The cultural and socio-religious factors, which shape the varied histories of Eastern African modernism in the second half of the 20th century, are heterogeneous and complex. Pre-colonial traditions of making art and historic inner-African intercultural relations play a major role throughout the evolution of modernist art in Ethiopia. Historical intersections are part of the complex cultural matrix that shaped the development of modernism and modern art in Ethiopia and its resonances beyond the region. Since the beginning of the nineteenth century, independent Ethiopia went through internal and external conflicts that either aimed at building centralised power or intended to maintain sovereignty, respectively. Ethiopia’s triumph over colonial Italy at the Battle of Adwa in 1896 is widely perceived as an early flagship victory over colonialism. But

Consequently, coloniality remains a core notion of the modernisation pursued by Emperor Tewodros and his successor Menelik II (1844-1913) and it is an aspect of the emergence of modernism in Ethiopia. Efforts to build a strong unified nation-state and to ready the country to withstand the inevitable invasion of European colonialists were continued and strengthened by Yohannes IV (1837-1889). Menelik II (1844-1913) completed the emperor’s legacy, building on his predecessor’s diplomatic relations with European nations while adapting their “trajectorism”, a conflation of rapid technological developments with cultural modernism, to suit Ethiopian nationalism. Menelik II sent artists and scholars to Europe. Afewerk Gebre Eyesus (1867-1939) was sent to Florence, Italy in 1887 and Azmari Tesema Eshete (1876-1964) studied car mechanics and recorded national music on the just commercialised 2-side Shellac Records in Berlin, Germany in 1897 while continuing his work as an artist. 

The specific socio-political context of imperial Ethiopia as an uncolonised African state shaped art education and artistic modernization in the early 20th century. The central focus is on the role artists played in the development of Ethiopian nation-state narratives. Many artists of Ethiopia embraced the modernist project for the nation and sought ways to be part of the country’s journey. After joining the League of Nations in 1923, Benito Musselini’s invasion saw Emperor Haile Selassie I leave for temporary exile from 1936- 1941. However, after his return the emperor immediately resumed massive modernization projects using education as a conduit. [FIG 02] Art became a vehicle for the promotion of these projects to the general public.  Artists were engaged to create works, which would amplify the emperor’s advocacy for a modern Ethiopian nation with a keen focus on African unity and Pan-Africanism. 

Achamyeleh states: Art played a major role in signifying and symbolically representing the meaning of nationhood, independence, the history of the colonial legacy and the new dreams and aspirations of the people. Artists were called upon to illustrate these ideas from the well of a rich and vast heritage, and many Pan-Africanist artists were at the forefront in the creation and celebration of the independence of their nations.

Emperor Haile Selassie I was strongly invested in art and commissioned artists like Afewerk Tekle to produce works to spearhead a patriotic artistic movement of stylized figuration [FIG 03]. Tekle’s large stained glass works ‘The Struggle and Aspiration of the African People’ is a prominent piece. Tekle continued producing works on this subject even after the modernising period came to an end [FIGs 04 and 05]. Meanwhile, modernist works, which reflected far more critically on the various societal issues of the country were also produced [FIG 06]. Gebrekristos Desta and Eshetu Tiruneh were among the artists who exposed the outrageous famine of 1975.

This second term will examine the role of continuing Ethiopian artistic traditions as an integral aspect of the national imagination and the rise of modernism. Since the 1900s artists who were practising under the auspices of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church were developing artworks in a stylized naturalism, which scholars refer to as “Ethiopian Traditional Art” [FIG 07]. These works focused on ethnocentric traditional, cultural and historical themes [see Figs 01, 02 and 03], for example Assefa Mengistu’s work.

This second term will examine the role of continuing Ethiopian artistic traditions as an integral aspect of the national imagination and the rise of modernism. Since the 1900s artists who were practising under the auspices of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church were developing artworks in a stylized naturalism, which scholars refer to as “Ethiopian Traditional Art” [FIG 07]. These works focused on ethnocentric traditional, cultural and historical themes [see Figs 01, 02 and 03], for example Assefa Mengistu’s work. 

