Henry Ossawa Tanner's The Banjo Lesson creates emphasis through: All of these techniques: size and placement of the figures; directional lines of sight leading to a focal point; contrasting values of dark skin against a pale background; elimination of detail and bright colors in the background.
Full Answer
Where did Henry Tanner paint the Banjo Lesson?
Henry Tanner painted The Banjo Lesson in 1893 after a series of sketches he made while visiting the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina four years before.
What is the theme of the Banjo Lesson?
... In 1893 on a short return visit to the United States, Tanner painted his most famous work, The Banjo Lesson, while in Philadelphia. The painting shows an elderly black man teaching a boy, assumed to be his grandson, how to play the banjo. This deceptively simple-looking work explores several important themes.
Where did the Banjo Lesson come from?
The Banjo Lesson grew out of a set of photographs and illustrations (above) that Tanner made for the periodical Harper’s Young People in 1893.
Why does the boy hold the banjo with both hands?
The boy holds the banjo in both hands, his downward gaze a reflection of his focused concentration on his grandfather’s instructions.
How does Henry Ossawa Tanner's The Banjo Lesson creates emphasis?
Henry Ossawa Tanner's The Banjo Lesson creates emphasis through size and placement of the figures, as well as the elimination of detail and bright colors in the background. Another term for asymmetrical balance is informal balance.
What does Tanner emphasize in his painting The Banjo Lesson?
In The Banjo Lesson, Tanner's desire to show us his vision of the resilience, spiritual grace, and creative and intellectual promise of post-Civil War African-Americans is fully realized.
How does Henry Ossawa Tanner's the banjo?
The older man holds the banjo up gently with his left hand so that the boy is not encumbered by its weight, yet the staging shows us that the man wants the boy to come into the realization of the music and its rewards through his own intuition and hard work.
Where is The Banjo Lesson Henry Ossawa Tanner?
Hampton University MuseumThe Banjo Lesson / LocationThe Banjo Lesson (1893) by Henry Ossawa Tanner is housed at the Hampton University Museum, which is in the state of Virginia in the United States. Robert Curtis Ogden donated the painting in 1894 to the Hampton Institute, otherwise known as Hampton University.
What is Henry Ossawa Tanner known for?
Henry Ossawa Tanner, (born June 21, 1859, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.—died May 25, 1937, Paris, France), American painter who gained international acclaim for his depiction of landscapes and biblical themes.
What type of art is The Banjo Lesson?
PaintingThe Banjo Lesson / FormPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. Wikipedia
How did Henry Ossawa Tanner contribute to humanities?
Despite being one of the leading religious genre painters of his age, Henry Ossawa Tanner is best remembered for two paintings depicting domestic scenes of African American life and for being the first black artist to gain international fame.
How does the knowledge of the elements and principles of design inform the viewer?
How does the knowledge of the elements and principles of design inform the viewer? It allows the viewer to appreciate the act of seeing a work of art.
What design principle is based on repetition?
The repetition of elements of design creates unity within the work of art. Proportion is the feeling of unity created when all parts (sizes, amounts, or number) relate well with each other.
Why is the principle of variety used?
Variety is the principle of art that adds interest to an artwork. Variety works through juxtaposition and contrast. When an artist places different visual elements next to one another, he/she is using variety.
What medium was used for the Banjo Lesson?
PaintingThe Banjo Lesson / Form
What does symmetry in art often represent?
In this painting, the symmetry gives the painting not only a sense of balance, but also a sense of calm, stability, and formality. Notice in particular the way that the building and arches in the background are painted to make the work symmetrical.
Who Was Henry Ossawa Tanner?
Henry Ossawa Tanner was born on 21 June 1859, Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. He was known as one of the first African American artists with internatio...
Who Painted The Banjo Lesson Painting?
The Banjo Lesson (1893) was painted by the African American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner.
Where Is The Banjo Lesson Painting Now?
The Banjo Lesson (1893) by Henry Ossawa Tanner is housed at the Hampton University Museum, which is in the state of Virginia in the United States....
What Does The Banjo Lesson Painting Mean?
The Banjo Lesson (1893) painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner holds significant meaning regarding the way African Americans were portrayed during the 19t...
Artist Abstract: Who Was Henry Ossawa Tanner?
Henry Ossawa Tanner was born on 21 June 1859, Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. He was known as one of the first African American artists with international acclaim. He was given his middle name in honor of the anti-slavery town Osawatomie. Tanner studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and was taught by the American realist Thomas Eakins.
