Saturday, July 30, 2011

PIONEER PAINTER (-hunter) IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO

Busy Bandung, Paris of the East during the Dutch time is a favourite for Malaysian tourists - shopping (for ole-ole), Tangkuban Prahu (L), ambiance of fine restaurants (Daun, R).


I use to scrounge the used-book bazaar, about 100 of them small stores at Palasari, outskirt of Bandung. It is difficult to go shelf by shelf and store by store for lack of space. The books are at bargain prices though.

 "Cari buku apa Pak".
"Berkenaan sejarah, agama," I would say.





However, I got this book "Charles Sayers 1901-1943: Pioneer Painter in the Dutch East Indies" by Koos van Brakel, 2004 at a book sale in P. Jaya. That was after a recent Bandung trip. It was a steal at 50% discount.

L: Sayers at his studio, Bali.

His paintings give us insight about life in the Nusantara, specifically in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) in the early 20th century.


The Sayers spent most of his time in Bali where they lived in a bungalow house (L).

Hunting was a sport for Charels Sayers (R).

Market at Klungkung. (1927). L.


Mural by C. Sayers for the Golden Gate International Exhibition in San Francisco. (1939). R


Working the fields (1940). L.

Dukun in trance, (R).


L: Ronggeng girls (1934)


R: Legong dancing girl from dessa Kedaton (1932)




Charles Sayers held several exhibitions at Bandung, Batavia, The Hague, Paris. His paintings numbered more than 320 not to include some monumental murals.

This Dutch pioneer painter of the Malay Archipelago died as a prisoner-of-war during the construction of the Burma Railway in Thambyuzayat on 15 Nov.1943.

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