The artwork titled “Angels Appearing before the Shepherds,” created by Henry Ossawa Tanner in 1911, belongs to the Symbolism art movement and falls under the genre of religious painting. This magnificent piece is housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC, US.
In the artwork, Tanner masterfully depicts an ethereal scene where the luminous figures of angels appear before humble shepherds. The painting is characterized by its use of deep, evocative blues and purples, creating a dreamlike atmosphere that underscores the supernatural event. The angels are depicted as ghostly and nearly transparent, conveying their divine origin, while the shepherds, rendered with more solidity and light, gather on the right bottom part of the painting, overcome with a mixture of awe and reverence. The overall composition, with its dramatic use of light and shadow, effectively captures the mystical and sacred nature of this biblical moment.