The Banjo Lesson (1893) by Henry Ossawa Tanner in Context
Henry Ossawa Tanner was an American Realist painter who painted in several genres and themes that ranged from landscapes, people, and religion. His training was bridged between America and Paris, which ultimately shaped and created his artistic oeuvre.
Formal Analysis: A Brief Compositional Overview
Below we discuss The Banjo Lesson painting in more detail and how this iconic Henry Ossawa Tanner artwork conveys a more nuanced portrayal of African Americans through the artistic styles of American Realism and traditional paintings.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Banjo Lesson (1893) was painted by the African American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner.
Where did Henry Tanner live after painting The Banjo Lesson?
After painting The Banjo Lesson and The Thankful Poor (above), Tanner moved back to Paris where he would remain for most of his life. Tanner felt that France was less encumbered with the baggage of racial prejudice towards people of color than the United States. “In America, I’m Henry Tanner, Negro artist, but in France, I’m ‘Monsieur Tanner, l’artiste américaine.‘” [1]
What is the lesson in the banjo?
In The Banjo Lesson, Tanner’s desire to show us his vision of the resilience, spiritual grace, and creative and intellectual promise of post-Civil War African-Americans is fully realized.
What is the significance of the Banjo Lesson and the Thankful Poor?
Both The Banjo Lesson and The Thankful Poor were remarkable achievements for Tanner—works that according to the art historian Judith Wilson, “invest their ordinary, underprivileged, Black subjects with a degree of dignity and self-possession that seems extraordinary for the times in which they were painted.”.
What instrument did Tanner play in the Civil War?
It is also important that the instrument that leads the boy towards enlightenment is the banjo, an instrument highly significant to African-American slave culture and the music of the American South. The banjo evolved from the gourd instruments of Africa and the West Indies and became integral to slave music throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
What was Tanner's spiritual solace?
This theme of spiritual solace that Tanner encountered in the paintings of French Realists like Millet resonated with his own upbringing as the son of a Methodist minister. He hoped to find a way of highlighting the dignity and grace of poor African-Americans in the manner that he had seen in France—an approach that would be radically different from stereotypical images of the overly servile “Uncle Tom” figure (named after the main character in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s iconic 1852 novel) that was familiar to Americans in countless advertisements (like this one, for Ayer’s Cathartic Pills [The Country Doctor], c. 1883) and popular magazines.
When was the banjo lesson made?
The Banjo Lesson grew out of a set of photographs and illustrations (above) that Tanner made for the periodical Harper’s Young People in 1893.
Where did Tanner live?
Though Tanner lived most of his life in France and became well known for his lush biblical paintings, The Banjo Lesson is his most famous work and the painting that has become emblematic with his oeuvre.
Who played the banjo in the late 19th century?
Blacks had long been stereotyped as entertainers in American culture, and the image of a black man playing the banjo appears throughout American art of the late 19th century. Thomas Worth, Willy Miller, Walter M. Dunk, Eastman Johnson, and Tanner’s teacher Thomas Eakins had tackled the subject in their artwork.
What is the meaning of Tanner's painting?
Tanner painted a sensitive reinterpretation. Instead of a generalization, the painting portrays a specific moment of human interaction. The two characters concentrate intently on the task before them. They seem to be oblivious to the rest of the world, which enlarges the sense of real contact and cooperation.
What is the name of the painting that Tanner painted?
In 1893 on a short return visit to the United States, Tanner painted his most famous work, The Banjo Lesson, while in Philadelphia. The painting shows an elderly black man teaching a boy, assumed to be his grandson, how to play the banjo.
What is Henry Tanner's best known work?
Benjamin Tanner, Henry Tanner attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia where he studied with an artist named Thomas Eakins. The style he learned from Eakins is known as realistic. Tanner’s best-known work is “The Banjo Lesson,” which reflects black life on the plantations. This picture glows with warmth and dramatic contrasts between dark and light colors. We used “The Banjo Lesson” to discuss art terms of “mood,” “detail,” and “subject.” The children created a crayon resist drawing of a special time in their lives with a special adult.
Where was Henry Tanner born?
Henry Tanner was born in Philadelphia in 1859. One day when Henry and his father where out walking in the park, they came across an artist painting a landscape. Henry decided right then that he wanted to paint. His mother gave him 15 cents for brushes and paint. When he was older, Henry attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia where he studied with an artist named Thomas Eakins. The style he learned from Eakins is known as realistic.