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this miracle is powerful and appealing. The conception of Christ is reverent, strong and tender. The light that falls on His breast and on His face makes Him stand out prominently. The figures of Mary and Martha are skillfully placed in contrasting attitudes. The surrounding throng of Jews and apostles grouped with admirable clearness and simplicity, offers further evidence of Mr. Tanner's powers and especially of the completeness of his enthusiasm in the subject he chose. The mysterious light that envelops the spot altogether heightens the effect of the painting."

The picture received the Gold Medal, was purchased by the French Government and placed in the Louvre. Mr. Tanner had now "arrived" in the vestibule of the Temple of Art the portals of which will swing back as he passes from the ideals of life to the border and limitless vistas of eternity.

His next celebrated picture, "The Annunciation" was exhibited at the Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1898 and was purchased for the Wilstach Collection in the Memorial Building at Fairmount Park. This picture excited quite as much interest as his "Lazarus." It was of a subject that has frequently been treated by artists, but his interpretation of the theme gave it new life. The criticism in the Springfield (Mass.) Republican is a specimen. It runs thus:

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"The Annunciation' in the hands of Mr. Tanner is as new as if the world had never seen it before. There is no sign of the conventional angel bearing a lily, no idealized woman in a floating robe with her hands crossed and her eyes cast down. There is only the plain interior of an ordinary cottage in Palestine. A young girl, evidently a typical representative of the poorer class of her country, is seated on the edge of the bed, from which she has been roused. She has folded a long, loose gown of some dark stuff around her, and is looking very intently, with a listening expression, across the room to where a bright light is shining out of the gloom. The general tone of the pic

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ture is a rich, glowing brown, suggestive of Rembrandt, yet different. It makes all the other pictures in the room look hard and glaring. It is impossible to put into words the beauty and strength of this picture of Mr. Tanner."1

"Judas" was next exhibited at and purchased by the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburg, and in the same year, 1899, "Nicodemus" having won the Walter Lippincott prize of $300 was added by purchase to the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. This picture was painted from a housetop in Jerusalem.

At the Universal Exposition at Paris, in 1900, he received a second-class medal: a second-class medal the next year at the PanAmerican Exposition at Buffalo for "Daniel in the Lion's Den," and also a second-class medal for the same canvas at the Louisiana Exposition at St. Louis. In the catalogue of the Art Department this picture is described as follows:

"Daniel in the Lion's Den' shows a large subterranean apartment dimly lighted by square openings in the roof, through which the daylight illumines square patches on the floor and portions of the wall. Daniel stands in the principal light space, the lower portion of his body in the light, the upper part, including the upturned face, being in deep shadow. A lion standing near the prophet is partly in light; the other beasts are in shadow except where a further opening in the roof gives another small square of light. The attitude of the man expresses faith and confidence that no harm can come to him. The gleaming eyes and nervous expressions of the lions indicate an unwilling restraint which they cannot understand but are powerless to overcome. In the treatment of this low-toned composition, the artist has been singularly fortunate in keeping his color clear and his shadows transparent. There is just enough definition, just enough mystery. The shadows are luminous, and the coloring is neither heavy nor muddy."2

1 Springfield (Mass.) Republican.

2 The Art Department Ill. Univ. Exposition, St. Louis, 1904.

"The Disciples at Emmaus," described as a work in which the mingled joy and bewilderment of the two disciples, the supernatural personality and divine authority of their Master are depicted with wonderful power, was awarded the Second medal at the Salon of 1906, purchased by the French Government and also placed in the Luxembourg Gallery. In the same year when the annual exhibition at Chicago was opened it was found that the award for the best painting on exhibition, the N. W. Harris prize of $300 was given to Henry O. Tanner for "The Disciples at the Tomb," described as the most impressive and most distinguished work of art which had been produced that season.

But "The Wise and Foolish Virgins" at the Paris Salon in 1908 has elicited from the art critics the most unstinted praise of his work and acknowledgment as to his place in the forefront of living artists. This is a picture ten feet by fifteen feet in which appear twelve life-size figures. The New York Herald, Paris edition, says: "The viewpoint of the critics has been diverse, but none of them fails to commend Mr. Tanner's work, and some of them do so in unmeasured terms, going so far as to pronounce it the best picture that has been seen at the annual exhibition for several years. The Herald also adds that "it is noteworthy that the Tanner painting has a position in the Salon second to none except the place which is held by Detaille, who has the place of honor." It is also characterized as "the work of a sincere artist whose sentiment has always prevailed over his technique, with subtle power, great purity of line and thorough charm."

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The Echo de Paris goes more into detail than the Herald. It says, speaking of the human figures, "they are exquisite, especially the foolish virgins. The drapery, airy, gay, white garments which undulate in innumerable folds at every step is all full of exquisite and very picturesque details. The necklace of red coral, the green scarf, a blue shade in the silky paleness of the scarf, and such easy, free and harmonious treatment."

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