Authority and Anxiety: Bin Laden Saleh and Nineteenth-Century Southeast Asian Art

Southeast Asia's identity is ambiguous, with the West seeing it as a transition zone to China and China as a vassal of the tributary system. For the West, it is a journey, not an end. For China, it is a vassal, not a subject. Today, Southeast Asia meets the needs of Western backpackers for cheap travel, and is also at the low end of China's outbound travel industry chain, even if it is one of the most culturally complex, most diverse, most intense clash of civilizations, and the oldest region in the world.

In this monsoon-blowing land, the outside world's perception of its art is empty. The pagodas, temples, and stone sculptures in tourists' punch card photos are poor evidence of Southeast Asian art, bundled under the order of tourism, mixed in consumption, amusement, and flowers. However, this region of islands, peninsulas and oceans had already germinated modern art in the nineteenth century, on a par with European art of the same period. The nineteenth century was a turning point in Southeast Asia, from ancient to modern, colonialism brought this land into the world order, and Southeast Asia as a concept was born.

Six Hunters of the Deer Hunt, Laden Saleh, 1860, Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Romanticism in the Dutch East Indies

If the name and birthplace of the painter are not known, no one believes that the paintings in the Collection of the National Museum of the Netherlands were written by a painter from the equatorial islands. It follows the aesthetic code of European neoclassicism and extracts the essence of the Romantic school, which is inextricably linked to the French Horace Vernet, Eugène de la Croix, and the Dutch Hague School. The painter whose name contains the aristocratic title "Bin Laden" came from the island of Java.

Portrait of Governor Johannes van den Bosch, Laden Saleh, 1836, Collection of the Rijksmuseum

Raden Saleh was a nineteenth-century European artist who studied and lived in the Netherlands, Germany and France for a long time, and was a royal painter of the Dutch court, but he was an indigenous Javanese born in Semarang, Java in 1811. In the mid-20th century, he dramatically transformed from a European painter into the first modern artist in the Republic of Indonesia, an Indonesian national hero, and even the founder of the history of modern art in Southeast Asia. His 19th-century work, realistic and romantic, majestic and dreamy, is regarded as the brilliant germ of Indonesian nationalist enlightenment.

The Family of Baron Jean Chrétien Baud, Laden Saleh, 1831-1832, Collection of the Netherlands Heritage Centre

If Bin Saleh was once a royal painter certified by the Dutch crown, today he is a national treasure artist with the endorsement of Indonesian state power. Bin Saleh's 1857 work The Arrest of Thibaud Nigoro, seen as the embodiment of an indonesian nationalist awakening, was collected by the Indonesian president and prominently placed in the Indonesian Presidential Palace. The work was presented to the Queen of the Netherlands in the nineteenth century, and the Dutch government gave it to the Indonesian government in 1978.

The Arrest of Thibo Nigoro, Bin Laden Saleh, 1857, Palace of the President of Indonesia, Jakarta

Thibo Nigoro, prince of the Sultan of Yogyakarta, Central Java, led the popular uprising against dutch colonialists from 1825 to 1830 and was a glorious page in the history of Indonesia's national liberation movement. Although this political event had already appeared in the work of the Dutch painter Nikolai Piniman in 1835, the perspective was very different from that of Bin Laden Saleh, in which Thibo Nigoro stepped forward and stood proud, contrasting with the sympathy of the weak expressed in Nicolas Piniman's work.

The arrest of Thibaud Nigoro was in his fifth year since bin Salig returned to Java from Europe. In 1852, Bin Saleh, who had lived in Europe for 23 years, returned to his hometown. Although Bin Saleh's ideas of Javanese nationalism were particularly prominent in the works of this period, art historians believe that nationalism was buried deep in the hearts of painters as early as the time of Europe. Although the Dutch court painter was tasked with serving the suzerain, the work of Bin Laden Saleh was imbued with a wild worship and reverence for Javanese nature.

The White Horse Attacked by a Lion, Laden Saleh, 1842, collection by Maria Lim

The Battle of the Male Lion, the Female Lion and the Crocodile, Laden Saleh, 1840, private collection

Tigers, rhinos, crocodiles, elk, bulls and other unique wildlife in Southeast Asia have always been the subject of Bin Saleh's work. His paintings are magnificent, full and gorgeous, with great visual impact, standing in front of the painting as if you can hear the wild call from the tropical jungle. The beasts fight fiercely, brutally fighting in the food chain, showing the primitive wildness and exuberant vitality to the fullest, the blood is gushing, the passion is surging and a huge primitive charm is about to come out.

