, the shadows, and love the composition.

The Bagpipe Player  1895

The bagpipe player's face is great, kind of comical and the blue color of  his jacket with the yellow  and pewter jug are beautifully painted.  Unfortunately,  I wasn't able to find an image without the printing on it.

War Scene France  1914

I love the use of the dark line in this painting, deceptively simple.

The Good Shepherd  1917

Tanner uses a heavy hand with great results.  The paint is thickly applied to create this color field like piece.

Good Shepherd Atlas Mountains, Morocco  1930

Again, the paint is applied heavily to create a mass of color.  

Henry Ossawa Tanner

If this show was in San Francisco, I think I would have to visit it once a week because there was so much to see and notice and learn from.   I would describe Tanner as the "painter's painter" - i saw depth and respect for his medium, and a tireless desire to improve and to create the most beautiful paintings he could.

The show runs through September 9, 2012.