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The wide almond shaped eyes in ancient Ethiopian iconography symbolize what art historians call the ‘reversal gaze’ philosophy, which states that it is not only the viewers who observe the paintings; the paintings also observe the viewers.
The saints were painted in reversal gaze so as to hypnotize the onlooker, which also used what is known as the frontal technique. To avoid the reversal gaze and to depict sinful and devilish people, the painters used the profile technique by drawing only one eye.
These paintings can be seen in the many ancient churches and manuscripts of Ethiopia, including Gondar's Debrebirhan Selassie Church.
Moving forward to the 21st century, what do these characteristics mean to the art community? I visited the Ale Felegeselam Art School to find out.
Can they read the signs? Or like many classical thoughts interrupted by time, is there no connection to the traditional paintings? Many Ethiopian artists know the concepts of the western schools of thought, like abstract, realism, minimalism etc, without recognizing traditional Ethiopian elements. The school's curriculum has been criticized for being too Eurocentric.
The phasing out of traditional art is not only observed in art schools, churches famed for their traditional paintings are now incorporating the western styles.
In ancient times saints were painted as brown or black people, like, for example, in the Debrebirhan Selassie church, Gondar. Yet, the influence of western art is becoming more apparent. Nowadays it is common to see a Michael Angelo, Leonardo Da Vinci or Sandro Botticelli style of painting.
Even those paintings with traditional iconography are “modernized” in a western way when restored.
Why do not churches preserve these works as they were intended? Why aren't traditional Ethiopian methods used to replicate “modern” life?
Many reasons are given for the lack of continuity. Abebaw Ayalew, art history teacher at the Ale Felegeselam Fine Art and Design School, believes it is due to the centralization of the country's ruling system, the increasing influence from the outside world and the outbreak of the photography revolution.
When looking at the period from the 13th to the 19th century, according to Abebaw, there were no significant changes regarding painting techniques. There were only refinements.
The iconographic rules, conventions and principles of presentation were kept and passed from generation to generation. Painters knew how to draw in a flat style, not illusive, without a background and using only black, white, and the colors yellow, green, red and blue. Within these paintings a human face had three forms, Abebaw explains: two-thirds, frontal and profile, and each format symbolized different concepts and personality.
This started to fade away in the 1890s with the arrival of printed images from Egypt, Jerusalem, Greece and France. Yet this was not the first time such pictures had been introduced. The Jesuits in the 16th and 17th centuries had brought with them depictions of the Virgin Mary, which at the time were looked down upon. It was seen as a disgrace to put this imagery in churches.
These paintings had spiritual and sacred values that were only deemed worthy for churches. But after the 1890s the idea of having icon corners emerged, that is houses devoted to artwork.
Only the royals could visit these corners, and, according to Abebaw, they were not only for the iconography or panel paintings of the time; officials introduced imported pictures and reproductions.
The reign of Emperor Haile-Selassie I, says Abebaw, saw the centralization of administration, leading to many regional officials losing economic autonomy. This was critical as they were the main patrons of Ethiopian painting.
“Taking their economic autonomy meant there was no money for the patronage. They did not have the money to construct churches or to order painters to draw,” Abebaw told The Reporter.
For Abebew the central administration was a crucial factor in the interruption of the traditional styles, and it forced painters to come to Addis Ababa from different corners of the country. The artists now faced the option of doing portraits for the nobility, seeking employment as royal painters or undertaking folk art paintings (such as the Queen of Sheba) and selling them to tourists.
Even though the traditional style was losing popularity, the church would always be a home for these painters. However, the Derg regime set about stripping the land of the religious sector, and so the artists lost their creative space.
The question remains as to what happened to these traditional painters, since there was no continuity in the urban centers and no succession of patrons, especially those who had come to Addis in search of new opportunities.
Emperor Haile-Selassie employed royal portrait painters like Mezmur Zedawit or Maelaf, and there were those who survived selling folk art, such as postcards.
Under the monarchy painters forged a strong alliance with the church, designing buildings or painting for the nobility, but with the downfall of the last monarchical regime there were no institutions left to support them.
The artists were left with little space to show their work and pass on their heritage, and had to rely on oral lessons without a visual stimulus. Not only did churches fail to adequately preserve the ancient works; they embraced the western styles.
“The Ethiopian Orthodox Church did not fulfill its responsibility in preserving these paintings. The Christian iconography of the visual culture was not defined. Rather, it was engulfed in copying the western images,” says Abebaw
http://www.thereporterethiopia.com/index.php/living-and-the-arts/art/item/1462-ancient-art-forms-engulfed-by-the-western-wave
The wide almond shaped eyes in ancient Ethiopian iconography symbolize what art historians call the ‘reversal gaze’ philosophy, which states that it is not only the viewers who observe the paintings; the paintings also observe the viewers.
