Colonie Belge 1885-1959

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. His paintings reveal the brutality of Belgian colonialism and its legacy and have, in turn, influenced a tradition of Congolese history painting. “Colonie Belge 1885-1959” was formerly in the collection of UW–Madison professor emeritus Crawford Young. Young collected many works from the artist while in Africa and wrote an article on his work. In this article, he described this painting: “a text of oppression: the human agents of the state impose their authority by force (the up-raised whip), extract often unremunerated labor from their subjects (gendarmes marching prisoners bearing the burden of the corvée-based ‘public works’ department (T.P.M. emblazoned on the pot)… Metaphorically, the state is a gigantic penitentiary: civil society is a prostrate prisoner.”