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.