The saints were painted in reversal gaze so as to hypnotize the onlooker, which also used what is known as the frontal technique. To avoid the reversal gaze and to depict sinful and devilish people, the painters used the profile technique by drawing only one eye.
These paintings can be seen in the many ancient churches and manuscripts of Ethiopia, including Gondar's Debrebirhan Selassie Church.
Moving forward to the 21st century, what do these characteristics mean to the art community? I visited the Ale Felegeselam Art School to find out.
Can they read the signs? Or like many classical thoughts interrupted by time, is there no connection to the traditional paintings? Many Ethiopian artists know the concepts of the western schools of thought, like abstract, realism, minimalism etc, without recognizing traditional Ethiopian elements. The school's curriculum has been criticized for being too Eurocentric.
The phasing out of traditional art is not only observed in art schools, churches famed for their traditional paintings are now incorporating the western styles.
In ancient times saints were painted as brown or black people, like, for example, in the Debrebirhan Selassie church, Gondar. Yet, the influence of western art is becoming more apparent. Nowadays it is common to see a Michael Angelo, Leonardo Da Vinci or Sandro Botticelli style of painting.
Even those paintings with traditional iconography are “modernized” in a western way when restored.
Why do not churches preserve these works as they were intended? Why aren't traditional Ethiopian methods used to replicate “modern” life?
Many reasons are given for the lack of continuity. Abebaw Ayalew, art history teacher at the Ale Felegeselam Fine Art and Design School, believes it is due to the centralization of the country's ruling system, the increasing influence from the outside world and the outbreak of the photography revolution.
When looking at the period from the 13th to the 19th century, according to Abebaw, there were no significant changes regarding painting techniques. There were only refinements.
The iconographic rules, conventions and principles of presentation were kept and passed from generation to generation. Painters knew how to draw in a flat style, not illusive, without a background and using only black, white, and the colors yellow, green, red and blue. Within these paintings a human face had three forms, Abebaw explains: two-thirds, frontal and profile, and each format symbolized different concepts and personality.
This started to fade away in the 1890s with the arrival of printed images from Egypt, Jerusalem, Greece and France. Yet this was not the first time such pictures had been introduced. The Jesuits in the 16th and 17th centuries had brought with them depictions of the Virgin Mary, which at the time were looked down upon. It was seen as a disgrace to put this imagery in churches.
These paintings had spiritual and sacred values that were only deemed worthy for churches. But after the 1890s the idea of having icon corners emerged, that is houses devoted to artwork.
Only the royals could visit these corners, and, according to Abebaw, they were not only for the iconography or panel paintings of the time; officials introduced imported pictures and reproductions.
The reign of Emperor Haile-Selassie I, says Abebaw, saw the centralization of administration, leading to many regional officials losing economic autonomy. This was critical as they were the main patrons of Ethiopian painting.
“Taking their economic autonomy meant there was no money for the patronage. They did not have the money to construct churches or to order painters to draw,” Abebaw told The Reporter.
For Abebew the central administration was a crucial factor in the interruption of the traditional styles, and it forced painters to come to Addis Ababa from different corners of the country. The artists now faced the option of doing portraits for the nobility, seeking employment as royal painters or undertaking folk art paintings (such as the Queen of Sheba) and selling them to tourists.
Even though the traditional style was losing popularity, the church would always be a home for these painters. However, the Derg regime set about stripping the land of the religious sector, and so the artists lost their creative space.
The question remains as to what happened to these traditional painters, since there was no continuity in the urban centers and no succession of patrons, especially those who had come to Addis in search of new opportunities.
Emperor Haile-Selassie employed royal portrait painters like Mezmur Zedawit or Maelaf, and there were those who survived selling folk art, such as postcards.
Under the monarchy painters forged a strong alliance with the church, designing buildings or painting for the nobility, but with the downfall of the last monarchical regime there were no institutions left to support them.
The artists were left with little space to show their work and pass on their heritage, and had to rely on oral lessons without a visual stimulus. Not only did churches fail to adequately preserve the ancient works; they embraced the western styles.
“The Ethiopian Orthodox Church did not fulfill its responsibility in preserving these paintings. The Christian iconography of the visual culture was not defined. Rather, it was engulfed in copying the western images,” says Abebaw
http://www.thereporterethiopia.com/index.php/living-and-the-arts/art/item/1462-ancient-art-forms-engulfed-by-the-western-wave
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