The painting “The Downfall of Gragn Ahmed” illustrates the last and lost battle of the legendary Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi (1506 – 1543) of the Islamic Sultanate of Adal from Eastern Ethiopia who conquered the Christian Highland Kingdom of Ethiopia [FIG 08].

These “folkloric” works were also favoured and continued by some artists, who received a formal art education from the 1960s to the 1980s and to the present day [FIG 09].

The Orthodox Tewahido Church of Ethiopia has a long-standing tradition of art making. Although it dates back to the 4th century, accounts indicate that the oldest surviving works were created in the 12th century. The Tewahido Church tradition has continued for centuries with varied stylistic developments subdivided by researchers into periods. This includes the Byzantine, Coptic, Syrian and Greek traditions influencing religious art from the 14th to the 18th centuries [FIG 10]. The person usually in charge of making devotional paintings in the Orthodox Tewahido Church of Ethiopia is called a Debtera, a priest-craftsman specialising in manuscripts, mural painting, astrology, plant medicine, magic scrolls and other religious and mystic knowledge.

Debteras are trained within the creed of the church and are anonymous artists who create religious artistic objects and church paintings in Ethiopia. Yet, the Debteras can also act independently and practise their métier outside of the religious settings. But this is not condoned by the church. Believers and people who wish to be healed from a spiritual or physical disease as well as anyone who seeks to solve worldly and material challenges of any kind could approach the Debteras. The Debteras then create a personalised healing scroll made using symbols, images, manuscripts, vines, etc. on goat skin parchment with pigments from rocks, leaves and flowers of plants. The scrolls are usually the height of the person ordering it. In addition to the anonymous practice of the Debteras, a genre named Telsem Art, often referred to as Ethiopian Talismanic Art, began to emerge.

In addition to the anonymous practice of the Debteras, a genre named Telsem Art, often referred to as Ethiopian Talismanic Art, began to emerge.

However, Telsem artists continually produce work, regardless of whether individuals commission their pieces or not. Telsem artists also use modern art materials like oil, acrylic and canvas. The practitioners of Telsem Art are either themselves trained under the church’s dogma with a priesthood status called Merigeta or mentored by selected family members from early childhood. Today contemporary Ethiopian artists with a more theoretical knowledge of the church’s doctrine have been practising Telsem for the past few decades. 

Among early pioneers and those who advanced the genre of Telsem Art are Gedewon Makonnen (1939–1995) and Gera Mewi Mezgebu (1941-2000) [FIGs 11 and 12]. Both artists are represented in international museum collections.  They began exhibiting their work in the 1980s, with their work being featured in Magiciens de la Terre at The Centre Pompidou in 1989 and continuing to be exhibited in the contemporary era with Henok Melkamzer’s exhibition at the Sharjah Art Foundation in UAE in 2024. 

In the eighteenth-century, kings, queens and noble patrons began to feature in Ethiopian Tewahedo Church paintings. The artist and art historian Achamyeleh Debela states: “Early Ethiopian painters initially depicted figures and events of the Old and New Testaments and then the stories of the saints. It was not until the beginning of the 18th century that kings and nobility started to appear on the same stage with biblical figures and saints. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, patronage of emperors and nobility increased so that the church was no longer the sole or primary patron of artists”. This was a very important development in the history of modern art in Ethiopia. Because of the growing interest in art among the nobility, Emperor Menelik II began to send trained artists to work in the Tewahido Church.

Neither Afewerk Gebre Eyesus, who went to Florence in 1887, and Tesema Eshete, who travelled to Berlin in 1897, can be considered as major figures in the history of Ethiopian art during that period, but they returned to Ethiopia with an awareness of modern art practices in the West.

Agegnehu Engida (1905-1950) is one of the artists who continued his practice after studying art in Paris from 1926-1933 [FIG 13]. In 1941, Agegnehu became the assistant director of Ethiopia’s new Department of Fine Arts in the Ministry of Education and Fine Arts.

A second parallel development in the early 1900s revolved around a group of artists who began to practise commercially outside of the auspices of the Tewahedo Church, although their stylistic origins can be traced back to the Church tradition. These artists began to sell their works around the old city centres of Addis Ababa [FIG 14].

