“The Annunciation,” 1898. Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937).

Purchased with the W. P. Wilstach Fund, 1899.

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Penn., U.S.A.

Henry Ossawa Tanner (June 21, 1859 – May 25, 1937) was an African American artist best known for his style of painting. He was the first African American painter to gain international acclaim.

Tanner is often regarded as a realist painter, focusing on accurate depictions of subjects. Tanner's later paintings focused mainly on the religious subjects for which he is now best known. It is likely that Tanner's father, a minister in the African Methodist Church, was a formative influence in this direction.

Many of his paintings accentuate a specific area of the colour spectrum. Warmer compositions such as "The Annunciation" exude the intensity and fire of religious moments. They describe the elation of transcendence between the divine and humanity. Tanner often experimented with the importance of light in a composition. The source and intensity of light and shadow in his paintings create a physical, almost tangible space and atmosphere while adding emotion and mood to the environment.

A Meditation on Henry Ossawa Tanner's 'The Annunciation'

Yet you do not blink.
In the intimacy of a bedchamber
Your soul is awakened from sleep,
Fragile flesh before angelic brilliance.
Your rumpled night sheets tossed aside,
You listen in peace with your whole self
To the question that will define history.
Holding its breath for your answer,
All heaven pauses.
“LET IT BE DONE TO ME…”
Here it begins.
In such utter simplicity,
In quiet strength, at the appointed hour,
With the rippled rungs of time at your feet,
And the broad lines of history at your back.
At the balance of His grace in your will,
Eve reborn, humanity to be redeemed
Through a child, from a virgin
Whose name is Mary.

J. Michael Sparough, S.J., is director of Charis Ministries, a centre for retreats and spiritual direction for young adults in the Chicago area.

Published in “America: The National Catholic Weekly”