Drawing inspiration from the elegant Mt. Merapi

Drawing inspiration from the elegant Mt. Merapi

By Agus Dermawan T.

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Central Java's Mt. Merapi is an endless
source of aestheticism. It is a large part of the landscape and
its natural elegance is forever the focus of attention for the
people living around it.

The beauty of Mt. Merapi, both when it stands silently against
blue skies or when it spews lava, has also touched artists
throughout the ages. The painters of Mooi Indie (Beautiful
Indonesia) couldn't resist the temptation to paint when they saw
the mountain. L. Eland, a Dutch painter of the early 20th century
who was deeply in love with the plains in Sumatra, could only
stare in admiration when he saw the volcano. He painted the
mountain several times. Merapi evoked the same feeling in other
Dutch painters and photographers. They included Hendrik Paulides,
A.A. J. Payen, Lebret, Carel L. Dake Jr. and J.J. de Vries.
Philippine artist F. Amorsolo became famous in Indonesia for his
works on Merapi.

The volcano is a sight that never ceases to stimulate the soul
and the hands of painters to capture its beauty. Raden Saleh, the
pioneer of Indonesian modern painting, was among those who took
pride in Merapi. He recorded its beauty from various angles. Some
of them are among his best works. A museum in the Netherlands
displays one of his Merapi paintings.

Another of his paintings, The Eruption of Merapi Volcano, at
Night (61.8 x 104 cm), was auctioned by Christie's last March. It
was done from a very unique angle and is rich in detail. The
mountain is spouting lava, and the billowing smoke is manifested
through a very refined impasto technique whose details are deeply
moving. The burning liquid running down the mountain is like
bursting fireworks at a celebration. Far in the background, a
full moon witnesses the event.

The painting, made in 1866, was bought buy an English
collector for S$300,000. That amounts to Rp 490 million,
including tax.

The spell of Merapi is indeed costly. Painter Abdullah
Suriosubroto painted the mountain countless times. Although most
of his works have found their way out of Indonesia, some of them,
including Pemandangan di Sekitar Jawa Tengah (The Scenery Around
Central Java), are kept at the state palace. Many of Abdullah's
Merapi paintings date from between 1925 and 1940.

His son, Basoeki Abdullah, followed in his footsteps and
produced countless Merapi paintings. Basoeki described the
volcano as something mysterious and magical, 'wudele Jowo' (the
center of Java). This explains the late painter's unusual
seriousness every time he worked on a Merapi painting.

Painter Dullah had an unforgettable story about Merapi. In
1949, former President Sukarno asked the member of the Seniman
Muda Indonesia (Indonesian Young Artists) group painting a
depiction of the nation's struggle against the Dutch colonial
government. Dullah came up with a bigger painting than he had
been asked for and that made the president angry. He was forced
to cut down the painting, called Persiapan Gerilya (Preparing for
a Guerrilla Attack). The incident upset Dullah a lot but his
disappointment vanished when he saw Merapi again. He then painted
a new object on the cut down painting, Hutan di Gunung Merapi
(Kaliurang) (Forest in Mt. Merapi/Kaliurang) which eventually
joined Sukarno's collection.

"The beauty of Merapi lies not only in its peak, but also in
its base," Dullah claimed.

Widayat believes that the beauty of the volcano lies in its
fires. In 1989, he painted the mountain on a 1.5 x 1.5 meter
canvas. The painting, entitled Gunung Merapi, (Mount Merapi),
depicts the enormity of Merapi's dreadfulness when it is
erupting.

Widayat's view of Merapi as a awesome and dreadful thing was
further supported by last month's eruption. The volcanic eruption
moved him to produce new watercolor, acrylic and oil paintings.
He not only captured the erupting volcano, but also the villagers
who scattered when Merapi began spewing lava.

The paintings are now on display at Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta
in an exhibition organized by the Kompas daily and Bentara Budaya
Yogyakarta. The proceeds of the sale of the paintings, which will
be displayed until Jan. 19, will go to the victims of last
month's Merapi eruption.