DOM, Vie de Famille, African painting, circa 1950

Family life around the hut. Oil on chipboard. Belgian congo, signed by dom around 1950. Knife painting. Unframed. Dom is a prolific painter, passionate about knife painting. It depicts traditional african culture on a daily basis. His paintings tell the calm of vulnerable populations who aspire to live with dignity thanks to their work. Whether or not conformity to nature is a basic principle, the painters of the belgian congo were called upon by their sponsors to release a creative energy that was supposed to have been preserved, even in large cities, from any contact with other forms of art existing in the world. The knife is a kind of flexible steel trowel, it allows a painting that, by its reliefs, catches the light and gives life to the painting. Painting with a knife allows the painter to develop a personal and powerful style. Painting textures, but also gestural painting, knife painting also allows a very abstract approach to the subject, a simple suggestion of things while remaining figurative. Democratic republic of the congo. 20th century, around 1950.