The Banjo Lesson: Painting Analysis
The artwork I chose is the painting “The Banjo Lesson” by Henry Ossawa Tanner on page 337 of our textbook. This painting portrays a man giving a young male child a lesson of playing the banjo. The little boy is sitting on the man’s lap in a chair while the man shows him where to position his hands and fingers to play. The painting was done in 1893, and the way people lived during that period can be seen in the painting. The room looks to be dimly lit by a candle or fire on the right side and natural lighting on the left side. While old pots and pans cover the floor and table in the background, everything in the room is made to be centered around the man and boy.
Henry uses darker colors and smooth brushstrokes to give the painting a …show more content…
very warm, easy feeling. There are many different shapes present, so no real uniformity is shown throughout. As previously mention, the man and child are the focal point of the painting. Mr. Tanner makes this possible by painting them with more defined lines than the objects surrounding them. The objects in the rear of the scene, such as the paintings on the wall, are barely visible as to not take the focus from the banjo lesson being given.
If there is any movement trying to be conveying in the painting, it is the tender touch of the man with the child on the banjo. I also get the sense of a gentle flicker from the light source on the right side of the painting. That light becomes dimmer toward the left side of the painting where the natural light takes over. Again, the dim lighting, sense of family between the man and child, darker colors, and lack of movement give the painting a very warm feeling.
Like the man and child in the painting, Henry Ossawa Tanner was also an African American. He made this painting during a time in America where African Americans were still oppressed. At the time there were also many other paintings showing African Americans playing banjos, but portraying them more as entertainers. Instead of random entertainers, Henry gives the banjo players in his painting more of a human feel that the viewer can connect to. Henry wanted to stray from the stereotypical African American entertainer subject.
The second work I chose is “The Boating Party” by Mary Cassatt on page 343 of our textbook.
This painting, like the first, shows an adult with a child in an adult’s lap. This painting contains two adults in a boat, a man and a woman, with a baby in the woman’s lap; it looks to be a family outing with husband, wife, and child. The boat is in the middle of a lake on a nice, sunny day and they look to be enjoying themselves. Mary uses vibrant colors and sharp lines to give the painting a very bold look.
Again, both paintings illustrate an adult and a child and give you the sense of family togetherness by showing them involved in an activity together. I get the sense of a loving time shared between family members that will create lifetime memories. Both paintings were also started in 1893 and render a lifestyle from the same period. They are also extremely close in size and the medium for both is the same, oil on canvas.
But while very similar, they also have many distinct differences. Mr. Tanner’s painting is darker and in my opinion more detailed while Ms. Cassatt’s painting is brighter and less detailed. The banjo lesson is being given inside, but the boat ride is taking place outside. Mary’s painting also gives more of a sense of movement within the waves of the water. The banjo players are dressed in more comfortable clothing while the boaters are dressed more formally. This probably has a lot to do with the time the paintings were done and the difference in social
status of the subjects. In conclusion, after thoroughly examining both pieces, I believe they are both equally successful pieces of art. Being that both paintings contained many of the same similarities; it seems fair to say that they were, more than likely, critiqued along the same guidelines. Concerning the feelings that these two paintings brought to me, the most evident is the feeling of warmth and happiness. It seems that the implied message, for both pieces, is the gratitude of family; which is something I strongly believe in. All-in-all, I really enjoyed both pieces of art, as well as the content that the author intended to portray.
Henry uses darker colors and smooth brushstrokes to give the painting a …show more content…
very warm, easy feeling. There are many different shapes present, so no real uniformity is shown throughout. As previously mention, the man and child are the focal point of the painting. Mr. Tanner makes this possible by painting them with more defined lines than the objects surrounding them. The objects in the rear of the scene, such as the paintings on the wall, are barely visible as to not take the focus from the banjo lesson being given.
If there is any movement trying to be conveying in the painting, it is the tender touch of the man with the child on the banjo. I also get the sense of a gentle flicker from the light source on the right side of the painting. That light becomes dimmer toward the left side of the painting where the natural light takes over. Again, the dim lighting, sense of family between the man and child, darker colors, and lack of movement give the painting a very warm feeling.
Like the man and child in the painting, Henry Ossawa Tanner was also an African American. He made this painting during a time in America where African Americans were still oppressed. At the time there were also many other paintings showing African Americans playing banjos, but portraying them more as entertainers. Instead of random entertainers, Henry gives the banjo players in his painting more of a human feel that the viewer can connect to. Henry wanted to stray from the stereotypical African American entertainer subject.
The second work I chose is “The Boating Party” by Mary Cassatt on page 343 of our textbook.
This painting, like the first, shows an adult with a child in an adult’s lap. This painting contains two adults in a boat, a man and a woman, with a baby in the woman’s lap; it looks to be a family outing with husband, wife, and child. The boat is in the middle of a lake on a nice, sunny day and they look to be enjoying themselves. Mary uses vibrant colors and sharp lines to give the painting a very bold look.
Again, both paintings illustrate an adult and a child and give you the sense of family togetherness by showing them involved in an activity together. I get the sense of a loving time shared between family members that will create lifetime memories. Both paintings were also started in 1893 and render a lifestyle from the same period. They are also extremely close in size and the medium for both is the same, oil on canvas.
But while very similar, they also have many distinct differences. Mr. Tanner’s painting is darker and in my opinion more detailed while Ms. Cassatt’s painting is brighter and less detailed. The banjo lesson is being given inside, but the boat ride is taking place outside. Mary’s painting also gives more of a sense of movement within the waves of the water. The banjo players are dressed in more comfortable clothing while the boaters are dressed more formally. This probably has a lot to do with the time the paintings were done and the difference in social
status of the subjects. In conclusion, after thoroughly examining both pieces, I believe they are both equally successful pieces of art. Being that both paintings contained many of the same similarities; it seems fair to say that they were, more than likely, critiqued along the same guidelines. Concerning the feelings that these two paintings brought to me, the most evident is the feeling of warmth and happiness. It seems that the implied message, for both pieces, is the gratitude of family; which is something I strongly believe in. All-in-all, I really enjoyed both pieces of art, as well as the content that the author intended to portray.