He Healed the Sick
Henry Ossawa Tanner
ca. 1930
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Robbins
Accession Number
1983.95.199
Tags
Figure groupReligionillness
About this artwork
This painting is probably a study for another work by Henry Ossawa Tanner titled Disciples Healing the Sick, which is more finished and detailed. There are numerous instances in the Bible in which Christ performs miraculous healings, but none of the stories describes this particular scene. Tanner created this painting after he had recovered from a serious illness, which suggests that the subject had personal meaning for him (Mosby, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1991).