Art, Inculturation and Catholic Missions in Central Africa during the Mid-20th Century: Understanding the Sculpture of Gabriel Mashitolo from Kwango

本研究的重点是非洲艺术实践的转变，以应对与罗马天主教会在20世纪中期，特别是其发展的inculturation.Inculturationmeaninga传教活动，试图使基督教发展根据现有的地方实践的新形式的赞助。这部分涉及招募和培养当地神职人员，但传教士赞助人也鼓励当地艺术家使用现有的雕刻风格和技术来制作描绘基督教主题的作品。这项研究的核心是加布里埃尔·马什托洛的作品，他是一位有名的艺术家，1930年至1950年期间在刚果的宽果在天主教赞助下工作，并为欧洲的展览制作了暗示文化融合的雕塑。

This research focuses on the transformation of African artistic practices in response to new forms of patronage associated with the Roman Catholic Church during the middle of the twentieth century, and in particular its developing doctrine of inculturation.Inculturation denoted an approach to missionary activity that attempted to enable Christianity to develop according to existing local practices. Partially this involved recruiting and developing a local clergy, but missionary patrons also encouraged local artists to use existing carving styles and techniques to produce work that depicted Christian subjects.Central to this research is the work of Gabriel Mashitolo, a named artist who worked under under Catholic patronage in Kwango, Democratic Republic of Congo between 1930 and 1950, and produced sculptures suggestive of inculturation for exhibitions in Europe.