Pretoria - Cabinet has expressed its disapproval of the portrait by Brett Murray that depicted President Jacob Zuma in a denigrating manner.
The 1.85m-high painting, titled The Spear, was part of Murray's Hail to the Thief II exhibition. It sparked a national debate about the balance of constitutional rights to human dignity and freedom of artistic expression.
Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, Collins Chabane, said on Friday the painting showed disrespect for the Office of the President and his culture that he shared with millions of people.
"Whereas government is a proponent of freedom of expression but Cabinet is of the firm view that this freedom should be exercised with responsibility and sensitivity and should not undermine the fundamental right to human dignity of the President and/or any citizen of this country," said Chabane.
The painting has since been removed by the City Press on their website while the Goodman Gallery reached an agreement with the ruling party on Wednesday.
As per the terms of the agreement, the ANC will withdraw its application currently before the South Gauteng High Court with no order as to costs.
Gallery Director Liza Essers said she regretted the pain that the display of the painting had caused the President and the nation which she said was not the intention from the onset.
"It was never the Goodman Gallery or Brett Murray's intention to hurt anyone or harm their dignity," said Essers.
ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said they were happy that both Murray and the gallery had acknowledged this.
"The image has conjured up past historical hurt and humiliation for some people in our country," he said, adding that South Africa had learnt lessons that would help the nation not to repeat the same mistake.
The painting, which has been defaced, had been sold to a German collector who has indicted that he will keep it in that formant.
In the latest news, the painting has been classified 16 for nudity by the Film and Publication Board.
