Pedersen's play on light shines on Java images

Pedersen's play on light shines on Java images

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): Hugo von Pedersen's sensitive use of light
illuminates his impressions of Indonesia, particularly in
paintings of the courts of Java at the tail end of the 19th
century.

In many of his works, it is clear the Danish artist
consciously used light to enhance the visual quality and set
scenes.

As he was more able to control light in interiors, he was more
successful in painting interior scenes featuring people,
particularly portraits, over exterior renditions of rural
villages.

A collection of his works was exhibited until last Monday at
Duta Fine Arts Foundation in South Jakarta.

In Javanese Prince, the artist appears to have specifically
chosen a distinct type and placement of the light source.

He uses a soft and rather diffused light, which seems to enter
the space from above.

The light illuminates the subject's dark face, bathing it in a
purplish tone.

Specific accents of light in the eyes, on the nose and the
lips give a suggestion as to where the light source originates.

His headdress is lit in an impressionistic approach. The part
below the neck of the subject is left dark, but the soft light
subtly illuminates the royal broaches and emblems.

The contrast between the decorations against the relative
darkness of the rest of his shirt, which acts as the background,
enhances their visual appearance.

Arriving in the archipelago in 1896, von Pedersen traveled
mainly through Java and Sumatra.

Two years later, Pedersen was commissioned to paint a full-
length portrait of the Susuhunan (sultan) of Surakarta, which was
to be presented to Holland's Queen Wilhelmina.

It is said the painting piqued the interest of royalty of the
courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. He gained increasing
popularity in the courts and was soon dubbed "Painter of Kings".

Von Pedersen clearly paid great attention to his use of light
in rendering his court subjects.

His Entertainment in the Kraton of Solo (oil on canvas, 131 x
218 cm), is a large work depicting a wayang orang theatrical
performance staged especially for the consumption of the sultan
in the main pavilion of the palace.

Christie's

Two figures sit in the lower part of the work's center.

The figure to the left is apparently the dalang, the director-
narrator of the play who reads the story from a large book.

In front of the figure next to him -- his assistant -- there
is a set of white candles, which not only becomes the reading
light for the director, but the major light source for the scene.

The main characters of the play stand to the left of the
canvas, casting shadows high on the adjacent wall, providing a
dramatic effect and suggesting their prominence in the painting.

This large painting, which fetched more than US$65,000 in the
Christie's Singapore auction earlier this month, does not place
the dancers nor the sultan as the central figure.

Instead, the dalang, although placed in the lower part of the
canvas, takes this role.

The painter appears to acknowledge the significance of the
man, who is usually only known as the man-behind-the-scenes.

His importance is enhanced by placement of the light in front
of him, making it seem as though an aura radiates around him.

In turn, from his head, light seems to radiate to illuminate
the rest of the picture. The dalang, literally and figuratively,
sheds light on the story of the performance.

Although quite an interesting and well-executed piece, Grebeg
Festival, Yogyakarta, is rather flat and does not seem to have a
clear point of focus.

It does not possess the quality evident in many of the
artist's interior paintings.

His landscapes of Sumatra and Java, such as Village of Sumatra
and Old Mosque in Batavia are bland, dark and lifeless in
comparison to his other paintings.

Many of these small paintings, measuring around 25 x 35 cm,
appear as drawings in Door Den Oost-Indischen Archipel, a 1902
travelog from journeys in India and the Far East.

The drawings seem to be much more refined than the paintings.
It is possible that von Pedersen used his paintings to take
descriptive sketches as types of snapshot reminiscences.

Many of them are late morning or early afternoon scenes done
around high noon, made mainly for documentary purposes in
settings the scenes.

For the publication, he would create much more refined
renderings in pen or pencil.

Of course, there are also paintings of scenery that are quite
strong.

The houses in Batak Village, Sumatra, depicted with warm
colors, are set amid luscious vegetation of coconut palms, with a
background of a clear blue sky.

Old Grave in Batavia depicts a grave, housed under an open
four-post pavilion by a coconut grove.

The sky has a yellowish tone, with parts which seem quite
dark. The sun's rays create a dramatic effect on the grave.

A white-clad figure in the foreground carries a lit lantern.

This tantalizing play on light leaves the viewer bemused as to
whether the painting was painted during the day or at sunset.