Christ and His Mother Studying the Scriptures presents a dramatic, yet intimate scene. The figures of Christ and Mary clasp each other tenderly as they each hold the scroll from which they read, their physical bond an outward acknowledgment of their spiritual unity. Henry Ossawa Tanner’s lush, densely painted surface is restricted to shades of blue, purple, and gold, bathing the figures in a warm, golden light, a metaphor for the illumination gleaned from the scroll. His combination of the broken brushwork, Tonalist colors, and Symbolist subject matter has been compared to that of Albert Pinkham Ryder, without that artist’s obsessively overworked surfaces. Thanks to existing photographs, we know that Tanner used his wife and son as models for Mary and Jesus, giving the work a double resonance as both a meditative biblical scene and a tender family portrait.
Adapted from
Eleanor Jones Harvey, “Henry Ossawa Tanner, Christ and His Mother Studying Scriptures,” in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Charles Venable (New Haven, NJ: Yale University Press, 1997), 243.
Dallas Museum of Art,
Read More
Henry Ossawa Tanner at wikiwand
See More
Henry Ossawa Tanner paintings at wikimedia
Thanks for Visiting 🌻
~Sunnyside
At Sunnyside - Where Truth and Beauty Meet 
Thank you for sharing this poignant painting. The colours are really beautiful; a lovely blend of greens and blues and the way Tanner portrays Christ and Maria is so touching.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My sentiments exactly, Yvonne! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
https://artincontext.org/botticelli-paintings/#:~:text=Botticelli%20painted%20Madonna%20of%20the%20Magnificat%20in%201481.,and%20the%20cosmos%2C%20anticipating%20what%20is%20to%20come. Immediately thought of this Botticelli.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We visited the Dallas Museum of Art five months ago but I don’t recall seeing this painting. Not all a museum’s pieces are on display at all times.
I wondered about Tanner’s middle name, Ossawa, which Wikiwand explained: “His parents gave him a middle name that commemorated the struggle at Osawatomie between pro- and anti-slavery partisans.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am always dismayed to find out paintings are not being displayed. His parents chose a perfect middle name. 😎
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on penwithlit and commented:
Beautiful
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! It’s such an extraordinary painting which I have never seen the same before. It is unique so far I can say. Thank you! ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am so pleased you enjoy this one, Aladin. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Such tenderness captured ….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Dora. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Immediately thought of this painting: The Madonna of the Book by Botticelli:
LikeLiked by 1 person
How lovely! Thanks for the link, Sgk.😎
LikeLiked by 1 person
Beautiful, nicely lit mother/son image. 😊
Also, gorgeous use of colour.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Those blues get me every time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Gia. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
😊❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person