Has the way that leaders are portrayed in art been corrupted over time?
Following on from last week's article about Thera and the wonderful paintings at Akrotiri, I was reminded of the research I did for this piece I wrote last year surrounding the theme of the portrayal of leaders in artwork. Below the cut: French cave paintings, Byzantine artwork and Soviet propaganda.
Reaching back to the dawn of art, 30,000,000 years ago in caves across Africa and Europe, human beings have sought to depict and preserve what matters to them most. The rock art of Lascaux and similar examples in Europe especially solely depict animals, likely due to the fact that the people of the times revolved their entire life pattern around the migration of the herds through the continent. They worshipped animals as being superior and important beings and this idea has echoed through history as people have continued to portray through art the people – religious icons, heroes, democratically elected leaders, dictators – who inspire them. This essay will examine how the depiction of leaders has changed over time, and in particular assess whether this have been ‘corrupted’. If we take the meaning of corrupt to be “guilty of dishonest practices” or “designed to alter” it is possible to reach a conclusion. In order to achieve this I have selected prevalent leaders/heroes and will examine how they have been portrayed by those around them in art.
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| "Jesus of Nazareth as Christus Imperator" by Anonymous Master, circa 494-520, Ravenna, Italy. |
One of the most recognisable forms of leader-portraying art comes in the form of religious iconography. The most common figures shown in these pieces are of course Jesus Christ and God. They are almost always associated with light – a symbol which internationally stands for good and hope – often in the form of candles or rays of sunlight behind them. Jesus is commonly shown on the cross, presenting him as a self-sacrificing and selfless hero who ‘died for our sins’. Byzantine art often shows him being a victorious hero as work from the period often shows him standing regally; some art historians compare this to statues of god from late antiquity. Jesus and several other religious figures such as Justinian are usually shown wearing red sandals, something which at the time suggested obvious authority. One major feature of Byzantine art was the tendency to portray particularly prevalent religious people with a circle of light around their heads which today is recognised as a halo1. A perfect example of a piece with all of these features is Jesus of Nazareth as Christus Imperator by an Anonymous Master. In art God himself is almost always portrayed as an old man with long white hair and a large beard. In several forms of art (visual included) the colour white holds connotations of purity and innocence and ‘good’, and the advanced age adds an air of wisdom and immortality. One example of this could be Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam. The motivation of these works was purely to illustrate the strong religious ethics of the time and to openly show worship towards such icons.
The theme of religious art was echoed worldwide. The art of Ancient Egypt – spanning 30,000 years of history – was based almost entirely upon the polytheistic religion of the country at that time. Most if not all of their artwork portrays leaders and gods, the main purpose of it being to preserve their likeness (and therefore, they believed, them) forever. Ra, the Sun God, was commonly portrayed as a hawk with a large disk above its head. Some art historians believe that this simply represents the sun, whilst others draw comparisons with the circle used to represent the halo around the heads of religious figures in Byzantine works2. The artists paid close attention to the proportions of the figures they were depicting. Usually, the pharaoh/god would be shown as the largest figure in the picture regardless of where they were stood and they would look especially regal. Historians have found that lines and mathematical equations were used by the original artists to carefully ensure correct proportions. The figures around the pharaoh/god – usually the Egyptian people praying – would be small in comparison. This was not related to perspective but was rather intentionally done to make obvious the superior position of the god or pharaoh. Different colours were associated with different ranks in Egyptian art. Typically, blue and gold – as observed with the famed bust of Tutankhamen – implied divinity whilst browns and yellows were what the commoners would be painted in. Similarly common people would be shown bare footed and often with two left feet, whilst the pharaohs and gods would be wearing sandals3
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“Under the leadership of great Stalin – forward to Communism!” a Soviet poster intended to promote the idea of industrialisation and Stalin’s role in leading it.
