Panorama of the congo : when colonial art meets congolese voices
At the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren, the Panorama of the Congo, a monumental painting created in 1913 to glorify Belgian colonization, is deconstructed and confronted with Congolese voices. Between propaganda and memory, the exhibition reveals the illusions of the past and restores historical truth.
Back in 1910, the Belgian Congo became the focus of an artistic campaign aimed at improving Belgium’s image after the excesses of King Leopold II. Painters Alfred Bastien and Paul Mathieu traveled through Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi) and Matadi to document villages, markets, workers, soldiers, and landscapes. Their goal was to create a monumental painting celebrating Belgium’s “civilizing mission.”
The Panorama of the Congo, completed for the 1913 Ghent World Exhibition, measures 115 meters long, 15 meters high, and weighs 3 tons. Visitors, placed in the center of a circular pavilion, were immersed in an idyllic landscape… from which the colonial reality had been erased: the chains of porters, elephant tusks, and traces of repression had disappeared. This illusion drew a quarter of a million visitors.
Deconstruction and restoring historical truth
Today, the exhibition offers a critical perspective. The original painting has been digitized and displayed in a semicircle, accompanied by high-resolution photographs and archival material. Researcher Leen Engelen explains: “With the help of volunteers and two recovery tanks from the Belgian army, every meter was photographed in high resolution. As for the painting itself… it disappeared once again into storage.”
Visitors also encounter Congolese voices. Songs recorded at the time by a missionary or a military officer, never translated, echo in the exhibition: “Oh white man, the journey is long!” or “Is this their homeland? We want nothing to do with them.” Koenraad Ecker adds: “These are protest songs, passed down like messages in a bottle. Today, they provide a counterpoint to the propaganda.”
The exhibition also highlights contemporary Congolese creation. Painter Hilary Balu presents a vibrant work that subverts and critiques colonial promises: “They promised civilization… and they stole it. They plundered the country, erased memory and identity, spirituality, languages…”
A contemporary response from Congolese artists
Modern Congolese voices are central to the show. Cultural actor Haldi Nzia Okudheyo and artist Koenraad Ecker gathered testimonies about the original painting. The reactions are clear: “What a masquerade!” The temporary exhibition The Panorama of the Congo 1913: Colonial Illusion Dismantled runs at the AfricaMuseum in Tervuren until September 27, 2026. It creates a dialogue between memory, art, and historical truth, showing that image manipulation is not new and that the voices of the colonized have always existed.
