Smithsonian — Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) · statue
Palace of Justice, Tangier
Description
Henry Ossawa Tanner traveled to Tangier in 1912, but it is unclear if he painted this scene there or in his Paris studio, using postcards of the city. The buildings in the background are the law courts, which once housed Morocco’s royal officials. The figures in the right side of the picture represent Mary and Joseph on the flight into Egypt, one of Tanner’s favorite Bible stories. His expressive brushwork and the blues and purples evoke not only an exotic, distant place, but the world of the spirit as well.
Cross-references (1)
- Smithsonian-ARK ark:/65665/vk70af61120-9ad4-4bbe-952d-03769b26f6d8 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Smithsonian — Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM).
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
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- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.