Gadem, chasseur d’elephants, Birao 1925

Alexandre Jacovleff made this monochromatic portrait, "Gadem, Elephant Hunter, Birao" using charcoal and crayon. It depicts an African man, likely drawn in the French colony of Ubangi-Shari, now the Central African Republic. Jacovleff's work gives us insight into the colonial gaze of the early 20th century. European artists were keen to depict people from other cultures, often romanticizing or exoticizing them. As the title suggests, the artist emphasizes the subject's occupation as an elephant hunter, feeding into a narrative of Africa as a land of untamed wilderness. This image creates meaning through its cultural references. The subject’s clothing and turban are visual markers of his identity, but they're also markers that have been filtered through the artist's European perspective. Historical analysis, combined with visual clues, can help us understand the complex social and political context in which this artwork was made and how it reflects and shapes our understanding of cultural difference.