Praise for the Book
“In this beautifully illustrated groundbreaking study of
contemporary Ethiopian Orthodox art, Silverman and
Sobania introduce the reader to the individuals who
provide the aesthetic, spiritual and commercial energy for
a vital tradition that has sustained the faith of Orthodox
Christians for the better part of two millennia.”
—Yikunnoamlak Mezgebu Zerabiruk, Director
General, Ethiopian National Archives and Library
Agency, Addis Ababa
“This image-rich, landmark study charts the vitality
of Ethiopian church art. From Aksum’s ateliers to
Addis’ markets to diasporic churches, the voices of
artists, gallerists, patrons and priests reveal complex
contemporary practices. Essential reading for anyone
interested in Ethiopian art, religious culture, and
intersections of creativity, faith, and the market.”
—Kate Cowcher, Lecturer in Art History,
University of St. Andrews, Scotland
“Drawing on the lives and works of a wide range of
extraordinary artists, Silverman and Sobania brilliantly
describe the vital but little studied art and craft of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. While much Book Details
of the prevailing writing on the subject focuses on pre- AUTHORS:Raymond Silverman
nineteenth century artistic practice, Ethiopian Church Art and Neal Sobania
FORMAT: 10.25 x 13 in; 332 pages
provides fresh and abundant evidence that this is still an
extremely dynamic tradition.”
ISBN : 978-1-59907-290-6 (Paperback)
978-1-59907-291-3 (Hardcover)
—Elizabeth W. Giorgis, Associate Professor of Art PRICE: $74.95 (Paperback)
History, Criticism and Theory, The Africa Institute, $94.95 (Hardcover)
Sharjah, UAE
“Through a rich exploration of the religious painters of Get Your Copy
Aksum, coupled with sumptuous images of murals, wood www.tsehaipublishers.com
panels, and illuminated manuscripts, Silverman and Also available on Amazon
Sobania reveal the complex and fascinating relationships
between artists, shop owners, and local and foreign February 2024
consumers within a shifting aesthetic system. A crucial Currently the publisher is unable to
read to understanding Orthodox painting and painters.” process orders nor sell the book on
—Peri M. Klemm, Professor of Art History, Amazon. If you wish to obtain a copy
California State University, Northridge please contact Raymond Silverman at
[email protected]LEFT: Paintings by Yohannes Teklu in the Iyesus Church. Seaka, 2001.
ETHIOPIAN CHURCH ART • 1
Mengistu Cherinet in his studio with one of his church commissions.
Addis Ababa, 2020.
Ethiopian Church Art
Painters, Patrons, Purveyors
TSEHAI Publishers, 2022
TSEHAI Publishers proudly announces the publication of Ethiopian Church Art:
Painters, Patrons, Purveyors. Sumptuously illustrated with over 300 color photographs,
this groundbreaking study explores the vital role of devotional paintings in the Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahedo Church through the lives and work of the individuals who make,
commission and sell them. Designed to engage and inform the reader both visually and
textually, Ethiopian Church Art will appeal to a wide and diverse audience, both general
and academic, interested in art, art history, religion, history, Ethiopia and Africa.
Paintings have played a central role in sustaining the spiritual well-being of Ethiopians
for over fifteen hundred years. They are found in Orthodox churches and have provided
an effective means for transmitting the tenets of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. They
also recently have become commodities that circulate in the global art market. Whether
painted on wood panels (icons), in manuscripts (illuminations), or on church walls
(murals), this imagery has been used to both teach and sustain the faith of Orthodox
Christians. Indeed, it’s been said that an Orthodox church would not be a church if it
had no paintings. This book, however, is not so much about Ethiopian Orthodox Church
paintings as it is about the contexts in which they are produced. As Elizabeth W. Giorgis
(Associate Professor of Art History, Criticism and Theory, The Africa Institute, Sharjah,
UAE) notes, “While much of the prevailing writing on the subject [Ethiopian painting]
focuses on pre-nineteenth century artistic practice, Ethiopian Church Art provides fresh
and abundant evidence that this is still an extremely dynamic tradition.”
Ethiopian Church Art is based on twenty-five years of research in the northern Ethiopian
town of Aksum and in Addis Ababa, working with over two hundred individuals.
Whereas Addis Ababa, the country’s capital, is a relatively new city, Aksum has been
continuously occupied for over 2000 years. It was the capital of the ancient state of
Aksum and the place where Christianity was introduced in the fourth century. Today it
is a holy city and an important center for Orthodox painting.
