Banjo Lesson

Banjo Lesson
Henry Ossawa Tanner
African American
1893
Realism

This piece by Henry O. Turner portrays an elderly African American teaching an African American boy how to play the banjo. It is a perfect representation of art because it is a perfect example of realism. The artist is clearly trying to show what African American life was like when slavery was still in effect. The elderly man has to have patients with the young boy and that is what slavery was like for the African Americans. They had a life of small simple pleasures, music being one of them. I enjoyed viewing this painting because of it's simplicity and how it depicts the way slaves tried to enjoy their free time. It is a part of our history to see how they were mistreated and this painting showed how they were trying to enjoy life through something such as music. Music was a way of helping them cope with their hard life and this painting is a perfect example of how their heritage passed down the tradition of music. The banjo brought join into their lives where pain was eased when listening to the sounds played by this specific instrument during that time period.