Head of a Jew in Palestine

Henry Ossawa Tanner, Head of a Jew in Palestine, 1899, reworked ca. 1918-1920, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins, 1983.95.189
Copied 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
Free to use

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
Keywords
  • Figure male — elderly — waist length
  • Hebrew
Object Number
1983.95.189
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/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.”