Property of a Lady, Jakarta
Lots #087-090 (and 010-012)
In this
auction we feature a collection of artworks from the collection of a Lady
living in Jakarta. The collection includes a early painting by Sapto Hoedoyo
(lot #087) dated 1946, depicting painting equipment probably which he used
during the period of the Indonesian Revolutionary War (1945-49). There is a
magnificent sculpture of a nude entitled Dhenok
by an artist whom we unfortunately have
not been able to identify (lot #088) and three wayang beber (lots #010-012).
Two artworks by Gregorius Sidharta Soegiyo: and a Cubistic painting of a figure
or figures dating from 1960 (lot #089), and an undated, early forged steel
Crucifix (lot #090), are certainly the main highlights of this collection and
this auction.
Sidharta’s Distinct Abstraction
Born in Yogyakarta, in 1932, Gregorius
Sidharta Soegiyo, is clearly a unique master of Indonesian Modern Art. He started his artistic journey when he
joined the People’s Painters Studio in 1947, painting under the tutelage of
Hendra Gunawan and Trubus Soedarsono. When the Indonesian Fine Art Academy
(ASRI) was opened in Yogyakarta in 1950, he immediately enrolled. There, along
with other students, he founded the Young Indonesian Painters group. He
continued his art education at the van Eyck Academie in
Maastricht, The Netherlands
from 1953-6, apparently with the assistance of the Catholic mission.
Upon his return to Indonesia, from 1958 to 1964 he
taught at ASRI’s sculpture studio. However, in 1965 he moved to Bandung. Along
with But Muchtar and Rita Widagdo, he set up the Bandung Institute of
Technology’s sculpture studio.
Having been born, raised, studied and taught in
Yogyakarta, and later having taught and worked in Bandung, Sidharta transverses
both Yogya and Bandung schools. Most of his metal sculptures show the heavy
influence of the Bandung school, which seems close to Western modernism. On the
other hand, his wood sculptures show the influence of Yogyakarta’s Decorativism
which is close to Indonesian crafts.
While his
shift from painting to sculpture seems to have happened following his studies
in The Netherlands, he continued to paint in the 1960s. His paintings show the
influence of Cubism, like the other Bandung artists. However, Sidharta’s Cubism
is distinct from his colleagues who studied painting in Bandung. As he did not
study under Ries Mulder, his Cubism seems considerably freer than Mochtar
Apin’s and But Muchtar’s approach of Analytical Cubism, and hence also more
difficult to decipher.
Abstract
Figures
(lot #089)
Some see the
painting as a depiction of three figures: a tall man in the background, a
bowing female figure in front of him and a small child in the middle of the
composition, and consider that it is a depiction of Joseph, Mary and Jesus.
However, the absence of any haloes surrounding the figures might signify that
the painting is actually not at all a depiction of a religious theme. Be that
as it may, the presence of at least one figure in the painting seems definite.
Crucifix
(lot #090)
Sidharta’s
Crucifix featured in this auction, is quite distinct from the artist’s other
crucifixes. Compared to the three other crucifixes that are made of bronze and
date from 1970, this particular crucifix seems to be done using a much stronger
linear quality. However, close inspection would reveal that this crucifix is no
less expressive than the others. Made out of steel, the crucifix has been made
using a technique of forging, which may contribute to the difference in feel.
This crucifix also seems to indicate influences of Cubism, suggesting that it
is a piece that dates earlier than the other three crucifixes.
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