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…
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
Henry uses darker colors and smooth brushstrokes to give the painting a …show more content…
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