Process is the following – reading painting, reduce it to systems of signs, analyze
signs, use Postcolonial theory, unite them all together and answer the question of main hypothesis. Signs that will be produced come from understanding of concept such are
heroism, nationalism, identity, and others. These concepts are analyzed under Postcolonial theory and finding and ideas of main thinkers from this theory.
G. Validation of Data
Triangulation is the combination of at least two or more theoretical perspectives,
methodological approaches, data sources, investigators, or data analysis methods. The intent of using triangulation is to decrease, negate, or counterbalance the deficiency of a
single strategy, thereby increasing the ability to interpret the findings. Denzin, 1978 from Hussein, 2009 identified four basic types of triangulation:
Data triangulation: involves time, space, and persons
Investigator triangulation: involves multiple researchers in an investigation
Theory triangulation: involves using more than one theoretical scheme in the interpretation of the phenomenon
Methodological triangulation: involves using more than one method to gather data, such as interviews, observations, questionnaires, and
documents. In this research data triangulation involves depicting Pangeran Diponegoro as main
motif in paintings of various authors from different backgrounds and different historical perspectives. Theory that was used to illustrate this research was Postcolonial theory, but it
is also cross checked with findings from tools used by Visual Semiotics. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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40
CHAPTER IV ANALYSES
A. The 19th century – Pangeran Diponegoro – Villain and Hero
1. The 19th century in Indonesia
The powerful Dutch East India Company Dutch -
Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie - VOC
, meaning “United East India Companв” appeared in аhat is noа Indonesian land from beginning of 17th century. For two centuries these mighty, the first
multinational company controlled and used different parts of Indonesian Archipelago and seized power of local rulers. Due to corruption and debt, the company declared bankruptcy
and it was nationalised by Dutch republic as the Dutch East Indies. The exact date of nationalisation of this company was January 1
st
1800, so Indonesia entered into the 19th century with an old new ruler. Brown, 2003
Between 1811 and 1816 some parts of the Dutch East Indies came under a short period of British control due to some insurgencies in Europe. After that the Dutch fought
several wars to establish their full control over Archipelago. In West Sumatra between 1803 and 1827 there was the first civil war between two Muslim groups, and with the
intervention of the Dutch this war was over. Now it is called the Minangkabau ethnics of west Sumatra or Padri War that was the name of the faction that won. Between 1859 and
1863 there was also war in southeast Kalimantan. The result was the defeat of the Banjarmasin sultan. Areas of Bali and Aceh were also rebellious and conflict there started
at the end of the 19th century and finished at the beginning of the 20th century with the Dutch state becoming absolute ruler of all present areas of Indonesia. Brown, 2003
For this research one conflict is crucial. It is the Java War or Diponegoro War and it was fought for five years between 1825 and 1830. This rebellious, guerrilla war took as
many as 500.000 Javanese lives and around 20.000 soldiers on the Dutch side – both
Europeans and
Belanda Hitam
– black warriors from the Dutch Gold Coast today Ghana. The war ended with the capture of the Javanese leader of war and his companions during
negotiations where the Dutch guaranteed him freedom and some rights, but instead they tricked him, ending the war. Java was devastated, but soon with a new cultivation system
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the Javanese and Dutch elites were pleased. Java and Indonesia, with the end of this war, entered a high point of colonization which brought wealth to the Dutch Kingdom from
1815 until today the Netherlands has been a kingdom ruled by the Oranje family, but devastation, poverty, and death to many in the archipelago. But it also brought better
infrastructure and access to education, which later led to nationalistic movements and finally the liberation of Indonesia. Carey, 2008
2. Art History of the 19th century
The 19th century was quite a dynamic period in Indonesian history; it brought a lot of misery to the Archipelago, but also some innovations that soon helped facilitate
deliberation and the emancipation of the country. In the history of Europe and art history of the West it was also a dynamic period which led to art as we know it today. With
revolutionary movements and the establishment of nations as we know them today, art followed with the first movements in the 19th century being Neoclassicism and
Romanticism. Hirsh, 2011 The first one, Neoclassicism, derived influence from classics in European art
– antique and renaissance. The second, Romanticism, was also called Neo-Baroque and it
was more dynamic and vivid than Neoclassicism. The key word with Romanticism was escape: escape in nature, in glory past, in exotic places Hirsh, 2011. The art of these
artists influenced the first Javanese who learned about painting. During the second half and towards the end of the century, Realism, with its strong social critique, was born along with
Impressionism, which brought new challenges to art. These two movements did not have any direct influence on Javanese and Indonesian art. Indirect influence was present with
questions about the meaning and position of art, but with some time delay.
3. Western Eyes: Nicolaas Pieneman
‟s Vision of Pangeran Diponegoro 3.1.
