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The Banjo Lesson, was created in 1893 by Henry Ossawa Tanner.“The Banjo Lesson,” reflects black life on the plantations. Debunking the entrenched derogatory stereotype of African American propagated by minstrel shows, was the purpose behind this artwork. Blacks had long been stereotyped as entertainers in American culture, and the image of a black man playing the banjo appears throughout American art of the the late 19 century. The content of this artwork shows an elderly black man teaching a boy, assumed to be his grandson, how to play the banjo. We used “The Banjo Lesson” to discuss art terms of “mood,” “detail,” and “subject.” The children created a crayon resist drawing of a special time in their lives with a special adult.The context of this photo, while walking in the park in Philadelphia with his father, Henry saw an artist painting a landscape, he decided right then that he wanted to be an artist. Henry’s mother gave him the money that he needed to buy the bushes and paint. Sociohistorical analysis plays a role in this photo because, as you can see he is taking quality time to teach the child his passion for music.Tanner was produced at a time in which poor southern blacks, still scared by slavery, are presented with unsentimental dignity.The reason why visual analysis plays a role in The Banjo lesson because, it seen to have an unusual use if color and noble depiction. The light and color of the piece echo the impressionist.

http://www.cusd80.com/cms/lib6/AZ01001175/Centricity/Domain/1588/Tanner%20-%20The%20Banjo%20Lesson.pdf

https://www.wikiart.org/en/henry-ossawa-tanner/the-banjo-lesson-1893