The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Photograph of a central Senegalese figure with a dark skin tone in a red cap and green military uniform turning to look at the viewer, his hands behind his back. Behind him are rows of Senegalese men with dark skin tones in identical uniforms, facing away from us and vanishing into a black background. Across the lower edge, in front of the central man are yellowed flowers.

Thiaroye 1944

2016

Omar Victor Diop

(Senegalese, b. 1980)
South Africa, 21st century
inkjet print on Hahnemüle paper
Image: 80.5 x 109.8 cm (31 11/16 x 43 1/4 in.); Paper: 92.5 x 111.8 cm (36 7/16 x 44 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Whitehill Art Purchase Endowment Fund 2020.229
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Although the story of Thiaroye is one of violence, Diop emphasizes hope instead, symbolized by the flowers.

Description

These men represent Senegalese Tirailleurs, West African soldiers serving in the French army. Those who had been prisoners of war in World War II learned that they would receive no back pay and smaller pensions than white prisoners of war. They protested at Thiaroye; some were killed and many imprisoned. That revolt sparked a nationalist movement in Senegal that eventually liberated the country from French colonial rule.
  • 2016
    Omar Victor Diop (the artist) [b. 1980]
    2016-2020
    (Galerie MAGNIN-A), Paris, France
    September 14, 2020
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Thiaroye 1944|url=false|author=Omar Victor Diop|year=2016|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.229