
After Henry Ossawa Tanner moved to France in 1891, he spent a few summers in Pont-Aven and Concarneau, where wooden shoes called sabots were common. This study shows a young student learning the trade from his teacher, a frequent theme in Tanner’s early work. In the final painting the young sabot-maker is not French but African American, reflecting Tanner’s own racial heritage. The Young Sabot Maker was his second painting to be accepted by the annual Paris exhibition, a coveted sign of official recognition from the French art establishment.
- Title
-
Study for the Young Sabot Maker
- Artist
- Date
- ca. 1895
- Location
- Dimensions
- 16 1⁄4 x 13 in. (41.3 x 33.0 cm.)
- Credit Line
-
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on canvas
- Classifications
- Keywords
-
- Figure group – male and child
- Figure male – child
- Occupation – craft – shoemaker
- Object Number
-
1983.95.208
- Palette
- Linked Open Data
- Linked Open Data URI