Fourteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

In my studies of Islam, I encountered the powerful 19th century painting “Battle of Karbala” depicting the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of Prophet Muhammad, sacrificing himself and his tribe in a battle he was bound to lose, but which he had to fight in 680 CE. It is my contention that this painting belongs in the category of war art that includes Guernica, The Alexander Mosaic, Battle of San Romano, and Reuben’s Horrors of War, as well as the photo Napalm Girl. In this paper I compare Karbala to the works mentioned and show its unique emergence as the result of 1200 years of oral representation, pardeh khani. This painting was a symbol even before it existed, and thus its making recognizes a critical intersection between historical event, culture, and art.