Der Künstler / The Artist Tibebe Terffa

Tibebe Terffa is one of the most well known Ethiopian artists. Although one of his parents was a Catholic, and the other an Orthodox Christian, he was born in the Muslim city of Harar. He attended the Fine Arts School in Addis Ababa from 1968–1973 and has been working as a studio artist since 1984. At the beginning of his artistic career, he focused on impressions of the city of Harar and, up until the 1980s, Tibebe Terffa was known as the ‘Harari Painter’. Over recent decades his paintings have shifted more towards abstract art, to the extent that he can now be considered a ‘world artist’. In order to provide insight into the rich cultural background of the country, in which Tibebe Terffa is embedded, this book provides also a short overview of the painting traditions of Ethiopia.