B. Jewsiewicki — Wall-Painters, Folk Scholars and Image-Makers in the Congo, 1900-1960 : An Essay on the History of Native Aesthetics. How has the aesthetics of Mangbetu arts changed since the early 20th century? Local artists hâve been strongly influenced by Western tastes, collecting habits and, more recently, the curios market. Wall-paintings must be analyzed in relation both to other forms of artistic output and to negotiations over prestige and power between Western and local political forces. Artistic production has been affected by changes in natives' world-views and the search for access to markets and power. Only from this perspective can the development and decline of wall-painting, as well as watercolor and oil painting, be fully understood.
Jewsiewicki Bogumil. Peintres de cases, imagiers et savants populaires du Congo, 1900-1960. Un essai d’histoire de l’esthétique indigène. In: Cahiers d’études africaines, vol. 31, n°123, 1991. pp. 307-326.