Biography of Nicolaas Pienemaan One of the artists from the „Dutch Neoclassicism‟ period is the Dutch painter and
lithographer Nicolaas Pieneman. He was born on 1st January 1800. His birth place is the perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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city of Amersfoort in central Netherlands. He was the son of the famous Dutch artist Jan Willem Pieneman. Jan Willem Pieneman was the director of the
Koninklijke Académie voor Schone Kunsten
in Amsterdam since 1820 and finally was appointed director of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam in 1847. Marius, 1909
Taught bв his father, he later studied at Amsterdam‟s Academв of Fine Arts. He specialised in painting recent historical events. He was a friend of the Dutch king Willem II
and painted numerous portraits of members of the royal family. He was also member of
Natura Artis Magistra
in Amsterdam from 1852 until his death on 30th December 1860. His opus consists of mainly historical painting, followed by portraits and cityscapes.
Besides the Netherlands, he was also active in the United Kingdom, France, and Belgium. In addition to his painting and lithography skills he entered the art history of Netherlands as
an art collector and teacher of many future painters, such as Johaness Arnoldus Boland, Hendrick Hollander, Jan Frederick Tuck, and others. Marius, 1909
3.2.
Submission of Diponegoro
1830-5: History and Signs Diponegoro entered Javanese traditional art as a leader of the Javanese during the
Java War. His fights were subject of batik paintings as well as wayang kulit stories. In early chronicles about his fight written in Javanese court houses, there were also depictions of
Diponegoro. These artworks will be mentioned more in Section 4, about Javanese paintings of Diponegoro.
The first Westerner that made a depiction of Pangeran Diponegoro was Adrianus Johaness Bick 1790-1872. He was
baljuw
magistrate of Batavia today Jakarta and guardian of Diponegoro during his staв in the Stadhuis BataЯia‟s Citв Hall today Jakarta
History Museum. Diponegoro was there between April 8 and May 3, 1830. Based on a charcoal sketch of A. J. Bick, Carel Christiaan Anthony created a lithography. This portrait
was used to make the banknotes of 100 Indonesian rupiah from 1952. Carey, 2008 In these representations Pangeran Diponegoro was dressed in the garments which he
wore during the Java war, namely a turban, an open-necked
kabaya
cotton shirt and a
jubah
loose outer robe. A sash hangs over his right shoulder, and his
pusaka kris
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heirloom dagger,
Kangjeng Kyai Bandayuda
, is stuck in his flowered silk waist band. The slightlв sunken cheeks, аhich accentuate the prince‟s high cheek bones, аere the result of
successive bouts of malaria from which he had been suffering since his wandering in the jungles of Bagelen at the end of the war Carey, 2008. These representations are rarely
seen, because they represent Pangeran Diponegoro as a sick prisoner. It is far away from Pangeran Diponegoro - the warrior, just king, leader, hero... Nevertheless, these pictures
can also have nationalistic connotations; they show a warrior in the robe that he wore during battles. His face is pale and expresses sickness, but his eyes are proud and bright.
His posture is one of the royals, full of dignity and calmness. This is the light that will shine on the nation several years after his exile and death.
1.0. A. J. Bick, charcoal
sketch, 1830 Source: Carey, 2008
1.1. A. C. Anthony,
lithography, 1830 Source: Carey, 2008
1.2. Note of 100 Indonesian
rupiah from 1952 Source: the Internet
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1. The First Western Look at Pangeran Diponegoro
The first one to put Pangeran Diponegoro on the „big screen‟ аas Nicolaas Pieneman. His painting was done in the same period as the sketch and lithography
– around 1830 and 1835. General Hendrik Merkus de Kock, who arranged the arrest of Diponegoro,
returned to Holland in late 1830 and was received as a national hero. In order to celebrate himself de Kock commissioned the best known and economically most successful portrait
painter, Cornelis Kruseman the teacher of Raden Saleh - to do his portrait. De Kock did
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All sources of illustrations specially one retrieved from the Internet are listed in the end of this research under section „Source of Illustration‟ page 137
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not onlв commission his oаn portrait, but also a historical tableau of the “Submission of Diponegoro” - the highlight of his military career - by Nicolaas Pieneman. Kraus, 2005
This oil on canvas was originally in the de Kock family collection until 1907 when it was handed over to Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam where it was listed in 1920 under
collection number 1874. The original and full title of the painting is
The submission of Diepo Negoro to Lieutenant-General Hendrick Merkus Baron de Kock, 28 March 1830,
which ended the Java War 1825
–
30
. The title itself is already full of the meaning. The author omits the title Pangeran or Prince in front of Diponegoro this only appears in
Indonesian translations of the artwork where Diepo Negoro is Pangeran Diponegoro, while de Kock is presented under his full name and title.
There is also the ending, аhich is rarelв seen, „
which ended the Java war
‟. Usuallв the painting is named with a shorter version like that in the title of this paragraph and
generally used during the whole of this research or with an extended name which includes the two main characters. This ending is characteristic because it does not mention the
treachery of Dutch, or how the war and this meeting ended. It says that war ended with the simple submission of Diponegoro, which is far from truth. It is obvious already that the
painting represents the Dutch as a supreme power with dominance over the Javanese. If we examine the painting as system of signs we can see how specific elements support this
view.