The Sunda Rhinoceros Fights Two Tigers, Laden Saleh, 1840, Lippo Collection, Indonesia

Although originally created to please the European aristocracy, Bin Saleh's paintings did not have the Orientalist curiosity bias of European painters. His paintings are realistic and concrete, and romantic. For the East Indies, where the voice is weak, only by grasping the attention of European authorities can we express our hearts and express unlimited tension within a limited range.

The Nineteenth-Century East Indies had not yet produced a full-fledged anti-colonial movement, but Sukarno, the founding father of Indonesia, believed that Laden Saleh had already sent a strong national signal in his work. The ferocious beasts and the passion of death in these paintings given to European monarchs reveal the wild and unruly nature of Java, and the bloody beasts make fear arise.

The Lion Hunt, Laden Saleh, 1841, Collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art

In addition to beast fighting, the painter also vividly expresses the interaction between humans and beasts. The conquerors are the brave and fearless indigenous Javanese, Arabs and Bedouins, who are heroic at the heart of the picture, the composition is extremely dramatic, and even if the beasts are ruthless, the human race will triumph.

The Lion Hunt, Bin Saleh, 1840, private collection

Bin Saleh, the first Javanese to receive an art education in Europe, is not an exaggeration to say that he was the first Southeast Asian artist to receive systematic training in European oil painting. Ironically, he was able to enter the annals of Southeast Asian art history precisely because he was accepted by the mainstream European art scene and won the recognition of the highest political power of the colonizers, even if he was later recognized by the state power of the Republic of Indonesia: Sukarno, the father of the Indonesian nation, the great dictator Suharto, and later successive presidents, all praised bin Saleh's nationalist feelings.

Ernst and Alexandrin Standing on the Terrace of The Castle of Rosinau after the Hunt, Laden Saleh, 1844, Coburg, Germany, collection of Schloss Ehrenbug

Although Bin Laden Saleh has been portrayed as a national icon, and Indonesian officials have repeatedly tried to find patriotic clues from his works and experiences, looking back at the painter's personal experience, it is difficult to find the answers that the authorities want, but instead raises more questions: Is he "nationalistic" enough? If so, which country's nationalism?

Winter in the Netherlands, Bin Laden Saleh, 1834, collection by Maria Lim

Freedom under authority

Born into an aristocratic family in Semarang, Central Java in 1811, Bin Laden Saleh dated to be unknown, was a close relative of the regent of Semarang, and his privileged origins gave him access to European art education.

Portrait of Governor Jean Chrétien Baud, Laden Saleh, 1835, Collection of the Rijksmuseum

While still living in Java, Laden Saleh became acquainted with Joseph Payne, a Belgian landscape painter and architect and mentor to Bin Saleh, who was stationed in the East Indies by King William I of the Netherlands. In 1829, at the age of 18, Laden Saleh arrived in the Netherlands accompanied by Dutch East Indies officials. In The Hague, he met Baron Jean Chrétien Bauder, who later became Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, who was his mentor in the Netherlands, introducing him to three Dutch kings and influential magnates, and Bin Saleh was able to enter the Dutch upper class and was welcomed by the Dutch art world.

During his ten years in the Netherlands, Bin Saleh received strict training in Western oil painting, following the highly respected neoclassical paradigm of the time, coupled with the requirement of serving the Dutch royal family and regime, the style was orthodox and serious, the portraits were solemn, rigorous, classical, noble, and the landscape paintings were quiet and holy.

Portrait of Hermann Wilhelm Dandels, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, Laden Saleh, 1838, Collection of the Rijksmuseum

Bin Saleh during the Dutch period produced many paintings that conformed to the dominant Dutch aesthetic, including his portraits of the three Dutch East Indies governors, as well as Dutch landscapes, and even revealed the external expansion of Dutch state capitalism. At that time, the Dutch were thriving as a maritime hegemon, controlling the Dutch colonies around the world through the Dutch East India Company and the West India Company, and gradually moving toward the empire. In the painting "Heavy Rain Overturns the Ship", the ship with the Dutch flag rides the wind and waves, symbolizing the Dutch national strength of foreign expansion. Obsessed with the patronage and limitations of power, Bin Salig in the Dutch period was no different from the Orthodox European painters, and had no significant personal style.

Ship Capsized by a Rainstorm, 1839, collection by Laden Saleh, David Salman and Walter Jared Frost

Bin Saleh's self-subjectivity as an artist began in Germany, and Southeast Asian Romanticism began. In 1839, Bin Salig arrived in Dresden, known as the "center of German Romanticism", and was no longer confined to the status of a court painter, but a "Javanese prince". At that time, german audiences wanted to see the distant East under the brush of the Javanese prince, rather than the repetition of Europe, and he broke through the orthodox classics and brought flexible romance into his paintings.

