Street in Tangier

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Street in Tangier, ca. 1910, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of James and Shirley Gordon, 1983.95.209
Copied Henry Ossawa Tanner, Street in Tangier, ca. 1910, oil on fiberboard, 13 5⁄8 x 10 1⁄2 in. (34.5 x 26.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of James and Shirley Gordon, 1983.95.209
Free to use

Artwork Details

Title
Street in Tangier
Artist
Date
ca. 1910
Location
Dimensions
13 5⁄8 x 10 1⁄2 in. (34.5 x 26.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of James and Shirley Gordon
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on fiberboard
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group
  • Cityscape — street
  • Cityscape — Morocco — Tangier
  • Architecture Exterior — detail — door
  • Architecture Exterior — detail — arch
Object Number
1983.95.209
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1983.95.209

Artwork Description

Henry Ossawa Tanner might have created this scene with a passage from the Gospel of Luke in mind. In the background, Mary and Joseph approach the inn at Bethlehem, represented by the shadowed entrance on the left (Mosby, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991). Tanner did not visit Tangier until 1912, which suggests that he probably painted this scene in his Paris studio from postcards or photographs of the Moroccan city.