Zulu Man

https://www.si.edu/object/zulu-man:saam_1985.66.165_706

The image above shows a Zulu man and comes from the Smithsonian Institute. It was created by Antonion Zeno Shindler in 1813. This man is a soldier of the society and the interesting thing about this image is that it looks like he has a halo above his head. This painting was made in Bulgaria, and this depiction shows that he is holy. The interpretation can be taken in many directions; however, the artist could feel as if the Zulu are the ones who are right and good, while the British imperialists are bad and selfish. This image relates to the Zulu movie we watched in class and at home. Just like the movie showed the British should not have been trying to colonize Africa. The societies in Africa had been functioning for thousands of years, so by trying to instill new values and colonize them was unjust. The halo above the Zulu man’s head showed who the holy groups were in these conflicts.