Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Banjo Lesson, 1893

An African American Realist and student of Thomas Eakins, Tanner faced much racism in the U.S. which had a profound influence on his work.  Tanner painted this piece when he had come back to the U.S. for an African American Congress in Chicago (he had been living in Paris).  This is Tanner’s first major painting of African American life.  Here, Tanner presents a banjo lesson in a modest setting, an elderly man and small boy, likely possessing a familial connection, strum the banjo.  They are very focused, this lesson is a passing of knowledge orally rather than in written form, the banjo acting as a conduit of cultural knowledge.  Though likely a slave and kept illiterate, the man is able to pass on his musical talents.  Making music was a viable profession for African Americans at this time, yet Tanner’s depiction contrasts strongly with stereotypical depictions of banjo players, often grotesque exaggerated renderings.  Tanner is dignifying the often satirized subject by showing the child playing in a new style, showing his advanced skill at a young age.  Tanner kept the detail and light in the center of the canvas on the central figures, while his looser brushstrokes kept the surrounding space sparse.  His expressive light and shadow are reminiscent of Rembrandt giving the work a quasi-religious feel.

(image courtesy of wikipedia and the Hampton University Museum)