These artworks are usually known as Ethiopian Traditional Art because of the works’ depiction of folktales and historic events; mainly the battle of Adwa, day-to-day activities and religious and traditional ceremonies. Artists like Zerihun Yetmgeta, Worku Goshu, Girmay Hiwot are among the modernist artists of Ethiopia who adopted some of these approaches and styles by blending it with the modern techniques which they acquired in their formal art education.

The second term addresses how modernization processes can be linked to Ethiopia’s trade and diplomatic links with European colonists, not just in the short period of Italian occupation but as part of a wider economic strategy.  One of the significant areas of study in this segment will be discussing how the encounter with the cultural norms of coloniality are a contributory factor in shaping Ethiopia’s modernism. The efforts to modernise Ethiopia and strengthen its sovereignty by Emperors Tewodros and Menelik II were continued by Emperor Haile Selassie I (1892-1975) whose reign was characterised by numerous ambitious modernization projects which relied on cooperation with other continental African nations, America and Japan and complex negotiations for equity with Europe. These projects were interrupted by the Italian occupation under Benito Mussolini in 1933, which Haile Selassie spent in exile in Britain. In 1941, Italy was defeated by the Ethiopian resistance with the external assistance of the British army. On May 5, 1941 Haile Selassie I returned from his exile in Bath, England and reactivated his modernisation programs. 

The following two decades marked a new era in the country’s history. From the mid-1950s, Haile Selassie I advocated for the independence of colonised African countries in various ways. Along with other African leaders, Haile Selassie I established the Organization of African Unity in 1963 and played a great role in the development of Pan-Africanism. Education was promoted as pivotal to successful national progress. The emperor founded the first institution for higher education, Addis Ababa University, then named Haile Selassie I University College in March 20, 1950 and the first art school, Addis Ababa Fine Art School in 1957, now called the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design named after the founder Alle Felegeselam Hiruy (1924-2016), who was a modern traditionalist artist. Alle Felegeselam Hiruy studied at the Chicago School of Fine Arts in the United States with a scholarship from Emperor Haile Selassie and graduated in 1954. He stems from a long line of Ethiopian traditionalist painters, who were working under the auspices of the Ethiopian church. 

The post-imperial artistic developments and political entanglements during the Derg military rule 1974-1991 and the subsequent EPRDF regimes mean that Ethiopian concepts of Modernism evolve into artistic collectives right into the contemporary. After the 1974 student revolution, a military junta named the Derg ruled Ethiopia until 1991. This regime, which overthrew the imperial power of Haile Selassie I forcibly introduced Socialism to Ethiopia. Art was mainly used to mobilise people and to disseminate propaganda [FIG 16]. Younger generations of artists who were educated by the pioneer modernists of Ethiopia were sent to the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries to further their studies in the arts [FIG 17].

 Artists like Afewerk Tekle who had compassionately advocated the visions of the earlier regimes of Haile Selassie were coerced to make work for the government. Even Gebrekristos Desta had to create works that appeal to Derg proletariat ideologies [FIG 18].

Following his return from the United States in 1954, Ale Felegeselam Heruy worked to establish the Addis Ababa Fine Art School under the patronage of Emperor Haile Selassie I [FIGs 19,20 and 21]. The establishment of the school as an institution aimed to foster modern art education and promote the study of modernism in Ethiopia. Though the model and inspiration for the school could be critically discussed, it became a hub where Ethiopian modernism was conceptualised and practised. The School’s role in fostering experimentation as well as the incorporation of tradition as a core part of artmaking in Ethiopia could be singled out as the hallmark of Ethiopian modernism originating from the School. Andreas Eshete states:

Consequently, the school credo was to blend modernist educational practices combined with the maintenance of traditions. Additionally, with the expansion of modern education in Ethiopia, the artistic intelligentsia became an important driver in the modernisation of the country. While admitting the lack of precise interplay between the Student Movement and artistic movements in the 1960s and 70s; Andreas Eshete considers the uniqueness of Ethiopia’s modernity and explores the connected art and student movements as crucial to modernism in Ethiopia:

Nonetheless, the sensibility of modernism vividly exemplified essential virtues of modernity: individuality, freedom, bold exploration of novel possibilities and a robust worldliness. Even though it may not have prompted change in the institutions and practices of the practical world, Ethiopian modernism furnished a powerful expression of the ethos of modernity. 