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The features of these works are not dissimilar from those as recent as the 20th Century. Premier of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin (also known as ‘The Gardener of Human Happiness’ to the Russian people of his time and “Uncle Joe” to the Western World) was a common subject for now-famous propaganda posters which came out of the Soviet Union in the period lasting from the 1930s in the 1950s. One of the most prevalent Soviet poster artists was Dmitry Moor, whose poster Have You Volunteered? (1920) became one of the most easily recognisable and most commonly copied or parodied in the country. His work used block colours of red, black and white, with the colour red usually used for the Communist figures, which were shown as heroic. The colour red was therefore a deeply patriotic colour for Russia during this period and as such was often associated with Stalin. Stalin was so adamant on being portrayed as a great leader (and people were so afraid to face his wrath if they didn’t) that the cult of Stalinism was developed around him and anything that didn’t stick to this convention was banned. This resulted in scores of images showing Stalin as a father-figure appearing at the height of his power. There are common themes which can be observed in these works. Stalin is usually shown in the middle of the picture. He is commonly shown looking regal and powerful (this was in fact an exaggeration of the truth; many statues and images showed Stalin as being about 6ft in stature whereas he was actually only about 5ft 5”. He also had a slightly deformed arm, something which was also ignored) and he is often surrounded by working class Russians looking to him with admiration. An interesting comparison to draw can also be derived from the beams of light which often surround Stalin in these images – they are undeniably reminiscent of those which commonly frame Jesus Christ. This may have been a result of the way in which Stalin removed the Orthodox Religion of Russia and practically replaced it with his own image. Many of the posters show a ghostly bust of Lenin hanging in the background, a reminder to Russian people that Stalin was following his lead. Russian people would be more inclined to follow him if this was the case as Lenin was practically canonised following his death in 1924 due to his role in the Russian Revolution in 1917. This transcendence to a god-like figure did not go unnoticed even at the time, as after his death new Premier Nikita Khrushchev gave a denunciation of Stalin's actions: "It is impermissible and foreign to the spirit of Marxism-Leninism to elevate one person, to transform him into a superman possessing supernatural characteristics akin to those of a god." 4
Artwork of other historical figures from this time is often skewed entirely depending on which viewpoint the artist is painting from. Most anti-Nazi British propaganda showed Hitler as generally evil and deceptive, often picking up on his betrayal of allies such as Russia. It is clear that artists wished to portray Hitler and the Nazis as morally wrong and ‘bad’, therefore emphasising the Allies’ position as the worldly good. In British wartime cartoons, which were published in newspapers, Hitler is almost always shown as deceptive and cunning. One famous example of this might be David Low’s depiction of Hitler running up a ramp formed by the bodies of the ‘spineless Democratic leaders’ of other nations. His first step is marked by ‘Re Armament’ but he is making his way up to ‘Boss of the Universe’. This shows that Hitler was viewed by the British as a viable threat and as somebody who could achieve exactly what he wanted if nobody tried to stop him. He was not underestimated.
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| Nazi Poster from 1935 by K. Stauber |
One popular example of Nazi artwork depicting him is the poster by he artist K. Stauber in 1935 which shows Hitler at the front of a huge Germany army carrying a Nazi flag. The tagline
‘Es Lebe Deutschland!' ('Long live Germany!') combined with the flags promoted the impression of Hitler as a patriotic and loyal leader as well as inspiring patriotism in the German public. It is also interesting that the artist chose to show streaming sunshine and the silhouette of a dove in the background, which are linked to religious themes. It was once said by Adolf Hitler himself that for a piece of propaganda to be effective it must “be able to be understood by not just those of academic background… but also by those of little education.”5
Other work to come out of Germany at this time included that featuring Winston Churchill, usually in small and comical political cartoons published in newspapers and magazines during the War. Unlike the British view of Hitler as a serious threat, the Germans clearly regarded Churchill as a person to be mocked. A good example of this is an image from Simplicissimus magazine depicting Churchill as the two-headed Greek god, Janus, whilst shouting for ‘Help’ in one direction and announcing ‘victory’ in the other.6
‘Es Lebe Deutschland!' ('Long live Germany!') combined with the flags promoted the impression of Hitler as a patriotic and loyal leader as well as inspiring patriotism in the German public. It is also interesting that the artist chose to show streaming sunshine and the silhouette of a dove in the background, which are linked to religious themes. It was once said by Adolf Hitler himself that for a piece of propaganda to be effective it must “be able to be understood by not just those of academic background… but also by those of little education.”5
Other work to come out of Germany at this time included that featuring Winston Churchill, usually in small and comical political cartoons published in newspapers and magazines during the War. Unlike the British view of Hitler as a serious threat, the Germans clearly regarded Churchill as a person to be mocked. A good example of this is an image from Simplicissimus magazine depicting Churchill as the two-headed Greek god, Janus, whilst shouting for ‘Help’ in one direction and announcing ‘victory’ in the other.6
One of the interesting comparisons to be made is the similarity between the portrayals of Jesus and political figures such as Stalin and Hitler. Just as Jesus is seen as central in Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, Stalin is usually the central figure of Soviet artwork. As Jesus is symbolised by light, Hitler is shown surrounded by heavenly rays. This suggests an attempt to show a comparison between the ‘good’ of Jesus and the perceived ‘good’ of Stalin and Hitler through the eyes of the artist. As Hitler pointed out in Mein Kampf, propaganda does have to be nationally relatable to be effective and religion was the easiest way to the hearts of many people at this time. Nobody would criticise Jesus, and perhaps making leaders reminiscent of him through artwork would create a similar effect for them. Could this hijacking of a popular religious icon be considered corrupting? The idea behind religious artwork is often to remind people that Jesus died for our sins and that therefore we must follow in his path. With this in mind perhaps the message of more modern artwork does not stray so far: essentially it was created to make the audience remain loyal to their country and leader. Nevertheless I think the artwork does twist religious imagery to incite feeling of patriotism and therefore hatred amongst the people of the respective countries at a time of political tension.
