Raden Saleh's pavilion now a cherished home
Raden Saleh's pavilion now a cherished home
Somewhere in the tranquil hills of Saxony close to the Czech
border, between cow pastures and old vineyards, stands a monument
as unique as the development of German-Indonesian friendship.
The Blaues Hdusel (Blue little house), built by Major
Friedrich Anton Serre in 1848 to honor Raden Saleh, the so-called
founder of modern Indonesian painting.
About a 30-minute-walk from the old knight's estate of Maxen
suddenly appears a small dome with a half-moon on its peak,
standing out amid the lushly green hills.
Its bluish zinc metal plate shimmers in the sun. No wonder
that this place inspired Robert Schumann to compose and fairy
tale writer Hans-Christian Andersen to make a sketch.
"Ehre Gott und liebe den Menschen" (Honor God and love
mankind) says the writing in old Javanese and German over the
entrance door of the mosque-like building.
"Is this how Germans at the end of the 19th century imagined
Javanese houses?" asked an Indonesian visitor who accidentally
came across the building.
The current owner is Jutta Tronicke, a journalist from Dresden
who wanted to retire to this idyllic site, where little disturbs
the view over the Czech border save for some wanderers curious
about the unusual architecture.
"Since the Raden Saleh exhibition opened at the museum at
Maxen, there are twice as many visitors as usual," Tronicke said.
In 1970, the then dilapidated pavilion was renovated by a
private owner, who used it as a weekend house. In 1995, Tronicke
read an advertisement about the home and fell immediately in love
with it.
She rebuilt the outside of the Blue Hdusel in its original
form and put on a new dome. The equipment inside, however, is
still reminiscent of the socialist era of Eastern Germany.
"I really wanted to restore everything after the original
plans, but have yet to find a sponsor for that," she said.
The original dome of the Chiosk, as a garden house in the
oriental style was called at that time, was painted with blue and
golden stars. Some believe that it was actually built as a prayer
room for the Javanese guest.
Tronicke believes in another theory.
"Every artist staying for some time at Major Serre's house in
Maxen said goodbye with an individual artistic work. Maybe the
plans for this pavilion were the farewell present of Raden
Saleh."
-- Christina Schott