German Orientalism began in the Enlightenment period, and Mozart's opera "Harem Escape" and Goethe's lyric poem "West-East Collection" are both treasures of German Orientalist culture. Germany in the mid-19th century, unlike britain and France, was a loose federation that had not yet been unified, had no overseas colonies, and its fascination with the East was a purer cultural desire, without political desire, so that Bin Saleh could express himself freely without political baggage.

The Arabs Attacked by Lions, Bin Saleh, 1848, private collection

"The Arabs Attacked by Lions" is a work completed by Bin Laden Saleh in Germany, the picture is flexible and lively, and lions, horses and people are all on the ground. The German art critic noted: "His paintings are full of vitality, taking us into a grand, wild and romantic nature. The East Indies hunter in the painting is refreshing to European audiences, because Europeans don't know what nature is except for shaving a popular beard in a beauty salon. ”

Arabs on Horseback Attacked by Lions, Laden Saleh, 1842, private collection

Bin Saleh's fame in Europe began in Paris. In 1844, under the arrangement of the Dutch ambassador to France, Laden Saleh came to Paris. At that time, during the July Dynasty of Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, Eugène de la Croix's oil painting "Freedom Leads the People" for the mighty July Revolution made the Romantic style popular in France and throughout Europe. Upon his arrival in France, Bin Saleh was further infected by Romanticism and completed some of his most important works.

Deer Hunting in the East Indies, Laden Saleh, 1846, France

The French painter Horace Vernet was the most beloved artist of the July Dynasty, and his paintings on the themes of war, hunting and Algeria were loved by Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans. Laden Saleh's man-tiger fighting theme works are similar to Horace Verne's, and historians believe that Bin Saleh was inspired by Les Verne and even directed paintings by Horace Verne, but few are recorded.

Paris's art salons and art exhibitions developed, and Bin Laden Saleh entered the modern art market for the first time. Today, most of the few treasures that flow into the art market are in France, where his creations are huge and magnificent, ideal for salon exhibitions and art deals.

The Hunting Tiger, Bin Sallih, 1845, private collection

When we try to piece together the artistic map of Bin Saleh through historical materials and paintings, the various place names and intentions contained in the 23-year European career give people space for romantic fantasy: Antwerp, The Hague, Dresden, Coburg, Paris, the passion after the Revolution, the brilliance of idealism, seems to be particularly beautiful. But the real Europe in which Bin Laden Saleh found himself was in the vortex of the Revolution of 1848, with louis philippe overthrown, Louis Bonaparte elected president of the Second French Republic, and revolutions in Munich and Berlin.

The Great Forest Fire, Bin Laden Saleh, 1849, National Gallery of Singapore

In 1849, Laden Saleh, who ran aground in turmoil and danger, created the oil painting "The Great Forest Fire", which is the largest of his life's works, the burning fire devours the beast, and at both ends of the cliff, on one side is the flames, on the other side is the sea, as if to indicate that the east and west ends are not peaceful, and the beasts are desperately struggling to die. In 1852, Bin Salig left turbulent Europe and returned to Java, but the tropical island was no longer at peace.

Dreams and anxiety

In Bogor Indonesia in 1953, Indonesian President Sukarno stood in front of the Bin Laden Saleh Monument and said: "We stand on the sacred land of our fathers, standing in front of the great tombstone of a great Indonesian to pay tribute to the hero." Our freedom lies in the fact that we can once again become a nation that is strong in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres. Unfortunately, culture is ranked last and is always overlooked. But political, economic, and social achievements are always easy to forget, but cultural values have a long history. ”

Portrait of Bin Laden Saleh, Friedrich Carl Albert Schreuel, 1840, Collection of the National Museum of the Netherlands

The newly independent Indonesian republic desperately needed idols, Sukarno needed to create a national hero in the cultural field, and Bin Laden Saleh was thus carried up as a beacon of hope, even if he himself knew nothing about it.

The Javan Flood, Bin Saleh, 1861, National Museum of World Cultures, Netherlands

Raft of the Medusa, Theodor Rico, 1818, Louvre, France

Returning to Java, Bin Laden Saleh began to create Javanese-themed works. In addition to political narratives such as the Javanese uprising, he followed the Framework of European narratives. The Java Flood is based on Rico's Raft of the Medusa, which depicts the victims' hunger, thirst, and groaning of pain, and is interpreted as a rebellion against the Netherlands.

Volcanic Eruptions in the Night, Laden Saleh, 1865, Chen Family Collection

Bin Saleh was always explosive, and this sense of power was exactly what Sukarno, the equally passionate, idealistic and romantic father of the nation, needed. Bin Saleh was a perfect fit for political needs and was pushed to the top, becoming the father of Indonesian modern art and the pioneer of Indonesian art.

