The Two Disciples at the Tomb
Henry Ossawa Tanner (American, 1859–1937)
c. 1906
View the original$19
Type
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Materials & printing
Archival matte paper, 189 g/m² (10.3 mil), sourced from Japan, printed with multicolor water-based inkjet so every brushstroke stays crisp. Framed prints arrive ready to hang in a .75″ ayous-wood frame with an acrylite front. Sized to standard frames by cropping, never stretching — at most about 3% comes off one edge, which isn’t noticeable on most pieces, and we only offer a size when it stays that small.
Shipping & returns
Made to order and delivered in 5–8 business days (2–4 to print, 3–4 in transit). US shipping only for now. Because each print is made for your order, all sales are final — but if it arrives damaged or defective, send us a photo within 14 days and we’ll replace it free. Full policy.
Why is it this affordable?
A thin, flat margin on every piece — just enough to keep the store running. Most of what you pay is the print itself. We only sell sizes that reproduce at full quality, and we don’t mark up the large sizes the way most shops do.
About this work
Working in Paris, Henry Ossawa Tanner grounded his portrayal of a biblical scene in the thoughtful, individual expressions of the figures. The Two Disciples at the Tomb depicts an event from the Gospel of Saint John in which Peter and John arrive at Christ’s empty tomb. The bearded Peter looks downward with a somber gaze, but John appears transfixed, his face bathed in a golden light that signifies the presence of Christ’s spirit. The son of a prominent minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Tanner was perhaps the most renowned American painter of religious works at the turn of the 20th century. After studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Tanner expatriated to France in 1891 in an effort to escape the trenchant racism that limited his career in the United States.
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 129.5 × 105.7 cm (51 × 41 7/8 in.)
Museum record · 1 owner · 12 exhibitions
Provenance
- The artist; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1906.
Exhibitions
- Art Institute of Chicago, Nineteenth Annual Exhibition of Oil Paintings and Sculpture by American Artists, Oct. 16–Nov. 29, 1906.
- New York, American Art Galleries, Religious Paintings by the Distinguished American Artist Mr. Henry O. Tanner, Dec. 15–25, 1908.
- Texas, Public Library of Fort Worth, Exhibition of American Paintings, 1910, no cat. Art Institute of Chicago, Half a Century of American Art, Nov. 16, 1939–Jan. 7, 1940.
- Chicago, South Side Community Art Center, We Too Look at America, May 1941.
- Chicago, McCormick Place, Century of Negro Progress Exposition, Aug. 16–Sept. 2, 1963, no cat. no. Washington, DC, Howard University, Ten Afro–American Artists of the Nineteenth Century, Feb. 3–Mar. 30, 1967, no cat. no., 23, 32.
- New York, Grand Central Art Galleries, Exhibition of Paintings: Henry Ossawa Tanner, Nov. 16–Dec. 7, 1967, no cat. no..
- Atlanta, Spelman College, Henry O. Tanner, An Afro–American Romantic Realist, Mar. 30–Apr. 30, 1969 Berkeley, University of California Art Museum, The Hand and the Spirit: Religious Art in America 1770–1900, June 27–Aug. 6, 1972; Washington, DC, National Gallery of Art, Sep–Oct, 1972; Dallas Museum of Art, Dec. 10, 1972–Jan. 14, 1973; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Feb–Apr. 1973.
- New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Selections of Nineteenth Century Afro–American Art, June 19–Aug. 1, 1976, no cat. Angeles County Museum of Art, Two Centuries of Black American Art, Sept. 30–Nov. 21, 1976, 55; Atlanta, High Museum of Art, Jan. 8–Feb. 20, 1977; Dallas Museum of Art, Mar. 30–May 15, 1977; Brooklyn Museum of Art, June 25–Aug. 21, 1977.
- New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Turn–of–the–Century America, June 30–Oct. 2, 1977, no cat. no., 193; St. Louis Art Museum, Dec. 1, 1977–Jan. 21, 1978; Seattle Art Museum, Feb. 2–Mar. 12, 1978; California, Oakland Museum of Art, Apr. 4–May 28,1978.
- Philadelphia Museum of Art, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Jan. 20–Apr. 14, 1991,193; Detroit Institute of Arts, May 12–Aug. 4, 1991; Atlanta, High Museum of Art, Sept. 17–Nov. 24, 1991; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M.H. De Young Memorial Museum, Dec. 14, 1991–Mar. 1, 1992.
- Kansas City, Nelson–Atkins Museum of Art, Across Continents and Cultures: The Art and Life of Henry Ossawa Tanner, June 25–Aug. 20, 1995, no cat. no., 54; Dallas Museum of Art, Sept. 12–Dec. 31, 1995; Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Jan. 12–May 5, 1996.
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Henry O. Tanner: Modern Spirit, Jan. 27–Apr. 15, 2012, no cat. no., 60, 61, 62, 129, 130; Cincinnati Art Museum, May 26–Sept. 9, 2012; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Oct. 21, 2012–Jan. 13, 2013.