This context helps to better position Skunder Boghossian’s attempt to amalgamate notions inherent in the traditions of making art in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido church with his idiosyncratic style steeped in tradition. It also allows us to understand the experimentations in the practice of Gebrekristos Desta, who vigorously introduced into his works a neoteric approach particular to the tradition of making art in Ethiopia. Artists like Desta and Boghossian who greatly influenced generations of Ethiopian artists could refine their ideals of modernism while teaching at the Alle School of Fine Arts. To illustrate the interplay of heterogeneous influences in the works of Ethiopian modernist artists, we are providing a brief sketch of the works of some major emblematic artists from the period

Scholarship on Ethiopian modernism, however slim, allows us to single out two complementary approaches. In her seminal book Modernist Art in Ethiopia, Elizabeth W. Giorgis puts coloniality at the centre of her analysis of the sources of Ethiopian modernism:“Ethiopian modernity and modernism are constitutive of the larger political and ideological history of modernity”. Colonial history impacted on the type relations that Ethiopia had maintained with colonial powers of the time, regardless of the fact that Ethiopia was not colonised. The encounters and relations Ethiopia had with colonialists, prompted its leaders to develop some sort of desire to modernise the country as well as to maintain its sovereignty. Yet, Giorgis argues that coloniality epitomises modernity and that such an embodiment determines the non-West as its antithesis. She explores “how the central issues of coloniality were translated, transformed, and adapted in the making of Ethiopian modernity and modernism” through the practices of artists like Skunder Boghossian, who she saw as crucial to understanding the critical questions of coloniality [FIG 22]. Thus, Dr. Giorgis puts coloniality at the centre of the modernist evolution of visual arts in Ethiopia by exploring the works of certain Ethiopian modernists. We will address the issue by tracing the evolution of the most outstanding modernist artists in Ethiopia using this lens as well as exploring other approaches to the examination of Ethiopian modernism. 

On the other hand, Esseye Gebre-Medhin, an Ethiopian art historian emphasises indigenous roots of the modernist artistic tradition in Ethiopia. Elaborating on the distinction between Ethiopian and Western modernist art, he states: “The use of the term modernity and modernism [when discussing Ethiopia’s modern art] does not represent the industrial world particularly the modernity typical to the West. Modern art in Ethiopia is different from modern art in the worldly art history that bases the discussions and philosophy of modern art. Accordingly, comparing Ethiopia’s modern art to such history makes the narrative [of Ethiopia’s modern art] fallacious. The modern art in Ethiopia originates in indigenous knowledge and philosophy enhanced by photography and further invigorated through the participation of young artists who came educated from the West and the East”.

Here Gebre-Medhin is setting the development of an Ethiopian history of modern art apart from that of the West. Yet, the roles of photography and artists who acquired education from the West point out that Ethiopian modernism did not develop in isolation from global trends of the period including those of decolonization. In terms of periodization, Gebre-Medhin relates modern Ethiopian art to “the realisation of the changes apparent in the art [of painting] in the modernization history of modern Ethiopia beginning from the middle of the 19th century”. A holistic approach to the study of modernism has to explore the entangled roles of pre- and post-colonial indigenous and global inspirations. The root culture preceding coloniality by centuries persevered and played a key role in the survival of collective identities of Eastern African societies. Various African modernist artists – musicians, writers, actors – were able to get inspiration from the cultural wealth of their ethno-national root cultures in constructing the ideals of modernism during the struggles for independence as well as in post-independence periods.

Though different in style, subject matter and philosophy, these artists presented with short biographies have put Ethiopian modernism on the map.

