Project Presentation

Congolines. Inscribing lines, weaving threads. Congolese colonial paintings as images and objects, a project funded by BELSPO BRAIN-be 2.0 program, aims to reconstruct the history of Congolese painting from precolonial through colonial times, focusing on collections at the Royal Library of Belgium and the Royal Museum for Central Africa. By examining various art forms that emerged in the Belgian Congo in the first half of the 20th century under European patronage, such as watercolor and mural painting, the research repositions these works within longstanding practices of visual art while also exploring their role as products of a unique “contact zone.”

The project prioritizes Congolese perspectives, investigating how these artworks were embedded within local communities and how colonial patronage influenced their creation. Through collection-based research, fieldwork in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and archival study, it explores the historical, social, and artistic significance of these works both in Congo and Europe.

In collaboration with Congolese institutions, the project also seeks to expand access to these collections for Congolese audiences through digital resources and exhibitions. 

The RMCA coordinates the Congolines project. You can learn more and explore the RMCA’s collection by following this link: https://congolines.africamuseum.be/en/about

Why is KBR a partner in the Congolines project?

Since the late 1940s, KBR’s Print Room has preserved 215 Congolese drawings created between 1926 and 1936 by various individuals from the former Belgian Congo. This is the largest collection kept by a public institution. Other collections are housed at the RMCA, the Museum of Ethnography in Geneva (MEG, Switzerland), the Iwalewahaus in Bayreuth (Germany), and the Museum of Fine Arts in Rabat (Morocco). The remaining works are scattered across private collections.

KBR’s Two Missions

Updating the information available in our public OPAC database

As part of the Congolines project, KBR is updating the information provided in its databases. The corpus of Congolese drawings is, alongside Japanese prints, the only non-European collection preserved in the Print Room. Moreover, this corpus was originally commissioned during the colonial period. It is therefore essential to provide well-sourced information on the drawings and their creators to shed light on the context of their production.

This research work offers the opportunity to gain a more precise understanding of the corpus and its creators. For instance, we were able to identify two additional authors thanks to their signatures: Alphonse Kalenga and Léonard Tshibambe.

You can view the drawings from our collection by clicking on the following links:

Tshela tendu : Author_id_exact:14428184 AND sys_base:SYRACUSE – Recherche – OPAC

Albert Lubaki : Author_id_exact:14727372 AND sys_base:SYRACUSE – Recherche – OPAC

Antoinette Mfumbi : Author_id_exact:14523072 AND sys_base:SYRACUSE – Recherche – OPAC

Alphonse Kalenga : Author_id_exact:22193065 AND sys_base:SYRACUSE – Recherche – OPAC

Léonard Tshibambe : Untitled – OPAC

René Masalaï : (Link coming soon)

N’Goma : Author_id_exact:14524630 AND sys_base:SYRACUSE – Recherche – OPAC

The First Technical Analyses

As part of the Congolines project, KBR was able to carry out the first-ever technical analyses of the drawings in-house. These analyses make it possible to conduct in-depth research into their materiality (papers, pigments). In this way, we can uncover information invisible to the naked eye that helps us understand how the creators developed their drawings.

In 2025, Piet Janssens (Digit) conducted the technical investigations, followed by Tatiana Gersten and Électre Totolidis (Restoration Workshop), who analyzed the results. Thanks to the combined expertise of our departments (Digit, Restoration Workshop, Print Room), we now have greater knowledge of the tools, materials, and techniques used by the creators.

The Congolines Public Meetings at KBR

The knowledge gained during the project (2022–2026) is shared each year at a public meeting at KBR. These events are important moments of exchange between audiences and the research team. They usually take place at the end of the year and are announced in KBR’s newsletter and on its social media channels.