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 Especially
in African religious art, figures are depicted in a static position. No
action is shown and usually images are restricted to single figures. If,
however, several figures are portrayed, this does not signify a group
of interacting people. Rather, they represent a series of single figures,
as opposed to a group in a strict, art-historical sense. The impression
of calm and peace is enhanced by the principle of symmetry and view enface.
The harmony of the artwork as a whole is remarkable, a harmony achieved
by the free combination of predetermined elements in a new form, rather
than a naturalistic reproduction of an object. In African art tradition
reality lies in its conception, not in visual perception. Its goal is
to create, not to copy.
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Figure of a king (Chibinda Ilunga)
Chokwe, Angola
19th century
acquired from Otto H. Schütt, 1880
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