Afework Tekle (1932-2012) is among the modernist artists of Ethiopia whose practice reflected and contributed to the Ethiopian nation-building efforts. Some of his works celebrate the pan-African movement. The majority of works by Tekle narrate the history of the imperial state of Haile Selassie I (1923-1924), much of it concentrating on the depiction of his modernizing projects continuing the legacy of the previous emperor Menelik II (1851-1907). Tekle’s works are more consciously nationalistic that the works of any of his contemporaries. On the other hand, his famous stained-glass mural The Total Liberation of Africa at the Economic Commission of Africa in Addis Ababa and the portrait of Kwame Nkrumah are the manifestations of his intellectual and artistic contributions to the Pan-African movement.

Skunder Boghossian (1937-2003) is by far the most exhaustively investigated modernist artist in Africa. Beyond his contributions to the progressions of modernism in Ethiopia his understanding and appreciation of the roles of African spiritual and cultural symbols and mythologies and the use of these symbols in his works makes them genuinely African. Additionally, such an approach served to define the unique and living aesthetics behind the ‘-ism’. Boghossian’s works communicate orientations and philosophy of African life in challenging the mechanical application of Western narratives in African settings. As such, he is known for his approaches to questioning or even blurring the boundaries between what is referred to as African and Western art through his freedom in choosing his subject matter and style. Boghossian celebrates humanity and universality of human experience, blending Western and African imagery and transitions through his practice and his teaching career both in Ethiopia and at Howard University in the US.

Gebrekristos Desta (1932-1981) was a prolific poet and a profound artist educated in Germany, Cologne. He is a main figure in Ethiopian modernism whose perspectives on modernism question and challenge what is perceived to be Ethiopian path to modernity. Desta challenged the notion that a country needs to advance in art as it does in science or technology. It was true that his inclination to semi-figurative, abstract and abstract expressionist imagery betray exposure to the German art of his student youth [FIG 25]. Desta was using the expressionist lens to communicate the pain of human condition and the complexity of modern man. His works were mostly interpretations of his surroundings and are deeply psychological in nature. Desta was an important figure in the Ethiopian art scene and among the students of the art school until his exile at the time of the advent of the socialist ideology in Ethiopia. Yet, his legacy and influence on Ethiopian/African art modernism remains considerable.

Zerihun Yetimgeta (1941-) graduated from the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design in 1986, then named Addis Ababa Fine Art School. He studied under Gebrekristos Desta and Skunder Boghossian, with whom he briefly shared a studio. Zerihun developed a style borrowing from traditional parchment scrolls and other traditional elements, like church symbols, masks, texts. His works explore themes and subjects that touch upon historical and cultural aspects of Africa. Through the “Wax and Gold” approach, a metaphoric expression incorporating layered meanings in Amharic literature, Yetimgeta’s overall practice invigorates Ethiopian and African heritage through modern artistic expression. In terms of medium, he materialized vertical strips of weavers’ bamboo along with tempera, oil, acrylic, pen, ink and mixed media. Though trained in printmaking, Yetimgeta is predominantly known for his paintings. Yetimgeta is among those modernist artists of Ethiopia who persistently practice and continue the legacy of Ethiopian high modernist teachers, with over 40 years engagement at the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design.

Tibebe Tarffa (1948-) graduated from Addis Ababa Fine Art School in 1973. Tarffa is from the city of Harar, whose culture and society are one of his main inspirations throughout his life. Tarffa’s significance for Ethiopian modernism can best be illustrated by his relentless experimentation with different techniques and subject matter. He is the author of thought-provoking projects that usually include works of other artists. Tarffa’s abstract and semi-figurative works place him among the preeminent modernists of Ethiopia steeped in both indigenous and Western traditions.

Wosene Kosrof (1950-) graduated from Addis Ababa Fine Art School in 1972. Kosrof is one of the active practicing Ethiopian modernists. His works largely employ the Ge’ez alphabet mainly for its form. He perfected the use of the alphabet as an abstract forms in juxtaposition with other visual elements. Kosrof was able to produce a visual language that Ethiopians could easily identify with. He is remarkable in being able to combine in his artworks a modernist approach with a deeply rooted traditionalism. Ethnocentric and religious or church sanctioned art provides a lens through which European figuration and various modes of modernist abstraction are viewed.