Henry Ossawa Tanner
American, 1859­1937
The Two Disciples at the Tomb
c. 1906
Oil on canvas
129.5 x 105.7 cm
Robert A. Waller Fund, 1906.300

This painting shows the moment when two of Jesus’  followers realize that he has risen from the dead. The two disciples gaze calmly into the empty tomb of their savior. Their faces are radiant with light that seems to emanate from the tomb itself.

The son of an African-American bishop, Tanner grew up in Philadelphia, where he studied with the artist Thomas Eakins. Repelled by the racial prejudice Tanner encountered in the United States, he chose to spend nearly all of his adult life living and painting in France.