Fishermen at Sea

Henry Ossawa Tanner, born Pittsburgh, PA 1859-died Paris, France 1937 · ca. 1913

Conservators discovered this painting on the back of Henry Ossawa Tanner’s Salome during restoration. Early in his career, Tanner painted marine scenes that showed man’s struggle with the sea, but by 1895 he was creating mostly religious works. In this painting, Tanner depicted a passage described in the book of Matthew: "But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary." The surging sea pushes the boat to an almost vertical position, revealing the fishermen that Tanner rendered as dabs of paint.