Artwork
The Seine
The Seine is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist Henry Ossawa Tanner. It dates from 1902 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower left: F.F. Gut[ekunst] / H.O. T[anner] / [...]y 10, 1902; on cardboard backing now removed: Presented to / Mr. F. F. Gutekunst / H.O. Tanner / Seine 1902 Paris
About this work
From the right bank of the Seine, Henry Ossawa Tanner looked west toward the twin towers of the Palais du Trocadero and caught the hazy Parisian light in rapid, loose strokes. Painted around 1902, this small oil sketch, just 9 by 13 inches, was a private gift to Philadelphia photographer Frederick F. Gutekunst. It is one of the artist's rare views of the French capital.
Technique & Style
This landscape is executed in oil on canvas, a medium and support consistently documented by the institutional record.
This landscape is executed in oil on canvas, a medium and support consistently documented by the institutional record. The canvas measures 22.8 by 33 cm. The painting's reverse bears an inscription, 'Presented to / Mr. F. F. Gutekunst / H. O. Tanner 1902 Paris', indicating the artist’s personal presentation of the work to Philadelphia photographer Frederick Gutekunst, presumably after Tanner brought the painting to America in 1903. No further details regarding brushwork, handling, or condition are available from the cited sources.
History & Provenance
Henry Ossawa Tanner painted The Seine in 1902. An inscription on the reverse, “Presented to / Mr. F. F. Gutekunst / H. O. Tanner 1902 Paris”, indicates that the artist personally gave the work to Frederick F. Gutekunst, a Philadelphia photographer with whom Tanner had an undocumented friendship. Tanner likely brought the painting to America in 1903 and presented it to Gutekunst during an extended stay in the country.
The painting later entered a private collection, then passed to Graham Williford of Fairfield, Texas, before being purchased by the National Gallery of Art in 1971. No commission is recorded for this landscape.
Overview
Henry Ossawa Tanner painted The Seine around 1902, an oil-on-canvas sketch created outdoors. This small work, measuring 22.8 by 33 centimeters, captures a view from the right bank of the river, looking west toward the Palais du Trocadero. Characterized by a diffuse, hazy light and loose brushwork, it was a private gift rather than an exhibition piece.
The painting is notable as one of Tanner's infrequent depictions of the French capital, where he had resided since 1891.
Subject & Meaning
The painting offers a precise topographical rendering of the Seine, observed from its right bank with the ornate towers of the Palais du Trocadero visible in the distance. A pervasive hazy light unifies the composition, which largely omits human presence, save for a single, indistinct figure. This intimate scene, imbued with a contemplative mood, contrasts with Tanner's more recognized religious subjects and stands out as one of his few direct portrayals of Parisian urban life.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Henry Ossawa Tanner was an American artist who spent much of his career in France.
