Bibeli Mimo

Aina Onabolu was born in 1882 in Ijebu-Ode, to Jacob Onabolu, a successful Ijebu merchant, and Oshunjente Onabolu, a trader. He started his primary education at St. Saviour Primary School, Ijebu-Ode in 1892. At this period of his life, he had begun to develop a strong passion for art and practiced by imitating photographs and illustrations in European magazines and books. Onabolu had become a skilled illustrator who designed charts and visual aids for school teachers at the age of 12. One of his notable portraits titled “Mrs. Spencer Savage”, done in 1906, is lauded as one the earliest outstanding works of art produced with modern techniques. He was the first Nigerian artist to receive formal art education/training from Europe. He first studied art at Académie Julian in Paris, before proceeding to the Royal academy of art in London where he obtained his certificate of proficiency in oil painting and fine art between 1920 and 1922. He is generally considered the father of modernism in Nigerian art and was instrumental in inviting the British educator, Kenneth Murray, to Nigeria to teach art. In 2018, Aina Onabolu was inducted posthumously into the Society of Nigerian Artists (SNA) Hall of Fame for his distinguished service to the nation and his immense contribution to the development of modern art and the teaching and practice of art in Nigeria.

As an artist, Aina Onabolu loved to explore themes surrounding Yoruba myths and culture, the environment and life around him in his paintings. Bibeli Mimo, the Yoruba term for the Holy Bible, is a portrait of an old Yoruba woman in a sitting position with the holy book in her hands. The woman is dressed like a typical Christian, probably set for a church service. Executed in the colonial period, Onabolu chose to explore a Christian religious theme, probably to showcase the acceptance of the new religion of the colonial masters by his people. The first Yoruba translation of the bible was published as Bibeli Mimo in 1900.