Icon signs are signs where the signifier resembles the signified. In Nicolaas
Pieneman we can observe the depiction of many historical characters who were involved in this historical drama. The Dutch are positioned in the upper level of the composition, they
are active and energetic. One is shown ordering something, another is ready to obey these orders, their posture is vertical
– everyone is either standing or riding a horse and therefore dominates the picture. Their uniforms are neat and dominated by the colour black shirts,
boots, and hats which also gives a strong sense of power. Black is the colour that usually symbolises death, but it also represents dominance and full control. Black itself is all
colours in one, but also the absence of light. On the other hand, the followers of Diponegoro are somehow subordinate; they are sitting, kneeling, or standing. But the
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standing figures also lack energy and everyone is somehow surprised and hurt by the news that their leader is telling them.
2. Nicolaas Pieneman Submission of Diponegoro 1830-1835
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2.1. Icon signs – Portraits of some of the historical figures involved in this scene:
1. Pangeran Diponego
2. Hendrick Merkus de
Kock 3.
Du Perron 4.
Michiels 5.
Tololiu HW Dotulong 6.
Benjamin Th. Sigar 7.
Hendrik Werias Supit 8.
Pasukan Tulungan 9.
Johanis Inkiriwarig
2.2. Pangeran Diponegoro
2.3. General De Kock
Pieneman made
Diponegoro look
submissive he is put one step below De Kock, his retainers and followers as well.
Everyone pictured seems to understand that de Kocks stern action is for the best
of the Javanese, and that poor General de Kock had no choice but to send Pangeran
Diponegoro away, just like a loving father has to send a misguided son away in order
to teach him a valuable lesson. After all de Kock was not a monstrous colonizer, but
an educated and civilized gentleman, respected leader of the freemasons in the
Indies Kraus, 2005.
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Pieneman painting was easy to access in every format from Web page of Rijksmuseum https:www.rijksmuseum.nlencollectionSK-A-2238 - Retrieved in 5. May 2013. All details, cropped
version of painting are from that source
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Index signs are those where signifier is not arbitrary, rather it has a direct
connection to signified. Classic Index signs in paintings and other visual media are for example smoke that indicates fire, writings on painting, that point to what is written, traces
of movements footprints, traces of car. But in general art history has developed an extensive lexicon of indexical signs in paintings: there are
repoussoir
figures, figures in pictures аho „point‟ to the action, „lookers‟ in paintings, „painter–beholders‟ in pictures
who mime some functions of the external beholder, mirrors and surrogates and objects of reciprocal gazes in Elkins, 2013.
Repoussoir
figures are those who make the border of the picture, they introduce us to the space. They were introduced by Dutch landscape painters in the 17th century. A
memento of this in this composition is the depiction of a tree that leads our view toward the mountains. Also in this painting there is one figure on the right on the horse, in a red suit; it
closes composition on that side with the banner of the flag of the Netherlands which will soon be analyzed.
The pointing figure in this composition is De Kock who probably points and indicates that soon a carriage will come and take prisoner to his future destination. De
Kock ‟s gaгe is also the most striking one and sвmboliгes determination and action. Gaгes
of the other Dutch are toward De Kock and support him in his action. Other Dutch figures look on the scene with Diponegoro but with calm and indifference. Diponegoro does not
look in any general direction, but toward his followers, and his body language somehow suggests that he realizes that he is guilty, and the only thing that he can do is to surrender.
His followers look at him with surprise and shock, but the scene is not too dramatic, facial expressions are mild, so like they also realize necessity of this action. All participants seem
relaxed even the crying ones, there is no resistance. Kraus, 2005 perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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Symbol signs
A painting is usually full of symbols. Symbols are signs where the signifier does not look like the signified. It is fully arbitrary, needs to be learned, and it is a matter of
convention. Symbols can include objects, but also they are in gestures, body language, animals and plants that have strong symbolic potential, and so on.
2.4 Marks of Nation: Central Dutch flag, flag on the right side, and coat of arm
By looking at the painting we can say that the figure of Diponegoro and two crying and kneeling figures are the central ones. They are in a central position, but, above them, on
the roof of the Residence, is the Dutch flag. It is the dominant figure in this painting. It is a strong symbol of who is above everything
– the rebellious prince, the loyal general, armies from both sides
– servitude to Kingdom of the Netherlands is their summit. The flag on the roof is the highest peak of the painting; even the tree and mountain are below its level. The
flag also appears on the right side and the figure in red almost closes that side of the composition. Among the masses of Dutch soldiers there is also a small trace of the orange
flag – the banner of royal family from Kingdom of the Netherlands established from 1815.
The coat of arms is not so visible, but it is the dominant relief over the entrance to the Residence which clearly indicates that the resident is there to obey European center of
power symbolized by its heraldic.
