Angels Appearing before the Shepherds by Henry Ossawa Tanner (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Angels Appearing before the Shepherds
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Christmas is approaching. In order to celebrate the season, I want to start sharing paintings related to the holiday. Today’s piece is Angels Appearing before the Shepherds by Henry Ossawa Tanner.

To my mind, Tanner’s style can be best described as realism with a painterly, almost Romantic style. Tanner primarily focused on scenes of everyday life and religious paintings; his work was known and renowned around the world. Significantly, he was also one of the first African-American painters to be celebrated internationally.

The subject of the painting is taken from a passage from the Gospel of Luke, which describes how angels appeared to a group of shepherds to announce the birth of the Christ child:
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” - Luke, 2:8-12
Although the bible is the source of much artistic inspiration, the annunciation to the shepherds

Is less commonly depicted in art than other religious subjects. Even so, Tanner’s depiction of the subject is strikingly different from older depictions of the shepherd story.

Angels Appearing before the Shepherds demonstrates a fresh and modern approach to religious painting. The piece portrays three massive and shadowy angels standing on a ridge; they gaze down at the shepherds with cool, impassive solemnity. The shepherds themselves are barely visible, tiny and ant-like against the rocky landscape. It is illustrated in a symphony of blues, creating a mystical, dreamlike aura that radiates spiritual grace and tranquility.

The painting conveys the gravity and profundity of the unknowable power of God. It is an emotive and moving piece of art, one that captures the feeling and spirit of religious experience. In Tanner’s loose brushstrokes, the viewer can undergo a moment of that spiritual exaltation, and that is what makes Angels Appearing before the Shepherds so powerful.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges by Henri Matisse (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges Source: Pinterest French artist Henri Matisse is rather famous for his paintings of goldfish. In fact, one of his most famous paintings, entitled Goldfish , depicts several of the aforementioned fish swimming in a bowl. Matisse is one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century. His work is closely associated with the Fauvist movement and is generally characterized by great energy and rich, intense colors. Based on my research , Matisse began painting goldfish after he traveled to North Africa. In Morocco, Matisse observed locals watching goldfish swim in their bowls as they sunk into a meditative state. The fish subsequently became a symbol for this sense of tranquility, coming to represent an idyllic version of the world only accessible through joyous day-dreams. These calming fish are prominent in this painting, which is entitled Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges (which translates to The Cat With Red Fishes ). However, the serene energy of the fish
Read more

Five Puerto Rican Artists You Should Know

-
Image
The island of Puerto Rico has a long and vibrant artistic tradition. Western, Indigenous, and African cultures have all left their mark on Puerto Rican art, creating a colorful and unique visual legacy. While Puerto Rican artists have demonstrated their excellence throughout the years— from the creators of the captivating Taino petroglyphs to the sophisticated and subtle works of the Modernist painters—Puerto Rican art has received little attention from art historians and the wider art world. Here are five underappreciated Puerto Rican artists that you should know: 1. José Campeche José Campeche is often known as the first Puerto Rican painter in the Western history of fine arts. He was primarily known for his religious paintings and his portraits of elite Puerto Ricans, and today his work is recognized as some of the finest examples of Rococo art produced in the Americas. Campeche’s personal story is also inspiring. The son of a slave who had purchased his own freedom, Campech
Read more

Mural La Plena by Rafael Tufiño (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Mural la Plena Source: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Today I want to chat about a monumental piece of art that I recently had the pleasure of seeing at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. As the name suggests, Mural La Plena is a massive mural, fifteen by thirty feet in size, that was created by Puerto Rican artist Rafael Tufiño to commemorate la plena, a wildly popular genre of music that was born in the city of Ponce around 1900. The mural, which might appear abstract or incomprehensible to a viewer unfamiliar with the subject matter, illustrates the lyrics of popular plena songs. For example, the blue-green figure that dominates the upper half of the mural represents the hurricane from the plena “Temporal,” which mourns the destruction caused by a storm. Plena, as a genre, tells stories. According to my research , the lyrics come from current events, re-telling the stories that affected the lives of the people of Ponce. It began as a way for people of low socio-economic sta
Read more