"Flight into Egypt" by African American Painter Henry Ossawa Tanner

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Henry Ossawa Tanner's "Flight Into Egypt" (1923)

"Flight into Egypt" by African American painter Henry Ossawa Tanner is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. According the to Met's website, the scene "depicts the Holy Family's clandestine evasion of King Herod's assassins (Matthew 2:12–14), Tanner's favorite biblical story. It expresses his sensitivity to issues of personal freedom, escape from persecution, and migrations of African-Americans from the South to the North. The painting, which reveals a concern for human emotions and an awareness of the mystical meanings of biblical narratives, also manifests Tanner's affliliation with contemporary Symbolism and the religious revival that occurred in response to challenges of the modern era." 

Thought for Today: What your favorite biblical story?