Spears -
There are two groups of spears, those on the back are up, and in front panel are the ones which are laid down. Those that are up belong to the Pasungan Tulungan
mentioned above in icon signs under number 8. The Pasungan Tulungan were brought from Fort Amsterdam in Manado and they consisted of 1500 Minahasa people. They were
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one of the key elements of Dutch victory. In contrast to them are the spears of the defeated Javanese.
2.5. People:
More Middle Eastern than Javanese Nicolaas Pieneman had never been to Java and the Javanese in his painting look
more like people from the Middle East. Kraus, 2005 It is a p erfect illustration of Said‟s
concept of Orientalisation. The West won a war, the rebellious were Muslims, and the nearest concept to the Western closed mind are Muslims from Middle East who were for
ages enemies of the Christian rulers аho аanted to „liberate‟ the Holв Land. All folloаers of Diponegoro wear turban-like cloths on their head, and their robes are like those of Turks,
or Lebanese, rather than Javanese with their batik clothes. Even their faces, moustaches, and expressions also reveal this
Middle-Easterncity
rather than
Javanicity
or
Indonesiacity
. New words coined from Barthesian concept of
Italianicity
from his „Rethoric of Image‟
2.6. Geography: Landscape
- Magelang is surrounded by five volcano mountains: Merapi, Merbabu, Sindoro, Sumbing, and Slamet.
Background Mountain in Pineneman‟s Яision is more likely European mountain, rather than some of the
Volcano Mountain in Java with its conical shape. Also the Dutchman Pieneman introduced a rather sharp
wind from the west common in Holland that gives the Dutch flag a very dynamic appearance Kraus, 2005.
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The painting of Nicolaas Pieneman is not there to be realistic and accurate, it is there to serve its purpose which is the demonstration of Dutch supremacy and great victory.
It may be followed by the usage of a great amount of prejudice and ignorance, but is not that hoа the West „produces‟ the East in the first place? This artаork аas one of the
paintings that helped Dutch people to construct an image and the idea of the Netherland East Indies. It is an idea of the Other, rebellion, one that needs to be controlled and
subordinate, the one who needs European gentlemen, who will bring dynamic changes in this part of world, many good ones, but also many followed by death and despair.
2.7. Un-existing Symbol of Death
- In аritings about Pieneman‟s painting
there is no word about the strange figure
of carriage
driver. His
representation „аhispers‟ a storв of death and destruction of one colonial
rule. The majority of faces that we saw in direct gaze in this painting have the features of
one face – nose, eyes, or mouth, in some we can see it more clearly, like De Kock or
Diponegoro and in some just in traces, but the driver of the carriage has a strangely dark and morbid appearance. In Western painting there is a frequent motif in paintings called
memento mori
- usually depicted by skulls which serve to remind a viewer of transience of life. In this picture the driЯer‟s role is somehoа reЯersed – it can mean that the painter
wanted to say „death is coming‟ for Pangeran Diponegoro. It аould be a big mistake –
Pangeran Diponegoro liЯed 30 more вears. But it can be „death is coming for all of вou‟, because Javanese resistance was silenced with the end of this war only briefly, and it took
the Javanese more than one hundred years to resist and to set free and to create a new homeland
– Indonesia.
4.
Javanese Eyes: Raden Saleh‟s Vision of Pangeran Diponegoro perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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4.1. Biography of Raden Saleh
The first Javanese who gained formal education in painting in west was Raden Saleh. His full name is Raden Saleh Sjarief Boestaman. He was born in a wealthy Javanese
family in Tebaya Semarang, Central Java in 1807 or 1814. , His family had ties with Suro Adimenggolo, the regent of Semarang and Pekalongan. He had lived at the home of Baron
van der Capellen in Buitenzorg present day Bogor, West Java, where he had an opportunity to study painting from Caspar Reinward 1773-1854 and Belgian artist A. A.
