Painting behind Taliban fighters in Kabul presidential palace is worth 1,000 words
My latest article appears in Religion News Service.
Reading through news reports of the Taliban’s advance on Kabul, I was struck by photos and videos of the gunmen in the presidential palace posing around former President Ashraf Ghani’s desk. None mentioned the painting hiding in plain sight.
I could not find an image with a legible signature, and the scene was clearly a religious narrative, so I set about trying my best to identify it. Remembering abundant coverage of the political significance and symbolism of presidential decoration of the Oval Office—which I reported on for artnet and discussed on the radio—I figured there was surely significance to this scene too.
After spending more time than I should have researching it and identifying the likely artist and subject, I sought expert responses to the work and to what it means that such a picture appealed, seemingly, to both Ghani and to the Taliban. What are the chances of that, particularly given the Taliban’s well-noted aniconism?
The piece, which appears as “The painting behind Taliban fighters in Kabul presidential palace is worth a thousand words” in the wire Religion News Service, includes a link to another story on the subject, which appeared in a Spanish language publication well after I had begun my own reporting. (Nonetheless, I thought linking to it was the right thing to do, and I am glad my editors kept it in.)
I know every writer would say stick around until the end, but in this piece in particular, I think the way one of my sources summed up the work’s significance, which closes out the article, is worth pondering.
A wonderful piece. Working your patch. Thanks. d