Visual art produced from Harlem Renaissance

When it comes to movements around the world, art movements don’t fail to inspire new work. The Harlem Renaissance was a movement in Harlem, New York of social and artistic change. There were artists who stood out in the African-American movement in the 1920s along with their artwork that was produced and later inspired new pieces in the artistic world.

• Man In Vest

“Man In Vest”  is a painting created by William Johnson in 1939-1940. His style is an oil painting on a canvas. The artwork consists of an African-American man wearing a black vest, sitting on a red chair. Johnson finished off the painting with texture and a yellow-green background. Johnson’s “Man In Vest,” portrays the bright colors artwork this movement is known for.

• Café

This painting, “Café,” is another created by William Johnson in 1939-1940. It is another one of his oil paintings. In this art piece, he shows a man and a woman sitting at a table together with drinks in front of them. Johnson once again shows the multi-colorful design in this painting.

• Self Portrait

Another famous painting “Self Portrait” is created by Jacob Lawrence in 1970. This painting consists of watercolors, paper, Gouache and Tempera. Gouache is a type of painting where the artist takes opaque pigments and grinds them in water, creating a thicker glue-like substance to paint with. Tempera is a way of painting where pigments are split up and put into a thicker liquid and mixed with water. The painting has a self-portrait of Lawrence and a colorful detailed background.

• Songs Of My People

Music was Luther E. Vann’s contribution to the Harlem Renaissance movement. Vann’s song “Songs Of My People” was composed in 2011-2012. Although the song wasn’t created in the 1920s during the heart of the movement, this song is well-known because it is inspired by the work made in 1920.