ABSTRACT
Tanner's first full year back in France was one of transition before he embarked on his career as a religious painter. He answered the call of the Salon of 1895 by showing three works, The Young Sabot Maker, Brittany Interior, and a pastel titled New Jersey Coast by Moonlight. Tanner must have been elated when he received his acceptance letter - another racial barrier had fallen and his sense of isolation eased. While Tanner continued to advance in France, his notoriety was not lost back home in Philadelphia, especially on the innovative photographer, William Nicholson Jennings. Tanner chose the well-known Old Testament story of how Daniel, a man of great faith and an obedient servant to God, was cast into a den of loins because he refused to renounce his faith and pray to the king of Babylon. When he completed Lazarus, Tanner was pleased enough with the results to bring it to Benjamin-Constant's home for inspection.
