Henry Ossawa Tanner
In this dramatic nocturnal scene, Henry Ossawa Tanner recorded the Celebration of the Dead on July 13, 1919, in Paris to honor those who died defending France during World War I. Here, the crowd is rendered a largely anonymous mass; the figures converge before a brilliantly illuminated cenotaph, or empty tomb, temporarily erected behind the Arc de Triomphe, one of the symbols of Paris. As in many of Tanner’s religious nocturnes, the cool cerulean palette and muted tonalities evoke a solemn, even spiritual, mood.
Paris was a familiar subject for Tanner, an African-American expatriate artist of international renown who resided in the French capital and Brittany for most of his adult life. Tanner moved to Paris in 1891 to study at the Académie Julian and gained acclaim in French artistic circles; he decided to live there where he felt his race mattered less to other artists and critics. During these decades abroad, Tanner enjoyed greater artistic freedom and opportunity, than he would have in the United States.
Henry Ossawa Tanner was under a huge influence of the French Impressionists. If you would like to learn more about them, please check out our Mega Impressionism Course in DailyArt Courses!
P.S. Learn more about Henry Ossawa Tanner's spiritual art. If you are curious how artists portrayed night, you can explore these ten beautiful nocturne paintings with us!