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Painting depicting a violent conflict at the Lwena train station between soldiers with rifles and a group of figures armed with bows and arrows.

Katanga Troops on a Train at Lwena

Tshibumba Kanda Matulu

Tshibumba Kanda-Matulu (often referred to as TKM) was an artist most recognized for his recurring depictions of significant events in Congo’s modern history. In Congo, a market existed for paintings that conveyed specific stories as memory prompts, which were more highly valued than unique creations. TKM had a repertoire of scenes from the arrival of the first explorers to the area through the oppressive Belgian colonial occupation to post-colonial struggles, from which purchasers could select. TKM’s paintings reveal the brutality of Belgian colonialism and its legacy and have, in turn, influenced a tradition of Congolese history painting. His last works were dated 1981 and he has been unreachable since; historians now believe him to be no longer living. “Katanga Troops on a Train at Lwena” is a well-recorded composition within TKM’s oeuvre that depicts an event that took place on July 23, 1960, very soon after the Republic of Congo had gained independence from Belgium on June 30. Many of TKM’s paintings specifically focus on Katanga province, a region that became increasingly politicized during the 1960s and 1970s. Moïse Tshombe (backed by Belgian mining interests) declared the State of Katanga independent from the Republic of Congo on July 11. The Luba, a local indigenous group, were divided between supporting the secessionist movement and the established government. TKM described the scene at Lwena (Luena) station as follows: “Katanga soldiers are getting off the train. They are headed for the border, where they will meet the Luba who, in order to prevent them from entering their country, have cut the rails. So they start killing each other in that place. The Katangese are shooting, and they have support from planes” (Fabian, “Remembering the Present: Painting and Popular History in Zaire,” 111). The planes represent international intervention in the conflict.
Artist
Tshibumba Kanda Matulu
(Congolese, 1947 – ca. 1981)
Title
Katanga Troops on a Train at Lwena
Date
ca. late 1960s-early 1970s
Medium
Acrylic on repurposed grain sack
Dimensions
16 7/8 x 26 1/2 in. image
Credit
Gift of Sara Guyer and Scott Straus
Accession No.
2021.25.2
Classification
Paintings
Geography
Democratic Republic of Congo

Related

Likely between August 1973 and August 1975, sold by the artist to Crawford Young (Madison, WI); ca. 2014, gifted by Crawford Young to Scott Straus (Madison, WI); 2021, gifted to the Chazen Museum of Art

This painting depicts a violent conflict at a train station between soldiers with rifles and a group of figures armed with bows and arrows. A light blue train car dominates the center of the image, its white cars trailing into the background on the right side of the image. Marked with "BCK," "2301," and "KDL 2301," the train is occupied by soldiers in camouflage uniforms holding black rifles. To the left of the train tracks, a gray station building with a pointed green roof and a "LWENA" sign marks the apparent arrival point of the train. A small group of bare-chested figures wielding bows and arrows stands atop a raised platform beside the station. In front of the train, two soldiers in camouflage uniforms and red berets stand on the tracks, seemingly wounded by arrows protruding from their chests, with red blood spilling onto the tracks. On the right side of the tracks, more soldiers lie prone on the ground, firing their rifles at figures advancing from a grassy field on the right. These figures are bare-chested and wear only yellow shorts or white loincloths. Some flee from the gunfire, while others appear to have been wounded, red blood flowing from their bodies. The background features a gradient sky that transitions from orange and purple at the top to lighter yellow and pink tones near the horizon. Above, two camouflaged planes marked with “KAT” fly toward the horizon line. The yellow text "TRAIN DE LWENA" is painted across the bottom center of the artwork.

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