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“Change” by Andy Thomas, 2009
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Today these features can still be recognised in leader-portraying artwork, albeit toned down and much more subtle. In America, Shephard Fairey’s Hope poster became symbolic of Barack Obama’s 2008 leadership campaign. Just like the Communist posters of Moor in Russia, they utilised the national colours of the country – in this case red, white and blue – and used them in a stylised and modern stencil design of Obama’s face. This instantly attempts to make Obama synonymous with America as well as displaying his own patriotism and appealing the renowned patriotism of the American people. As with some of the Russian posters, the use of a short and bold caption, ‘Hope’, is an easily understandable message to people of any level of education. Another piece, Change by painted Andy Thomas, displays the Soviet-esque technique of placing Obama above an admiring crowd. In this more modern portrayal the crowd is of mixed race and age, linking to the so-called ‘melting pot’ of race and religion that America prides itself on being. There are
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| Hope poster by Shepard Fairey, 2008 |
I think one thing worth noting is that the intended audience for artwork has altered through these time periods. For example, when I visited Creswell Crags in Nottingham I observed that many carvings and reliefs have been found right into the depths of the cave, where the artist must have been crawling and holding a light of some kind. If it was so difficult to get to that place, why create art there? It seems that the artists of that period did not necessarily intend for their work to be seen. Similarly a lot of the most spectacular examples of Egyptian art – such as the bust of Tutankhamen – were discovered in tombs which were sealed off to the outside world thousands of years ago. Whilst they believed the work would never be seen again they went to great lengths to ensure it was of the utmost quality and beauty, the true purpose of it being to show a strong worship for the dead pharaoh and immortalise him or her forever. In complete contrast the 20th Century Soviet posters and British propaganda were designed to be seen and interpreted by the public, to the extent where religious imagery was intentionally used because it would be recognisable to anybody. Everything created around the time of war was purposefully created to be anti-Nazi or anti-Stalin or anti-Churchill depending on which country it derived from. If we take the meaning of corrupt to be “guilty of dishonest practices” or “designed to alter”, it is possible to consider these later works as being so if we take into account their deliberate intentions of forcing feelings of hatred or patriotism onto the public or to generate support for a particular figurehead. They can be classed a political propaganda. Historically when the Russian artwork was being created there was a significant suppression on artistic freedom known as “Socialist Realism” but also defined as ‘Stalinism’, meaning that anything not created to directly praise Stalin was illegal. This can be seen as a corruption of art as what was being created may really have been “dishonest” and simply a result of fear and conventions.
In conclusion, by comparing the artwork created of leaders from the Egyptian age, the 5th century and the 20th century it is possible to observe a shift in at least the meaning behind the portrayal at least. The same actual methods of depiction have remained little changed: each of my examples showed links to religious imagery, either completely obvious (Byzantine) to slightly more subtle (German propaganda). The choice of an artist to make their leaders seem somehow above all of those around them is a common trait across history of this form of artwork. With the Egyptians this involved giving the leader something symbolic such as a beard and setting him/her apart from the rest. In the Byzantine period this was made obvious by a halo and red sandals. The Russian artists made Stalin seem loved by everyone who looked upon him and surrounded him with almost holy light. Artists such as K. Strauber portrayed Hitler as a sort of godly ruler whilst also connecting him with patriotism and success. However over time religious imagery which was initially used simply to convey a sense of true faith has been corrupted; used in political context to stir negative emotions of rivalry in a wartime atmosphere. Whilst essentially the message is still ‘follow me because this is the right path’ in both religious and political works, leaders have gone from being icons of religion, culture and faith to figureheads of power, war and often tyranny.
(1) ART: A World History by DK
(5) Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
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