Paintings by Shia visual artists depict painful Battle of Ashura
A number of visual artists, from the Shia followers of Ahlulbayt (peace be upon them), have succeeded in delivering the bloody Battle of al-Taff and the painful martyrdom of Imam Hussein, his family members and companions, peace be upon them.
A single painting can communicate and successfully deliver what all literature libraries fail to deliver. For this reason, al-Taff Battle has attracted the attention of renowned painters and stimulated them to professionally translate an epic that conveys both sadness and hope.
One of the prominent paintings is of the Iraqi visual artist, Abbas al-Alaq from Maysan, which has been selected by Imam Hussein Holy Shrine to be amongst its collections at Imam Hussein Museum. The painting doest not show Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, however, it shows his horse—al-Maymoon—besieged by the army of Omar bin Saad.
Another painting is by the Iranian painter, Mahmood Farashjian, titled ‘The Afternoon of Ashura’, which depicts the return of al-Maymoon to the tents, loudly neighing, as if saying Imam Hussein, peace be upon him, was martyred.
The third famous painting is a panorama preserved in the Brooklyn Museum in New York. The West has named it “The Hero of Karbala.” It depicts multiple scenes of the Karbala event, which was painted in the late 19th century. It is an oil painting signed by Abbas al-Mousawi.
These paintings and others have creatively revealed the injustice and aggression against the Master of Martyrs, peace be upon him, on the afternoon of the bloody day of Ashura.
The painters confirm that art is a universal message, and there is nothing greater than the Hussaini Revolution to convey its message and goals to all of humanity.
