We are constantly amazed and inspired by the advancements in science, and we remain hopeful about its potential to improve the quality of life. However, the contribution of various art forms to the enjoyment of a truly fulfilling life is no less significant. Painting is one such art form that helps satisfy the yearnings of the human soul.

Every culture in the world has its own form of painting. We can even see how painting evolved from prehistoric cave art made with natural pigments.

At one time, I held the notion that the realm of love belonged, perhaps exclusively, to these artists, for what incomparable creations emerge from the strokes of their brushes. It is truly soul-filling. The renowned American film director Woody Allen made a highly enjoyable film titled Midnight in Paris. He crafted this movie against the backdrop of the Picasso era, featuring Picasso himself, Salvador Dalí, and a host of other writers, singers and artists of that time. It is a delightful watch.

Dispatch readers, did you know that Hitler, too, was a talented painter? In truth, he aspired to become a professional artist. However, he failed to gain admission to the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. To the world’s misfortune, had he been admitted, perhaps the Second World War would never have occurred. Although he never became a professional painter, he was, without a doubt, an artist of high caliber. Look at two of his paintings, selected from his vast body of work. Yet my question remains: How could an artist, a creator, rise to become the leader of Germany and plunge the entire world into war? And how could he possibly devise a plan to exterminate the Jewish people in gas chambers?

I watched the film My Daughter Anne Frank. Anne Frank’s father survived for many years, yet in the aftermath of the war, he could find neither his daughter nor his family nor any of his friends.

How ruthless war is; how utterly cruel. Even artists, upon becoming leaders, end up declaring war.

A few years back, my eldest daughter sent me a book on painting. Upon seeing that book, my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in astonishment.

The book was titled Portraits of Courage, authored by George W. Bush, the former president of the United States. It featured an array of truly extraordinary oil portraits, specifically portraits of nearly a dozen soldiers who had lost their lives in the wars waged over the preceding decade. I was left utterly dumbfounded. Yet it was this very Bush who had instigated the war in Iraq, seemingly without any valid justification.

While our current president is not a painter himself, he likes and purchases paintings of himself. However, sadly he has also started a war without justification.

Artists and art lovers are meant to captivate people through their paintings and to disseminate messages of peace, certainly not to incite war.

Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, is a retired chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences professor at Mississippi University for Women. He writes occasional columns in The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].

READER FAVORITES

• 

  Our View: Don’t settle public business in private

  By Dispatch Editorial Board • 13 hours ago