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Catalogue information
LastDodo number
5658749
Area
Drawings / paintings
Title
Kismet
Artist
Art object
Art Movement / style
Genre
Material
Technique used
Colouring
Dimensions
36 x 29 cm
Series / hero
Collection / set
Number
Addition to number
Year
1940
Country
Language
Details
Original editorial cartoon in pen, ink and crayon on ‘Glarco’ board, 1940, syndicated to a number of newspapers, shows Italian leader Benito Mussolini and ‘John Bull’ on opposite sides of the crescent symbol shooting at each other, since by this time the two countries were at war. Standing astride the crescent symbol (associated with Islam) is a figure representing ‘Islam’ who is looking at statements made by the warring parties. Mussolini: ‘I am the protector of Islam’ and ‘I want Suez’. In 1937 Mussolini had declared himself the defender of Islam in the countries of the Mediterranean. In 1940 Italian troops had invaded Egypt with the ultimately unsuccessful aim of capturing the Suez Canal from the British. Following the signing of the Atlantic Charter in August 1940, John Bull (in fact Winston Churchill) had reiterated Gandhi’s earlier demand for a ‘free and equal partnership to India’, although he and his party were not in favour of Indian independence. ‘Kismet’, fate or destiny, suggests that both sides now urgently need the support of the Islamic states in the Second World War. Card size 36 x 29 cm (14 x 11 inch), image size 32 x 26 cm, signed lower right with nine zeros as underline. Caption in pencil in upper border, in very good condition.