For you in the heaven: Bramasto

For you in the heaven: Bramasto

We lost on Friday, Jan. 19, 1996, at 11:30 p.m. one of the most famous painters in Indonesia: Bramasto. He was born in Malang, East Java, in 1939 and died in Jakarta in 1996 of an heart attack.

He leaves Indonesia a cultural heritage in honor of feminine beauty, popular traditions and different ethnical influences in the archipelago. His art has been featured in numerous exhibitions in Indonesia and abroad.

I am a foreigner here and I knew him since 1989. We became friends and he spent his last days with me.

Maybe as "a presage", on that day he spoke about death and his art. His art for him was a means to be still alive even when you are dead: Seni masih tetap, he said to me.

For all who knew him: Remember this artist, this friend, who was exceptional by his open mind, his honesty, his deep sense of friendship.

All his friends gathered for his funeral. You will be my friend forever Bramasto. This day it was raining over Jakarta and for me (as I am French) I quote the famous poet Verlaine: Il pleut sur la ville, comme il pleure dans mon coeur.

ELVIRE CATTET

Jakarta