Book & The Arts

The Basoeki Abdullah Museum/Photo: Adji SoedibjoThe Basoeki Abdullah Museum holds a collection of paintings along with personal memorabilia, statues, handicrafts, attire and souvenirs owned by Indonesia's famed painter Basoeki Abdullah, who died on November 5, 1993.

In 1998, and in line with the painter's final wishes that all his paintings and personal collections, including his house, are bequeathed to the government of Indonesia, Abdullah's family transferred the maestro's house to the Directorate General of Culture. After fully renovating the Basoeki Abdullah museum, located on Jalan Keuangan Raya No. 19, Cilandak Barat, South Jakarta, the museum was officially opened by then Minister of Tourism and Culture, Drs. I Gede Ardika on September 25, 2001. The two-story house of approximately 600 square meters is divided into 3 parts: an introduction room on the 1st floor where visitors can see Abdullah's personal information as well as collections; a memorial room also on the 1st floor and formerly his bedroom, and the painting exhibition room, located on the 2nd floor of the house.Basoeki Abdullah/Photo is courtesy of The Basoeki Abdullah Museum

Abdullah was born on January 27, 1915 in Surakarta (Solo), Central Java. He inherited his love for art from his father, Abdullah Soerjobroto (1878 – 1942) who was also a painter. In 1935, Abdullah received a prestigious art scholarship to study for 2 years at the Academie Voor Beeldende Kunsten (Royal Academy of Visual Arts) in the Netherlands. Upon his graduation, he had the opportunity to travel around Europe, visiting several cities in Italy and France, further broadening his knowledge of the arts. Between 1962 and 1976, he made Thailand his home and served there as painter to the royal family. Abdullah held numerous solo and group exhibitions in Indonesia and abroad and was honored with many awards. He continues to be revered as one of Indonesia' s finest masters, long after his passing.

There's little doubt that Abdullah was Indonesia's best painter of realism. His uncanny ability to romanticize ordinary subjects transformed into glamorous royalty is unparalleled. When he was just a 10 year-old, Abdullah drew a sketch of India's spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi with pencil. This sketch, along with a painting of his father, is early testament to his subsequent career as an international painter.

Section of Abdullah's collections/Photo: Adji SoedibjoAs soon as visitors enter Abdullah's museum, the glass cabinets at the ground floor display evidence of the painter's European travels, and include numerous winter coats documenting his travels to seasonal countries. A number of rifles as well as the brushes and oil paint tubes used in his work are also displayed here. Abdullah was also a true collector, as visitors can observe from the various figurines on display, ranging from Buddha to Beethoven, as well as porcelain figures of horses, tigers and swans. Despite his fondness for foreign cultures, he kept close to his Indonesian roots, as can be seen from his collection of wayang golek or Sundanese wooden puppets, wayang kulit, or Javanese shadow puppets, as well as Indonesian masks and daggers from across Indonesia.

Abdullah's works are displayed upstairs. His fondness for nature is revealed through his collection of panoramic paintings. Paintings of rice fields, rivers, mountains and seas, along with various studies of flora and fauna are on display here. His abstract paintings are exhibited on the walls and reflect his shift in style, which occurred during his final years.Animals try to survive/Photo is courtesy of The Basoeki Abdullah Museum

Abdullah's fame, however, was realized primarily through portraiture painting. Some of the high profile subjects whose portraits he painted include former president Sukarno as well as a canvass of former president Suharto and his wife, Ibu Tien. His oeuvre also includes paintings of Minister Mentor Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore, King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and former president Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, as well as of their wives, also on display at the museum.

Labor/Photo is courtesy of The Basoeki Abdullah MuseumThe library, also on the second floor, is probably the most interesting of the rooms in the museum. There's a smaller room where Abdullah's nude paintings are kept under lock, as these are not considered appropriate viewing for children. The library has about 3,000 books and magazines, all well arranged in shelves. Abdullah's collection consists mainly of foreign books in English, Dutch and Mandarin, and include many travel guides and dictionaries, as well as art and photo publications, especially those on European cities, beautiful landscapes and exotic countries.

The museum offers visitors a glimpse into the artist's life and work. It's nice to see the timetables and explanations that accompany the displays, both in Indonesian and English, but the English is unfortunately often incomprehensible. Eva, one of the museum's staff adds, "The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has purchased the house next door and the museum will be extended so that we will have more exhibition space. In 2009 we had the highest number of visitors with about 5,900 people."

Balinese Ngaben or Cremation/Photo is courtesy of The Basoeki Abdullah Museum