BELA SARA (Chad, 1940-1968, Brazzaville) (Untitled) Animal Race Oil on panel. 31.5 x 42.5 cm. Signed lower right, early 50s, small crack on the left of the panel. Bela is one of the best-known members of the Lubumbashi painting workshop. This workshop was founded by Pierre Romain-Desfossés in the late 1940s, under the name "Le Hangar", within the Academy of Indigenous Art. His originality lies in the fact that he paints with his fingers, without using a pencil. This lends his art a freshness and spontaneity that add to its charm. What's more, this technique has a decorative effect. The artist's favourite themes are incredible fish and aquatic scenes. Wild animals are also often depicted, whether grazing peacefully or being hunted by man. There are also initiation scenes, sometimes whimsical, depicting humorous nocturnal moments.