Charles Bartlett: Hawaii's Master Printmaker

CHARLES W. BARTLETT (British, 1860-1940 in Hawaii).

Charles Bartlett was born in Bridgeport, Dorsetshire, Enland. After enrolling in the Royal Academy in London he studied painting and etching. He then entered the private studio school Académie Julian in Paris.

After his return to England in 1889 he married, but both his wife and infant son died in childbirth. He found solace in travel, and spent time in both Venice and Holland, where he discovered Japanese prints.

Bartlett remarried in 1898, and with financial assistance from his wife's family he travelled to Pakistan, Ceylon, Indonesia, China and Japan. Returning from Japan in 1917, where Charles executed woodblock prints, the Bartletts stopped in Hawaii and never left. Befriending Anna Rice Cooke, the founder of the Honolulu Academy of the Arts, Bartlett found a patron who advanced his career. Before his death in 1940 he helped found the Honolulu printmakers group along with John Melville Kelly and Huc-Mazelet Luquiens.

 Contact geringerart@yahoo.com if you own works by Charles Bartlett

Affandi: A Modern Indonesian Master

An Affandi oil painting, sold by GeringerArt

AFFANDI (Javanese, 1907- May 23, 1990).

The painter Affandi has been called a “towering figure in the history of Indonesian modern art.” Affandi’s paintings often display his emotional responses to the lives of a people struggling to move out of poverty towards dignity.

Affandi was born in Cierbon, West Java in 1907, the son of a surveyor at a local sugar factory. After finishing his secondary education he found himself increasingly interested in painting, and in his mid-twenties he emerged as a self-taught artist. During his early years he taught school, collected tickets at a movie theater and worked as a house painter, saving leftover paint for his canvases.

In 1933, at the age of 26, Affandi married Maryati, a girl from Bogor who was also an artist. Their daughter Kartika would later become a painter who followed in her parent’s artistic footsteps. His early works included images of people, animals, the sun, and also numerous self-portraits. Affandi once stated that “…the motif I know and like best is that of my own face; ugly and reminiscent of the dwarf Sukrasana.”

In the 1930s Affandi became affiliated with an artist’s group called “Lima Bandung.” The other artists in the group were Hendra Gunawan, Barli, Sudarso, and Wahdi. The “Lima Bandung” went on to become highly influential in the development of Indonesian modern art.

In 1943, during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, Affandi held his first solo exhibition in Djakarta. After the proclamation of Indonesian independence on August 17, 1945, Affandi became involved in making posters that evoked the struggle of the Indonesian people against Dutch colonialism. Other artists active in the creation of political posters included S. Soedjojono, Dullah, Trubus, and Chairil Anwar.

In late 1945 Affandi moved to Yogyakarta to establish a society of artist’s communities. This society eventually became the "Indonesian Young Artists Society.” In 1947, Affandi founded the "People's Painters" with Hendra Gunawan and Kusnadi, to provide learning opportunities to a younger generation is of artists hungry for artistic education. Then in 1948, Affandi moved back to Jakarta and co-founded association "Indonesian Painters Association." These groups were originally connected to the Indonesian Communist Party, which Affandi later cut his ties with.

In 1949 Affandi received a grant from the government of India where he then lived for 2 years. There, Affandi painted actively and held exhibitions in major cities in India through 1951. An artistic breakthrough occurred in his work of the early 1950s when he began to squeeze paint directly from the tube. The resulting paintings, which have an affinity with the works of Van Gogh, are distinctly expressionistic and emotionally resonant. Affandi’s spontaneous squeezed paint method soon became essential to his signature style.

In the January 12, 1953 issue of TIME Magazine, Affandi's working method is described as follows:

Affandi never learned to use a palette, dislikes brushes. Instead, he squeezes paint on to his thumb, then smears it around the canvas. He will often spend a week studying a subject, but the actual painting seldom takes longer than 90 furious minutes. 'After about an hour,' he says, 'I usually feel my emotions declining. It's better to stop then. The painting is finished.'

A traveling exhibition of Affandi’s works from this era visited European cities including London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and Rome. Upon his return to Indonesia, Affandi was appointed by the Indonesian government to represent Indonesia in international Biennales exhibitions in Sao Paulo (1953), Venice (1954), and Sao Paulo (1956).

Beginning in 1955 Affandi taught at the Indonesian Academy of Fine Arts in Yogyakarta. After participating in international exhibitions in Brazil and Italy, Affandi received a 1957 scholarship from the U. S. government to study arts education. He was made an Honorary Professor of Painting by Ohio State University, and in 1974 was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Singapore. He also received the Peace Award from the Dag Hammarskjoeld Foundation in 1977, and the title of Grand Maestro in Florence, Italy.

Affandi once told one of his collectors that "If the color is good then it's okay." He told the same man to look at paintings with his eyes and heart rather than his brain. Even after he became internationally famous Affandi remained a man of simple habits who normally wore a sarong and a white t-shirt, and smoked a pipe. Before dying, Affandi spent a lot of time sitting around in his own museum, observing his paintings. He said once, “I want to die in simplicity without giving anyone unnecessary trouble, so I could go home to Him in peace.”

