Henry Ossawa Tanner's The Banjo Lesson

Henry Ossawa Tanner created The Banjo Lesson in 1893, using oil on canvas. There are two subjects in the painting, one is an elderly man and the other is a young boy. The subjects symbolize a grandfather teaching his grandson to play the banjo. The painting is currently being exhibited at the Hampton University Museum in Hampton, VA. and the size of it is 49 x 35.5 inches. The Banjo Lesson is composed of various lines, shapes and colors to unify the composition.
The painting caught my attention due to the message I received when I first laid eyes upon it. It illustrates a wise old man teaching an eager to learn young boy. I have been fortunate enough to have my very own replica of this painting in my bedroom and I have spent countless hours

looking at the details in the painting. My interpretation of what the artist was trying to say is that the older generation should teach the newer generation and as a result the young can become even more successful than the last.

The passing down of history and experience from one generation to another is what makes the painting so interesting to me.
The painting is presented within the small boundaries of a log cabin. Semi- slumped and seated, the elderly man is looking down at the banjo while the young boy is seated upon his lap helping the old man hold onto the banjo. The expression on the face of the older gentleman looks as if he is serious-minded in teaching the boy how to play the banjo. Correspondingly, the boy is looking down at the instrument and has a look of determination to learn.
The older man has the base of the instrument resting on his left hand to prevent the boy from feeling the full weight if the banjo. The elder man is using his right hand to either keep the banjo in place or to assist the boy with changing the tune of the music. The floor is made of wooden planks and has a few objects thrown onto it. Towards the foreground of the painting, on the far-right side, there is a metal water pitcher and a pot sitting upon the floor. A little farther back towards the middle right side, is a black cast iron skillet resting on the floor. The brightest portion of light is

emanating from the far-right side of the painting and the colors of the light coupled with the cookware on the floor makes one know that there is an area used for cooking right outside the edge of the painting. There is also something laying on the floor between the subjects’ feet and the cookware that looks like firewood. Right behind the elderly man towards the left of the picture is a piece of clothing or a very worn looking hat laying in a small bundle. Behind the hat is a chair situated in the left corner of the room. The chair has a brownish shirt or jacket thrown over it. Beside the corner chair is a darker area of the painting. There is something black that could be laying against the wall. The object has an organic shape and looks similar to the shape of an umbrella that is unfastened, but not opened fully. Above that is a blurry looking shelf that could have a few glass jars on it. The wall the shelf is attached to is either gray or blue. When the eyes move from the left to the right of the painting, the wall lightens up with white and a muted tone of yellow. In the lighted area of the wall is two blurry photos that are attached to the wall. Beneath the wall is a table or a long rectangular cabinet with a white cloth draped over 3/4th of it. The table cloth has shades of yellow that looks like it is the reflection of a fire on the white cloth. On top of the table is a white ceramic water pitcher, a white shallow bowl and small tan or brown colored bag. There is also a shadow of the water pitcher on the wall behind the pitcher.
Tanner composed an exciting painting using the rule of thirds.

The subject’s heads and the base of the banjo are positioned in the center section of the rectangle with both subjects looking downward at the instrument. The top of the banjo is pointing towards the right rectangle and leads the viewers’ eyes to the right side of the composition. Tanner used two different light sources that meet in the middle of the painting. To the right side of the painting there’s a warm light glowing from a fire that is just outside of the paintings view. For the most part, the artist used mostly earth tone colors in the painting. The two chairs, the floor, the cooking utensils, the coat thrown over the chair, the subjects and their clothing are all in various shades of brown and black. The exceptions are the use of white, yellow, gray and blue that are all used as sources of light. A warm light is washing over the young boy along with a stroke of white that streaks across his forehead. Most of the white and pale yellow (glow from a fire) is brightly illuminated to the right side of the painting while simultaneously throwing darkness onto the left side and front of the painting. Also to the left side of the painting, there are cooler colors of gray and blue that can be seen submerging the older man, the walls on the left side of the painting and in the shadows from objects in the entire background of the painting. In the very front of the painting, the light source is barely seen. The color

of the floor is darker and makes the two sources of light look as if it is putting a spotlight on the subjects. The wooden floors lighten up from the artist’s use of light and forms an almost perfect geometric shape of light around the subjects.
Tanner used various lines throughout the composition. One example of his use of contoured lines can be seen in the edge of the table. Tanner also used actual lines all over the composition that are vertical, horizontal and diagonal. These types of lines can be seen in the floor, the banjo, the chair, the wall, the subjects, etc. The painting is asymmetrically balanced with the use of dark and light colors on either side of the painting. The vertical positioning of the subjects, the back of the chair with the coat thrown over it and the thick and thin vertical lines in the left-hand corner of the painting are in contrast with the horizontal lines seen in the table.
Textures are seen throughout the painting as well. The lines in the clothing of the elderly man looks like corduroy fabric and gives it texture. The subjects, the banjo and the cooking utensils are more emphasized than other objects in the painting.
I have the same understanding of the painting as I did when I first laid eyes upon it. The painting represents elders teaching the younger generation valuable information they can pass onto other generations. The size of the room and its furnishings tells that the family is poor and has only the basic things they need for survival. The attitude of the subjects is of a serious nature so that tells one that teaching and learning were important to the individuals. The artist did a beautiful job of using light and symbolism to tell a story.