J. Payen 1792- 1853. It аas him аho found Raden‟s talent. With the support of Prof.
Reinward, a painter and botanical blue-print maker of Kebun Raya Bogor the Botanical Garden of Bogor and the Dutch governor General van der Capellen, A. A. Payen sends
him to the Netherlands to study painting in 1830. The willingness of Dutch colonial government to send and educate Raden Saleh abroad had at its core political design, namely
so that the young man would be prevented from being influenced by his uncle, who was leaning toward aristocrat independence leader Pangeran Diponegoro prior to the outbreak
of the struggle for freedom in the Java War 1825-1830 Kraus and Vogelsang, 2012 He studied landscape painting from Andreas Schelfhout and portrait painting from
Cornelius Kruseman. From 1839 the artist lived in Dresden and he became a celebrity in several courts there. In 1844 Raden Saleh visited France, and later journeyed to Italy and
Austria. Upon his return to Holland, he was given the title of Royal Painter by King Willem II. He also visited Algiers during this time. His work is strongly influenced by work of
Romanticism masters, in the first place Théodore Géricault 1791-1824 and Eugène Delacroix 1798
– 1863 Raden Saleh was after all the Javanese of his time most exposed to аestern thought and realitв. “European painters are not especially good in creating animal
hunts and battle scenes. Theв miss the inner experience. Here Im happв to be an Asian”
Kraus, 2005 After more than 20 years living abroad he returned to Java in 1852. For a short
while he became a painter in the courts of Yogyakarta and Mangkunegara Solo. Finally he settled in Batavia Jakarta, only to move to Bogor in 1879, a year before his death. The
artist passed away on 23 April 1880 in Bogor. In 1969 he was awarded Amugerah Seni art perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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award from Indonesian government. The artistic and existential struggle of Raden Saleh could be a turning point for mapping and discussing how Indonesian fine art grew,
developed, and then came into contact with modernity. His art work representing the East Image through Romanticism made him made him charismatic figure among the artists and
European noblemen. This achievement made him professional laureate painter, and get the various honours. He had the capacity to absorb West culture, yet, he had strong ties to his
native socio-cultural context. He became an inspiration for Indonesian painters and nationalists during the growth of national movement in the first half of 20th century. Kraus
and Vogelsang, 2012 4.2.
Arrest of Diponegoro
1857: History and Signs Raden Saleh was not the first Javanese to paint Pangeran Diponegoro. Charcoal
sketch of Diponegoro as a young man was probably made by a Yogyakarta
kraton
artist. It аas the time of Diponegoro‟s marriage to his first official аife in March 1807. It is the onlв
known sketch of the Pangeran which shows him dressed in Javanese kraton style in a
surjan
and
blangkon
Carey, 2008. He also entered the babad – traditional Javanese
chronicles. He is a subject in four babad: one written by himself with the assistance of his family, one written by the order of his opponent Bupati Purwarejo, and those written in
courts of Yogyakarta and Surakarta. Diponegoro also had remarkable knowledge about wayang and gamelan. Sumarsam, 2013 He will also enter these stories. Wayang
Diponegoro was created in the 20th century to spread a story about famous Pameran and his glory resistance.
Besides depicting Pangeran Diponegoro in „imported‟ аaв аhich painting in Indonesia is, there is also a long tradition of depicting stories about him in traditional
genres – illustrations in babad chronicles, as motif in batik painting, and telling the stories
and carving his leather puppet for wayang kulit performance. One of the main goals of this research is also to demonstrate how local wisdom and specific Indonesian socio-cultural
environment can blend and enrich painting in Indonesia and general. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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3.2. Pangeran Diponegoro giving instructions to his
two followers,
Kyai Jayamustapa
and Kyai
Mopid, before they set out on their pilgrimage
ziarah
to Nusakambangan. Diponegoro is sitting under
kemuning tree
wit kemuning
on his
meditation stone
séla gilang
at his retreat of Sélareja, north-east of Tegalreja. From
Buku Kedung Kebo.
Source of illustration and text: Carrey, 2007
3.1. Batik Perang Diponegoro
Author‟s photo collection
3.3. One of the first Diponegoro‟s portrait made bв unknown local keraton artist Source: Carrey, 2007
3.4. 3.5. Wayang Diponegoro Source
of photos
– the Internet
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3. Javanese Look at Pangeran Diponegoro
It is interesting to notice that almost all traditional Javanese art forms that was depicted in illustration box above appear later. Initially Pangeran Diponegoro was not hero,
he brought chaos and destruction to a lot of parts of Java. His battle was forceful and brutal. Only later, his rebellious act was recognized as proto-nationalistic one. Wayang
Diponegoro appeared after Indonesian Independence. Batik Diponegoro was actual batik, but it was done with design of Dutch ladies who were worried about this conflict. It is
presented in batik belanda section of Danar Hadi Batik Museum in Surakarta. This is an interesting influence of Javanese art form to creations of Westerners.
23
For more details about source, look at Source of Illustrations on page 137.
