André Fougeron, Martyred Spain 1937. Tate. © The estate of the André Fougeron.
11 rooms in Artist and Society
The works in this room find visual expression for the complex horrors of civil war
In times of war, art has long been a means of protesting against suffering and also of remembering the dead. The twentieth century was marked by a number of civil wars that set neighbours and families against one another. The Spanish Civil War of 1936–9 had a particularly powerful impact in Europe and the wider Spanish- speaking world to which exiles fled.
Mexican artist David Alfaro Siqueiros turned to abstraction to articulate his despair at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. By contrast, Peter de Francia’s The Execution of Beloyannis 1953–4 is rooted in realism but powerfully expressive, depicting a brutal killing in the aftermath of the Greek Civil War.
The process of decolonisation in the second half of the century was rarely peaceful and often marked by especial bitterness. Malangatana Ngwenya’s dense weave of images evokes his experience during the war of liberation from Portuguese rule in Mozambique. In the face of inhumanity, artists can bear witness and commemorate, bringing painful issues to the surface, both personally and publicly.
Curated by Matthew Gale
Peter de Francia, The Execution of Beloyannis &²Ô²ú²õ±è;1953–4
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artworks in Civil War
Bertina Lopes, My People 1968
La mia gente (translating as ‘My People’) is an oil painting on canvas that depicts a compact group of people. The blue tones of their skins, contrasting with the red colour of the background, evoke disease and death. Their facial expressions, either desolate or distressed, enhance the sense of suffering depicted. In the centre, a lifeless green body is lying on another, arms extended, while in the foreground, an emaciated and round-bellied young person is carried by someone above their head. As was common in Lopes’s early works, figures are delineated in black contours while raised hands and wide-open eyes figure prominently. The work starkly references poverty, malnutrition and the spectre of death, pervasive conditions of life in the artist’s home country of Mozambique under Portuguese colonial rule.
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artworks in Civil War
André Fougeron, Martyred Spain 1937
The Spanish Civil War marked a crucial political turning-point in the 1930s. General Franco’s rebellion against the elected left-wing government was seen as part of the wider threat posed by Fascism across Europe. Fougeron was among many Frenchmen who considered volunteering to fight in support of the Spanish government, but decided instead to devote his art to the cause. In Martyred Spain, the decaying body of a horse and a raped woman symbolise the innocent victims of a country devastated by conflict.
Gallery label, November 2015
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artworks in Civil War
André Fougeron, Massacre at Sakiet III 1958
The bombing of Sakiet by the French colonial government took place during the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962). It was an important decolonial war, securing Algeria’s freedom. On 8 February 1958, the French air force crossed the border into Tunisia. They attacked Sakiet Sidi Yousef, a village which the French government claimed was being used as a base by Algerian fighters. It resulted in the deaths of 68 civilians. Fougeron’s painting, completed a few months later, provoked controversy. The line of military boots at the top points to official French involvement in the massacre, something that was still under debate at the time. The war is now known for the French government’s brutal method, including its use of torture.
Gallery label, June 2021
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artworks in Civil War
Art in this room
Peter de Francia
The Execution of Beloyannis
1953–4
Bertina Lopes
My People
1968
André Fougeron
Martyred Spain
1937
André Fougeron
Massacre at Sakiet III
1958