Rescuing the Wounded Under Fire in Afghanistan

This painting by Elizabeth Butler is titled Rescuing the Wounded Under Fire In Afghanistan, and it
was finished at around 1905. It shows a soldier saving his injured brother-in-arms from an Afghan
warrior in the Tirah campaign, which lasted from 1897-1898. It uses mostly dull colors to emphasize
the fact that this battle comes from a barren and desolate desert, but it also uses swift and thin brush
strokes to mimic the dusty winds of the area. The brush strokes are a bit chaotic and random
however, and that could be an intentional choice from the artist to emulate the chaos which is being
played out before us. The Tirah campaign was a British victory,
but it resulted in heavy casualties for both sides.
This painting could perhaps have been a reminder
to the public that the men involved had suffered
bravely and that their sacrifice was worthy of pride
and patriotism. The Afghan in this painting is
depicted as ruthless as he is willing to kill a
defenseless enemy. It could also invoke anger so
that the wounded and killed be avenged because
the Afghans are clearly portrayed in the wrong here.
It drives the desire to continue to conquest and
subjugate the Afghans.
A Pair of Broad Bottoms
This caricature of Sarah Baartman was drawn up in 1810 by William
Heath. Sarah Baartman was a woman from South Africa who was
forcibly brought to Europe and presented to the world as a freak show
exhibit. She was eroticised and perceived as exotic and even became
the subject of what is now known as scientific racism. This caricature
shows two Englishmen poking around at her body, perhaps out of
curiosity, but Sarah is shown as uncaring or unconcerned with this
violation, even depicted smoking a cigarette. This implies that this
dehumanization is done with her consent, even though that was far
from the case. This caricature also exaggerates her features, which
only serves to further dehumanize her. Unfortunately, this caricature
and Sarah Baartman as a whole, was only one instance of when
colonial attitudes towards women of color dehumanized,
commodified, and exploited them.
 The Remnants of An Army, Jellalabad, January 13, 1842
This painting titled Remnants of an Army, was created in 1879 by the British painter, Elizabeth
Thompson. It shows a surgeon of the Bengal Army, William Brydon, who was supposedly the only
survivor of the group of soldiers who retreated from Kabul in the First Anglo-Afghan War, appear at
the gates of Jellalabad in 1842. The entire painting is done in mostly dull and muted colors to
make the setting appear desolate and barren, and that creates an atmosphere of despair and
bleakness. In addition, the traveler appears exhausted and it’s been clear he’s been traveling for
quite a while. His horse also appears in a similar fashion, and this solicits sympathy from the
audience. His horse also appears in a similar fashion, and this
solicits sympathy from the audience, and informs
them of the suffering of their men overseas in the
colonies. The British flag flies in the distance and
there are many other men rushing towards their
comrade. The intent of the painting is to provide
moral ground for the British in the war and to
perhaps glorify it, because this painting solicits
sympathy for the men involved in combat.
 The Secret of England’s Greatness
The Secret of England’s Greatness (Queen Victoria presenting a Bible in the Audience
Chamber at Windsor), was a painting created by Thomas Jones Baker in 1862. It shows
Queen Victoria presenting a Bible to an audience. Behind her are members of the parliament
and her husband, Prince Albert. This painting was very popular and served as a propaganda
piece for the empire, as the queen was considered a figurehead in the British
Empire. The bible is in the center of the painting, and the
outstretched hand of the African chief creates a diagonal axis.
This brings it into more focus, as the central figure of the
painting, Queen Victoria, is shown holding the bible. It seems as
though when Victoria gives the bible to the African chief, she is
giving a source of inspiration, power, and civilization to him. The
African chief is also portrayed as beastly and primitive. This
served as justification for Britain’s expansion overseas, as many
people wanted to spread Christianity and civilization to the so-
called “savages” of Africa and Asia.
 Cheetah and Stag with Two Indians
This painting titled Cheetah and Stag with Two Indian Attendants, created by George Stubbs
between the years 1764-1765, was commissioned by the Governor-general of Madras. It was
inspired by an incident in which the Duke of Cumberland let loose a cheetah and a stag to see
how they would kill their prey. The two people in the picture are in suspended action, their hand
gestures are anxious and this creates a bit of suspense in a way. The cheetah is wrapped in what
seems to be red cloth at the head and at the end of the torso, while the stag looks warily at the
men and at its predator, which is presumably the cheetah. But what’s even more telling is the way
these two men, the two Indian attendants, are juxtaposed with the cheetah which was perceived
to be an exotic creature at the time. In a way, the two attendants,
because of their dark skin and strange clothes, are also
depicted as exotic. They look and act much different than what
the average Briton would expect to see, and just like the stag
doesn’t understand the cheetah, the British do not understand
the Indians. This makes the difference between these two
groups of people even more stark, which reflects the main
reason why certain colonial attitudes came to be.
From the Cape to Cairo / Keppler
This cartoon created in 1902 by Udo J. Keppler shows Britannia, personified into a human form,
carrying a flag titled civilization, while she leads her troops against a group of indigenous people
who carry flag titled barbarism. Britannia is depicted as a woman, beautiful and feminine but also
muscular and mighty, and that is supposed to represent the might and sophistication of Britain.
She is also shown enlarged and the audience can see more of her face, so they know more about
her. On the other hand, the opposing army, which is presumably a group of people, are further
away, so the audience knows less about them. They are
also depicted as primitive as shown by their use of old-
fashioned weapons like spears, while the British army is
shown using guns. In addition, a dead soldier is shown
on the bottom left-hand corner, presumably at the hands
of the “barbarians.” All of this suggests that the British
have the moral ground when it comes to colonizing these
lands, because then they can bring civilization and
culture to these otherwise uncivilized and primitive
peoples overseas.
 The Purpose of Art in British Colonial Propaganda
The British Empire was the largest empire in human history. It stretched across the world and
consisted of various protectorate, dominions, and colonies. However, its impact was extensive
and it prevails even to this day. Part of the reason why it was so successful was because it had,
for the most part, been supported by the British public. The empire was seen as a symbol of
power, a source of pride, a great accomplishment for the country. The government commissioned
artists to make the public understand it too. Through art, people began to see that colonialism
would not only spread civilization and Christianity, but also that colonialism had a moral high
ground. The people they were subjugating were portrayed as “lesser beings” and “savages”
through depictions of caricatures and racist imagery, but they were meant to be dominated
because the British were meant to dominate them. Art, in a way, helped to portray to the common
people that colonialism was a good thing and so it is without a doubt that the Empire would not
have prevailed as it did without the support of the public.