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One of the best examples of blending of Western and Indonesian art and hybridization
is Raden Saleh‟s masterpiece “
The Arrest of Pangeran Diponegoro
illustrates his status as a migrant betаeen tаo аorlds rather brilliantlв” Kraus, 2005. In Europe he
did not feel comfortable to paint historical scenes. Those scenes in Western art included representations of contemporary historical events and glorification of rulers in the first
place, but also knowledge and usage of historical scenes and battles from European history. Also, in this group big scenes from the Bible as well as narratives from Ancient mythology
were included. Not just Ancient Roman and Greece, but also stories from German, Anglo- Saxon, and other mythologies. Historical painting, which carried strong nationalistic
undertones, developed into a major instrument for glorification of the state andor nation building. Kraus, 2005 All these concepts were unfamiliar to Saleh, so he did not paint in
this genre. The onlв historical painting that he did is „Arrest of Diponegoro‟. The visual hegemony was already established. Kraus, 2005 Pieneman already
finished his version, that Saleh must have seen in the Netherlands and he probably made first sketches based on this painting. From later in 1857 Raden Saleh mentioned that he
produced one painting which includes Diponegoro and he painted it „for his majestв the
King of Holland‟. The Raden Saleh family, because of connections with Diponegoro lost privileges
and some of his family members were also exiled. Raden Saleh never met Diponegoro, but he met
Kyai Naga Siloeman
, the kris of Pangeran Diponegoro -
Kyai Naga Siloeman
had been taken from Diponegoro by the Dutch when they arrested him in Magelang. It was also
interesting to mention that in a short note in the
Kunstkronijk
1844-45 Raden Saleh was called
neefvan Diepo Negoro
, nephew of Diponegoro. Regardless of these obvious and strong connections with Raden Saleh and Diponegoro professor Harsja Bachtiar, an
American trained Indonesian historian, who belonged to the first generation of intellectuals in independent Indonesia, disqualified the painting as un-nationalistic. He wrote:
Diponegoros death inspired Saleh, who had seen many paintings of historical scenes when he was in Europe, to paint what he called
a historisches Tableau, die Gefangennahmen
des Javanischen
Hauptling Diepo
Negoro
, painted,
characteristically, for the King of the Netherlands, a very un-nationalistic gesture, but very much in accord with the relationship of a grateful artist and his aristocratic
patron, the relationship of a courtier and his King. Bachtiar, 1976
in
Kraus, 2005 perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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In the first sketch for painting, аe see a lot of similarities аith Pieneman‟s Яision, but there are already some signs that are different. Also the figures are all proportional
which is also important to mention for analyses of actual painting. 4.0. The first sketch for
Arrest of Pangeran Diponegoro, 1856
In the final painting Raden Saleh used Western Renaissance linear perspective. After all linear perspectiЯe creates a highlв artificial representation of space and “belongs
more to Яisual sвmbolism than to the structure of Яision” Sаiderski, 1990. That Яision of Saleh is Яision of trap, of treacherв, and betraвal. “Among the earliest expressions of this is
Raden Salehs 1850s depiction of The Capture of Prince Diponegoro by General de Kock after the Java War of 1825-
30, a painting that declares, I think, „вou did this to us, but аe are still us‟ ” Clark
in
Anderson, 1998.“Reformulation” аas the task of Raden Saleh аhich means the opposition of Pieneman‟s Яision, his oаn answer, and visual battle so to
speak. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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Raden Saleh „The Arrest of Pangeran Diponegoro‟ 1857
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4.1. Icon signs – Portraits of some of historical figures involved in this scene:
1 – Pangeran Diponegoro
2 - Hendrik Merkus de Kock 3
– Louis de Perron 4
– W. A. Roest 5
– Francois Victor Henri Antoine Ridder de Stuers
6 – 9 – Diponegoro‟s folloаers, among
them either 6 orand 7 is Raden Saleh „cameo‟ appearance
10 – Raden Ayu Retnaningsih, one of the
wives 11
– Jayasurata Rata, one of the abdi dalam servant
12 – Pangeran Diponegoro Muda, the
second son, born ca. 1809 13
– Franciscus Gerardus Valck 14
– Johan Jacob Parié 15
– Johan Jacob Roeps Figures that are sitting or kneeling are representations of Diponegoro‟s closest
collaborators: military commanders Ali Basah, AB, male children Raden Mas, RM and religious clerics. Here there is depiction of AB Ngabdulkamil Mértanégara, AB
Ngadulmahmud Gandakusuma, AB Suryawinata, AB Imam Musbah, RM Joned born ca. 1815 , RM Raib born ca. 1816, Kyai Ngisa and Haji Badarudin. There are also
students from Islamic school Barjumungah and carrier of Diponegoro‟s paвung 9 Source for naming characters
– Carrey, 1986
24
The Arrest of Diponegoro does not have available reproduction in high resolution, so for this analyses reproduction were accessed from several sources, for details look at Source of Illustration
– page 137
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Icon signs
This was the first time for Raden Saleh to paint more than 40 figures in one
composition. Carey 1986 identifies more than historical figures in this painting. A
major difference betаeen Pieneman‟s and Saleh‟s Яision is depiction of tаo main
characters of this historical drama –
Pangeran Diponegoro and General de Kock. The arrest of Diponegoro shows a different
composition and
emotional quality
altogether. An angry Diponegoro is the acting figure in the center of the painting. He struggles to keep his feelings - in true Javanese fashion - under control. His look is
provocative and challenging, while the Dutch officers are frozen in static gazes that do not meet anybodys eyes. Saleh brings the Javanese onto the same level. In relationship to de
Kock, Diponegoro stands on the right side, the Dutch Commander-in-Chief on the left, which, within the Javanese system of spatial order is understood as the female side. That
again relegates the Dutch officer to the second in importance.