By the time of his death it is estimated that Affandi had created over 2,000 oil paintings. He also left sculptures in both cement and clay.

Affandi's unique home, which features a banana shaped roof sits on the bank of the Gajah Wong River in Yogyakarta. It is now a museum displaying over 300 of the artist’s paintings. Upon his death in 1990, Affandi was buried in the museum complex.

Collections:

The Affandi Museum, Yogyakarta, Java

The Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

Museum Pasifika, Bali

Contact GeringerArt at geringerart@yahoo.com if you have Affandi works for sale

A Biography of Indonesian Master Jean Le Mayeur

Above: From the "Sold" archives of GeringerArt, a painting by Jean Le Mayeur

From Geringer Art's collection of artist biographies:

  ADRIEN JEAN LE MAYEUR DE MERPRES 

 (Belgian, b. Feb. 9th, 1880 – d. May 31, 1958)

Styles: Impressionism, Orientalism Subjects: Belgian Landscapes, Scenes of Asia and Africa, Balinese Genre, Figures and Nudes

 Jean Le Mayeur is a painter best known for his sensual images of Balinese women, including his beautiful Balinese wife, the dancer Ni Pollok. According to art historians Dr. Job Ubbens and Cathinka Huizing, Jean Le Mayeur was “… an exponent of late European Impressionism, which favors a gentle, earthy palette of yellow, brown, beige and soft blue which is contrasted to red, pink, orange and purple accents.”

 Le Mayeur was the youngest of 2 brothers born in Ixelles, Brussels, to Andrien Le Mayeur De Merpres, a painter, and his wife Louise Di Bosch. Young Jean studied painting with Ernest Blanc-Garin (1843-1916) and also with his father. At his father’s insistence he attended the Polytechnic College of The Université Libre de Bruxeles, where he majored in Architecture and Civil Engineering. After graduation, to the consternation of his family, Jean began to further develop his interest in painting.

 After painting Belgian landscapes for more than a decade, he served as an army painter during WW I and also took battlefield photographs. After the war, seeking solace in travel, he made trips to the south of France, Morocco, Tunisia, Madagascar, India, and Cambodia. Le Mayeur’s works from this period already display a tendency towards Orientalist and exotic subject matter. He then visited Tahiti and French Polynesia with the intention of being like Paul Gauguin; a European exploring and capturing the primitive beauty of Polynesian culture. After being generally disappointed by Polynesia -- which he found in decline and tainted by colonialism -- he moved on.

 Le Mayeur was 52 years old in 1933 when he arrived in north of Bali at Singaraja in the Buleleng province. Since the 1920s Bali had gained a reputation as a destination for avant-garde artists including the German Walter Spies and the Dutchman Rudolf Bonnet. The island’s stunning landscapes, relaxed lifestyle and liberal sexual mores made it a paradise for European expatriates.

 After his arrival in Bali, Le Mayeur travelled south, eventually arriving at Banjar Kelandis, near the border of Bali’s capital, Denpasar. There, he found himself fascinated by the vibrant remnants of traditional Balinese culture including temple rituals and local dances. Le Mayeur was also struck by the color and beauty of the surroundings which he found unspoiled. After renting a house at Banjar Kelandis, he met a 15 year old Legong dancer, Ni Nyoman Pollok, who became his muse and model.

 An exhibition of paintings featuring Ni Pollok held at the Singapore YMCA in 1933 was a commercial success: all the paintings were sold. After the exhibition Le Mayeur bought land at Sanur beach where he built a home and studio. There he continued to execute paintings of Ni Pollok and 2 of her female friends, and decided to make Bali his permanent home. He declared to friends: “This time I shall live exclusively for my art and nothing shall distract me.” Le Mayeur and Pollok married in 1935 in a Balinese ceremony. Since Legong dancers are said to be too old to dance after age 16, Pollok had officially retired from ritual dancing to serve her new husband as a model.

 Exhibitions in Singapore in 1937, and in both Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in 1941, helped bring Le Mayeur attention and acclaim. A visitor to Le Mayeur’s 1937 show recalled that Pollok appeared alongside the paintings dressed in traditional Balinese costumes. She also offered herself bare breasted for photos, creating a sensation.

 In the late 1930s tourists arriving at Sanur from cruise ships would be served drinks and snacks by Le Mayeur’s topless wife and her servants. As a result, the artist was warned by the Colonial government that this “immoral behavior” must stop. Using his family connections, Le Mayeur wrote to his cousin, the King of Belguim, who in turn wrote to Queen Wilhelmina of Holland who told her Governor General to leave the artist alone.

 During the difficult years of the Japanese Occupation (1942-45) Le Mayeur was kept under house arrest by the Japanese authorities. He continued painting, using rice sack cloth and other available surfaces to paint on. Although his home was ransacked, he managed to keep most of his paintings.

