The Thankful Poor, 1894 Born June 21, 1859 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Henry Ossawa Tanner was an African-American artist. He was the first African-American to enroll in the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1880, where he studied with Realist painter Thomas Eakens and was the only black student at that time. Tanner's work was characterized by an approach that synthesized elements of Impressionism, his Academic Classical training and genre subject matter that was influenced by his Methodist upbringing to include religious themes and a deep appreciation of the landscape. Just a boy during the The American Civil War years, Tanner experienced racism throughout his early life and as an artist in Philadelphia into his twenties, leading to his decision to leave America for Paris to study at the esteemed Académie Julian in 1891. Emboldened by this vibrant cosmopolitan society Tanner grew into his own style with greater depth. He became a highly esteemed Black a...
The Ghetto of Florence, 1882 Telemaco Signorini was an Italian artist born on August 18, 1835 in Florence. He was a prominent member of the Macchiaioli movement that arose in Italy during the 1850's roughly a decade before Impressionism began in France. From the Italian "macchie", meaning stain or patches, their work was heavily influenced by brushwork and the effects of light from Old Masters such as Rembrandt, Tintoretto and Velázquez. Italy during this time was under massive change and turmoil of the Risorgiomento , and for these artists the established themes of the past felt outdated and decided to turn their focus onto everyday life. The artists met at a local coffee shop called Caffè Michelangiolo , along with writers and patriots. Although their art has faded with time under the shadow of the Impressionists, their art was born of revolution and cultural rebirth, and as we will see here Telemaco was the signature artist of the group with a...