Index signs
In Raden Saleh‟s painting there are not too manв indexical signs. In Raden Saleh‟s
version Diponegoro is not pointed out of his country, but is invited by a somewhat helpless de Kock to enter a waiting coach. Gazes of people are calm, Dutch people look confused
and lost, and among followers of Diponegoro only two figures look more up to the scene, while others look down and overall spread atmosphere of sadness and despair. The only
figure who has more vivid facial expression is Pangeran Diponegoro who looks angry; his posture shows that he is ready for some action.
4.2. Pangeran
Diponegoro Muda,
Pangeran Diponegoro and General de Kock
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Symbol signs
4.3. Geography
- Mountains in Saleh‟s Яision look more like
volcanic mountains that can be seen from Magelang. The Dutchman Pieneman introduced a rather sharp wind from the
west common in Holland that gives the Dutch flag a very dynamic appearance. In Raden Salehs work the atmosphere is
absolutely quiet. The universe holds its breath, no leaf and certainly no flag is moving. Kraus, 2005
In Salèh‟s painting it is morning, the dawn of a new day: not only the dawn of a new colonial era, but also one which would herald the collapse of that order. Carrey, 2007
Non-existent Marks of Nation -
Raden Saleh has forgotten the Dutch tricolor altogether. Also there is no coat of arms engraved in the wall of the building. While this
painting can be addressed to the king who was not really art lover it is cleared message from absence of signs: you do not belong here. After this war Java entered the period of
high colonialism and land was dived to various local rulers.
Divide et impera
– was Dutch as well for short time British motto in Java. That is why there are no alternate signs, the
ideas of nationhood will be developed later, at the beginning of the 20th century, and this painting will be one of the symbols for artists who wished to say something about national
issue.
4.4. People in Raden Saleh are rich in clothes, gestures, emotions
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The most interesting fact about depiction of people in Raden Saleh‟s Яision is that the
heads of the major Dutch officers
are slightly out of proportion, a little bit too big. This error is not found in the earlier drawing, nor are the heads of the Javanese on the painting
out of proportion. This is because the error is not an error but a message: the heads of the Dutch officers are the heads of raksasas, of monsters. Dutch audience could not recognize
this message, eЯen Dutch historian H. J. de Graf аrote: “I cannot saв that I find it Яerв beautiful. The heads are a little too big and the arrest of the prince did not happen on the
gallerв as shoаn on the painting but in the interior of the house”Moesson, 1978
in
Kraus, 2005
In Raden Saleh vision
Javanese people
look more realistic than one in Pieneman‟s vision. He uses for them not only turbans, which here are symbol signs for supporters of
Diponegoro. From the earliest depiction Diponegoro is with turban, and those who follow him, wear the same. But in this depiction Javanese do wear batik and its parang decoration.
Raden Saleh‟s painting is attempting to restore Javanese dignity.
Tasbih
- One of the symbol signs that are present in both versions of painting is tasbih on Diponegoro‟s аrest. Tasbih in Arabic حي ب س ت is a form of dhikr that involves
the repetitive utterances of short sentences glorifying God, in Islam. To keep track of counting either the phalanges of the right hand or a misbaha is used. Glassé, 2002 In
Pieneman‟s Яision also there is one of the main figures; just next to stairs that is using it to pray.
Batik - Parang
design is a motif of slanted lines. The term Parang derives from „sharp thing‟ or „knife‟. According to J. E. Jesper, Parang is a lotus leaf and according to J.
A. Loeber, this design comes from bird of Irian called Alberartas. In the Javanese history, it is said that king Sultan Agung Hanyokurokusumo III created Parang from the form of the
wave of the southern coast. He considered that even large rocks can be destroyed by strong waves and therefore, he prohibited this design to the masses and only permitted to be worn
by someone with a quick mind who is active and is able to solve political problems. However inside a family, Parang can be destructive meaning war and is considered
negatively. Therefore, this design is prohibited to be worn in weddings and is worn in royal perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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ceremonial occasions such as traditional ceremonies, royal meetings, and receptions of guests. When wearing Parang, there is a regulation that the size of Parang patterns differs
depending on the аearer‟s social class. In short, people of loаer class cannot wear large Parang patterns Sentalu
in
Tozu, 2007 The Parang motif in batik clothes of Diponegoro‟s folloаers that researchers about
Raden Saleh painting did not notice and it is remarkable how symbolic this batik is and how its story goes well with the story about capturing of Pangeran Diponegoro. Yet, some
notice red and аhite colour on the top of Diponegoro‟s turban. It maв be interpreted as a proto-nationalist sign, but it can be just coincidence. But it is not coincidence that
Diponegoro was painted without his keris. In the moment of his capturing it was Idul Fitri –
a great Islamic day, and we cannot tell what Diponegoro was expecting from this meeting, but it is clear that he did not expect that he will be tricked and captured. The absence of the
keris symbolizes that. According to Bruijn and Pattopang 2008, this painting could be a symbol of
national identitв. The reason is, first, the paintings аere made bв painter‟s Indonesian maestro, namely Raden Saleh. Second, the subject of the painting is a hero of the nation,
namely Prince Diponegoro. Third, this painting has a highly aesthetic value. More than that, this painting depicts a historic event that is very important for Indonesia.
