Display offers glimpse of former beauty of Indonesia
Display offers glimpse of former beauty of Indonesia
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Two dense rows of banyan trees line the sides of the dusty road leading to the Bogor Botanical Gardens.
A man wearing a dark sarong and a red shirt is seen walking along the road, carrying on his shoulders his merchandise in a pair of bamboo baskets slung over a bamboo stick.
The scene is dark, with the shadows of the trees falling on the ground, although the sun seems to be shining brightly. A small pond with clear water makes the scene in this painting even more beautiful.
In another painting, a group of deer is enjoying the fresh grass in the front yard of the Dutch governor-general's palace in Bogor.
A Dutch flag is seen flying over the palace's roof, while a round-shaped pool with clear water in front of the palace carries a reflection of the building, surrounded by large trees and with a mountain as the backdrop. Again, the same sense of comfort and calm are beautifully expressed in the painting.
Such scenes no longer exist at the Bogor Botanical Gardens, of course. Things have changed significantly. The roads have been paved. More buildings have been erected around the governor- general's residence and inside the botanical gardens.
Such changes should be expected though, since both of these paintings were done in 1882. They are two of 25 paintings taking part in an exhibition at the Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta (BBY) cultural center here until May 13. The exhibition was officially opened on May 5.
Titled Mooi Indie 1882, the exhibition features works by Dutch graphic artist J.C. Rappard which were published in a book titled Buitenzorg (the Dutch name for Bogor) written by Dutch author M.T.H. Perelaer. Describing the experiences of Dutch explorer Van Berkenstein while traveling in Bogor and the surrounding areas, the book was published in Leiden in 1882, accompanied by Rappard's 25 lithographic works and two drawings.
According to Hermanu of BBY, Mooi Indie 1882 literally means the beauty of Indonesia in 1882.
"During the early development of Indonesian modern arts, however, Indonesian artists joining the struggle for independence deliberately used this term to tease other artists who kept producing paintings depicting the beauty of the country even though the country was in a very critical time of war. They categorized them as Mooi Indie artists," Hermanu said.
Hermanu said the idea for the exhibition first crossed his mind after reading Buitenzorg, which he thought to be very interesting, especially Rappard's lithographic works that were used as illustrations in the book.
And who, exactly, was Rappard? His name is probably unfamiliar to most Indonesians because he lived during the Dutch colonial times.
"What is interesting in his works is that he had such expertise in lighting techniques for his paintings. Almost all of his works used good lighting techniques that brought his works to life. He was also selective in picking objects for his paintings and was very careful in depicting them, too. No object was deliberately made blurry," Hermanu said.
Rappard was also very careful in describing the postures of the subjects in his paintings. Many Dutch artists, according to Hermanu, often gave their Javanese subjects unrealistic postures, but this was not the case with Rappard.
Another interesting thing about Rappard's paintings is the use of mostly one color tone, giving the image of antiquity in his works. Of the 25 paintings exhibited, most use delicate colors such as pastels, soft browns and soft greens.
"But we are not yet sure whether the colors were influenced by the aged color of the paper or whether he deliberately used these colors," Hermanu said.