3
As the authors, Raymond Silverman and Neal Sobania
explain in the Introduction to their image-rich study,
“We anticipate that some readers will open the book
and want to read its text, while others will be interested
in its visual imagery. We of course hope that the reader
is interested in both image and text and suggest that
they be explored in tandem. With this goal in mind, a
good deal of thought has gone into making the book
accessible as both a visual and literary text.”
Book Contents
Chapter 1 explores the development of Ethiopian
religious painting in Aksum from the early twentieth
century to the present, and introduces the painters
Virtually everything with whom Silverman and Sobania worked. Using
biographies that demonstrate the close-knit nature of
one finds in an Aksum’s painting community, the chapter explores
the pivotal role that four generations of a single family
Orthodox church, have played in shaping the religious painting practices
including the in Aksum and beyond.
church building
Chapter 2 considers the dynamic tradition of patronage
associated with the commissioning of paintings and
itself, is donated as manuscripts for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Virtually everything one finds in an Orthodox church,
an act of piety, including the church building itself, is donated as an
act of piety, a means for seeking salvation. Today this
a means for historic practice is inspiring innovations in what and
seeking salvation.
how Orthodox Christians continue to contribute to
the Church.
Chapter 3 explores a phenomenon that can be
traced back to the early-twentieth century—the
West’s discovery of Ethiopian liturgical art and the
growing demand for paintings. This has led to the
sale of historical religious objects, especially icons
and illuminated manuscripts. It has also fostered
the making of religious painting of varying quality,
including work that is made to look old and used in
response to expectations of tourists visiting Ethiopia
and for ethnic art boutiques and galleries around the
world. Interviews with artists and merchants in Aksum
provide the substance for considering the relationship
4 • ETHIOPIAN CHURCH ART
Hailu Gebremedhin painting icons in his workshop. Aksum, 2001.
ETHIOPIAN CHURCH ART • 5
Berhanemeskel Fisseha painting in his workshop. Aksum, 2015.
6 • ETHIOPIAN CHURCH ART
between paintings destined for the church, objects of
piety, and those created as commodities for the market.
Chapter 4 considers the impact that inexpensive,
mechanically reproduced, religious-themed, prints on
paper have had on the devotional practices of Orthodox
Christians and on the style of paintings being produced
by artists receiving church commissions. These prints
have made religious images available to many more
people, have created a new class of donors to churches,
and spawned a heightened interest in more naturalistic
interpretations of religious narratives—a new
“religious realism,” that today is especially prevalent in
Ethiopia’s urban churches.
Ethiopian Church Art concludes with a short Epilogue Silverman and
that considers Orthodox visual culture in Ethiopian
diaspora communities in the US, where paintings
Sobania give voice
have played a critical role in transforming already
existing architectural structures into Ethiopian
to the artists whose
Orthodox places of worship. Some of the same artists names are rarely
who are producing work for churches in Ethiopia are
also receiving commissions for new churches in mentioned when
North America and Europe.
their paintings
Finally, interspersed between the four chapters
are eighteen interleaves—short essays that offer are displayed
additional information about some of the key topics
introduced in the text. Examples include Religious
in museums or
Festivals and Their Markets, Making Paints, Making published in books.
Parchment, Illuminating Manuscripts, and The
Veneration of Mary.
In considering the processes by which religious
paintings are commissioned, produced, and circulate
in contemporary Ethiopia, Silverman and Sobania give
voice to the artists whose names are rarely mentioned
when their paintings are displayed in museums
or published in books. Likewise they reveal the
fascinating relationships between painters and patrons
that result in a painting being produced. And they
highlight the role that today’s shopkeepers can have in
shaping the creative practice of artists producing both
objects of faith and piety as well as commodities for
global souvenir and art markets.
ETHIOPIAN CHURCH ART • 7
Berhane Aref ine
inside his shop, St.
About the Authors
George’s Gallery. Raymond Silverman, Professor Emeritus of History of Art, African Studies, and
Aksum, 2015. Museum Studies (University of Michigan), and Neal Sobania, Professor Emeritus of
History (Pacific Lutheran University) have been working together in Ethiopia for almost
thirty years. Their first collaborative research in Ethiopia dates from 1993 when they
organized and directed research that documented the lives and work of “makers” and
involved commissioning and collecting artifacts for Ethiopia: Traditions of Creativity.
This groundbreaking exhibition and book foregrounded individuals whose creativity
sustains the physical and spiritual well-being of the communities in which they live.
This interest in the people who make things, rather than in the things themselves, has
continued to drive much of their research. Most of it has been undertaken in the historic
community of Aksum in northern Ethiopia where they have worked with gold- and
silversmiths as well as blacksmiths, and with scribes and painters who produce work for
both the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the market.
8 • ETHIOPIAN CHURCH ART