The Arab and His Horse, Bin Laden Saleh, 1843, collection by Christin Kam

Yet this nationalist glory has never escaped skepticism in Indonesia. In his book Two Identities of Bin Saleh: Two Nationalisms in the Nineteenth Century, indonesian historian Soekanto argues that Bin Saleh is not only the embodiment of Indonesian nationalism, but also the embodiment of Dutch colonialism. He was a loyal servant of the Dutch court from beginning to end, and even when he returned to Java, he was a magnate like the Dutch colonists, detached from the masses and above the Javanese people. Even the Thibo Nigorod Uprising was not a Javanese national awakening, but a struggle for economic interests, especially the growth of indigenous Islamic forces.

Javanese Temples in Ruins, Laden Saleh, 1860, Collection of the Smithsonian Museum of American Art

In the view of the Indonesian painter Sudjojono, Bin Saleh's nationalism is not only a political illusion, but also the antithesis of nationalism, that is, colonialism. "Western capitalism, with its evil, manipulative and arrogant nature, has kidnapped every country in this world and placed all of humanity under its rule," he argues. Whether coolies or poets, peasants or artists, everyone joined the crazy dance. Everyone looks very happy, as if it were heaven, but rarely realizes that in the depths of peace, tranquility and joy, the passive soul corroded by the times has lost its vitality, has lost the courage and strength to resist tyranny, and this is the time of Bin Laden Saleh."

The Wounded Lion, Bin Laden Saleh, 1838, National Gallery of Singapore

Bin Saleh hovered between the dangerous poles, he was heroically homaged and the most hated man of heroism. The opposing values of nationalism and colonialism are dangerously placed on the same person. He was nationalistic and revolutionary, but at the same time traditionalist, a beneficiary and advocate of the dutch colonialist structure.

Today, bin Saleh's works and personal figures have become an inexhaustible source of inspiration for Indonesian contemporary artists, but more and more people are beginning to question Bin Saleh's legitimacy as the originator of Indonesian art, and even think that he is only a marginal figure in Southeast Asian art, because he is just lucky, because he just happens to have a noble birth and opportunity to get the opportunity to go to Europe, nothing more. He continued to climb the European social ladder and was at odds with the actions of Indonesia's national heroes.

The Horseman Attacked by a Lion, Laden Saleh, 1842, Private Collection

The controversy over Bin Saleh began as early as the nineteenth century. Modern people attack him for pandering to the Dutch authorities, perhaps unaware that he was arrested by the Dutch authorities in 1869 for his involvement in the Javanese rebellion. To indonesians, he was too "colonialist" and to the Dutch, and bin Saleh was awkwardly torn between two opposing systems.

Javanese Landscapes, Tigers Eavesdropping on travelers' voices, Laden Saleh, 1849, private collection

This is not a personal tragedy, it is a tragedy of the times and a country, a microcosm of the whole of Indonesia in the 19th century. He expressed, swore, spoke, gained respect, was contradictory, anxious, confused, and did not belong.

The Coaching Inn at the Foot of The Megamentang Mountain, Laden Saleh, 1871, Chen Family Collection

La Chasse au taureau sauvage, Bin Laden Saleh, 1855, in the collection of Jack-Philippe Ruellan

This ambivalence makes bin Saleh unique in today's world, where his work is scattered across multiple countries, institutions or private individuals. "Forest Fire" is the treasure of the National Gallery of Singapore, and other famous works are collected in the Rijksmuseum, the National Museum of World Cultures (Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen), the Indonesian President's Palace, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Latvian National Museum, Coburg and other heavyweight public institutions, as well as a number of the most wonderful works preserved in the hands of private collectors. Schloss Ehrenbug and Jack-Philippe Ruellan in Europe, as well as Indonesian Chinese collectors such as the Lippo Consortium, the Chen family, Kristin Gan, Maria Lin and other Indonesian Chinese collectors. Rare and expensive, the work has a very high collection value, and "The Bull Hunt", which was auctioned in France in 2018, sold for 7.2 million euros, making it the highest price in the history of Indonesian art auctions.

Self-Portrait, Bin Laden Saleh, 1841, Collection of the National Museum of World Cultures, Netherlands

Bin Saleh hovered between the two powers of Dutch colonialism and Indonesian nationalism, changing between dignity and anxiety. Today's commentary and opinions have gone far beyond the artistic scope of Bin Laden Saleh, and there is only a frame of epic works scattered around the world for future generations to remember and admire, and it has also left a brilliant chapter in the history of Southeast Asian art, reproducing the peak of Southeast Asian art in the nineteenth century.