Henry Ossawa Tanner, Head of a Jew in Palestine, 1899, reworked ca. 1918-1920, oil on canvas, 24 x 21 1⁄4 in. (61 x 53.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.189
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Head of a Jew in Palestine
- Artist
- Date
- 1899, reworked ca. 1918-1920
- Location
- Dimensions
- 24 x 21 1⁄4 in. (61 x 53.9 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on canvas
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Hebrew
- Figure male — elderly — waist length
- Object Number
- 1983.95.189
Artwork Description
Henry Ossawa Tanner used the local people as models in his religious paintings during his trips to the Middle East and North Africa. He may have used this portrait for the figure of Nicodemus in Nicodemus Visiting Jesus, painted in Jerusalem in 1898. This old but dignified man made quite an impression on Tanner, who later wrote, “I still remember with pleasure the fine head of the old Yemenite Jew who posed for Nicodemus.”
