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

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

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