By the river Au bord de la rivière

In 1928, the artist travelled in the Belgian Congo to gather material in view of taking part in the 1930 International Exhibition of Antwerp. In the centre of this painting, one can see a woman covered with red tukula, a particularity found in the Kasai, which Allard l'Olivier visited. Similarly red-tinted women can be seen in his Marché à Kabinda (Market in Kabinda), illustrated by Louis Franck, Le Congo belge, Brussels, La Renaissance du Livre, n.d., opposite p.64.

We are grateful to Sabine Cornelis of the Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.