 In the fall of 1945 photos of Ni Pollok dancing for American GIs appeared in “Life” Magazine, bringing international attention to Le Mayeur’s emergence from the difficulties of the war. “Except for a few journeys to the Far East, I never left the island,” he told a reporter. “Why should I? Sir, I am an Impressionist. There are three things in life that I love: beauty, sunlight and silence. Now could you tell me where to find these in a more perfect state than in Bali?”

 In the postwar period, tourism grew and Le Mayeur’s house remained an attraction. A 1951 issue of National Geographic noted that "Though people wander in and out their house all day, Le Mayeurs's hospitality is unending." Tourists bought Le Mayeur’s paintings, which were gradually entering collections across the world, including those of Indonesian President Soekarno and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

 In 1958 Le Mayeur returned to Brussels where he was treated for ear cancer. He died on May 21, 1958 and was buried in the Ixelles cemetery. After his death Ni Pollok married an Italian Doctor who was forced to leave Indonesia not long afterwards. She lived alone in the Le Mayeur villa at Samur until her death at age 70 on July 27, 1985.

 The Villa Le Mayeur, a courtyard house featuring a garden filled with frangipani flowers, Balinese statues and palm trees is now a museum run by the government of Indonesia. It can be found on the beach between Jalan Hang Tuah and Inna Grand Bali Beach hotel, one of the largest hotels in Sanur. It is open every day from 8AM to 2PM on Sunday through Thursday, 8AM to 11AM on Fridays and 8AM to 12:30PM on Saturdays.

 Below: The le Mayeur Museum, Sanur Bali, Photo by Ronrad

 

 Collections: The Agung Rai Museum of Art, Bali The Museum Pasifika, Bali The Le Mayeur Museum, Bali

Raden Saleh and the Beginning of Modern Indonesian Painting

The Galeri Nasional Indonesia (The National Gallery of Indonesia) is presenting the exhibition "Raden Saleh and the Beginning of Modern Indonesian Painting" from June 3rd to June 17th, 2012.

Raden Saleh, a Javanese nobleman, was the first native of Java to master European painting methods. He was first trained, in Bogor, by the Belgian artist A. J. Payen. Payen persuaded the Dutch colonial government to send Raden to the Netherlands for further study in art. He arrived in Europe in 1829 where he continued his studies under Cornelius Kruseman and Andries Schelfhout.

Kruseman helped train the young artist in portraiture, and he later worked in various European countries. In 1839 he began a five year stay in the court of Ernst I, Grand Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and it was there that he gained in status. 

Working with the artist Schelfhout, Raden studied scenic painting, and visited major European cities and also Algeria. In the Hague, a lion tamer allowed Raden Saleh to study his lion, and the resulting paintings brought the artist fame. Raden Saleh's works -- including many of his animal paintings -- were exhibited in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, but most of these works were later lost in a 1931 fire at the Dutch Pavilion of a Paris exhibition. 

Raden Saleh returned to Indonesia in 1851, and remained there for twenty years, building a Neogothic palace in Batavia. He worked as a conservator for the colonial government's art collection, and he also continued executing portraits of Javanese aristrocracy and Javanese landscapes. He died in Bogor on April 23, 1880 after returning from a four year stay in Germany, Italy and France.

Please email us at geringerart@yahoo.com if you have a work by Raden Saleh that you would like to offer for sale.

Below: A video trailer from the Raden Saleh exhibition:

Three Amorsolo Images

Amorsolo the Illustrator

Fernando C. Amorsolo was a very versatile artist who had considerable skills as an illustrator and commercial artist. Amorsolo's ability to make money as a working artist appeared early. As a boy he sold hand-made post cards, and then as a university student he earned extra funds by illustrating several novels and also provided religious images for "Passion" books.

Here are some examples of Amorsolo's graphic skills. 

A series of lithographs made during a 7-month stay in New York in 1919 display Amorsolo's rapidly maturing confidence as a draftsman, and his mastery of the female form.

Amorsolo's 1919 lithograph "Maple Leaves"

Amorsolo was a nimble comic artist, and is widely credited as being the author of the first newspaper cartoon strip to be published in the Philippines, the satirical "Kiko at Angge."

A panel from the 1922 comic strip "Kiko at Angge."

Amorsolo's fame grew as his fine art art images were published in the form of posters and brochure images. The tourist brochure below features a stylized Amorsolo image used to lure tourists to the Philippines.

A Philippine tourist brochure features an Amorsolo image

"Miss Philippines" appears on an Amorsolo style brochure

Above:  Amorsolo's distinctive and alluring images of women were widely copied in the pre-war period. 

Even Philippine schoolchildren were familiar with Amorsolo's skill as an illustrator. Below, a copy of the "Philippine Reader" features an Amorsolo illustration:

Amorsolo's illustration of a clever monkey

To learn more about Amorsolo's career, you can read his complete biography on the Geringerart website.