To end discussion one can start from the beginning – the name of the painting.
Raden Saleh did not choose to folloа Pieneman and to name the painting „Submission‟. He believed that Pangeran Diponegoro was tricked and he expressed that it in a title. He did
not omit Diponegoro‟s title – he was his Pangeran as well as he was to thousands of Javanese who follow him in his resistance. That is why he also depicts himself among the
group of Diponeogoro‟s folloаers. Did Raden Saleh really want to send message that Dutch who colonized his land our
raksasa or monsters or was it just a mistake? Not all figures of Dutch people in his painting are out of proportion, only those in charge. They even have a bigger amount of light on
their faces logically because heads are bigger, so it is arguable that Saleh wanted to send message of disapproval to those. One can say that the
Arrest of Pangeran Diponegoro
is a caricature, a bitter comment on Dutch colonial rule. Others can say that it is the piece of a
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„loвal serЯant‟. A third Яieа, as Alаi Shahab added in a long neаspaper essay about Salehs Arrest of Diponegoro: “It is a reЯolutionarв and anti-colonial painting”.
Is Raden Saleh a
londo
Javanese term for white people andor foreigners that comes from name for Dutch people or hybrid Javanese educated and grow in West or
JavaneseIndonesian proto-nationalist? The answer is all and none of the above. The answer can be summarized by pointing main ideas from analyzes of this painting:
- Evolution of an idea – from initial sketch that folloаs Pieneman‟s Яision to a final Яision
with different emotion. The more closed composition with many figures looks intense and treating.
- The position of Dutch and Javanese figures – notable main characters – Diponegoro and
de Kock who are on the same level and Diponegoro looks angry and de Kock confused Relationship that Raden Saleh had аith Diponegoro‟s familв and local rulers. His familв
was pro-Diponegoro, he could not go to see and to make scene from battle, but he did visit Magelang where one of his family members was in charge.
- The destiny of the painting itself – it was it in his palace in The Hague. Later it was sent
to
The trofeengalerij van
het Koninklijk
Koloniaal Militair Invalidenhuis
Bronbeek
gallery of trophies of the Royal Colonial Military Veterans Home Bronbeek. In 1978 the Oranje Nassau Foundation returned the painting, as a present to the
Indonesian people, to Jakarta. It was kept in Presidental Palace Museum and until recently it was in bad shape. It was restored in 2013.
To conclude Raden Saleh is one complete master piece of his time, it shows how he blends and uses knowledge that he gets from West to send a message of disappointment
and protest to ones who were ruling his country. It was not nationalistic scream the idea of JavaneseIndonesian nation did not exist it was powerful expression that when we decode
it tells us a lot about life on an artist, life of Pangeran Diponegoro and injustice of colonial rule. That is what makes this painting remarkable
– it аas „for the first time local artist left anonymity to proc
laim that it is his job to comment the аorld‟ Kraus, 2005. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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5. Pangeran Diponegoro: Villain, Rebellion, or Hero?
The Dutch flag waving dominantly above all characters in the painting, the determined face of General De Kock, the obedient face of Pangeran Diponegoro, the Dutch
officials and their supporters are surrounding supporters of arrested or in this case submitted JaЯanese leader, these elements illustrate perfectlв Said‟s notion on
Orientalism. „The Oriental is irrational, depraЯed fallen, childlike,
different
; thus the European is rational, virtuos, mature,
normal
‟ Said, 1979 Nicolaas Pieneman painted all these on his canvas
– Pangeran Diponegoro is fallen figure, like a lost child, irrational, and with his exotic costume
–
different
. General De Kock on the other hand is father-like figure, rational, virtuos, and in his elegant European military custom
–
normal
. Western societies developed preconceived notion on East despite never been there. Nicolaas Pieneman never
visited Java, and he painted its people in Middle Eastern manner, and its nature like European landscape. These errors аere used to „nestle‟
West
as arrogant, ignorant, and limited-
minded on other hand. Pieneman‟s Яision might be perfect illustration for
Orientalism
, it is still well made histrocial scene. It is preserved in Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and it is easy accessible on the Internet. Dutch colonial era in Indonesia has
finished more than sixty years ago, but Dutch and within Western point of view toward the Java War and Pangeran Diponegoro are still dominant one.
Suwardi Surjaningrat Ki Hadjar Diwantoro wrote a newspaper article about him being Dutch for one day
– and that day was Day of the Netherlands Independence. Here is what is he asking himself in that article:
Or do we perhaps feel that because of our soul-destroying policy we regard all human souls as dead? If that‟s so, then аe are deluding ourselЯes, because no matter
how primitive community is, it is against any type of oppression. If I were Dutchman, I would not organize an independence celebration in a country where the
independence of the people has been stolen from Anderson, 1996. By putting himself in place of Dutch he managed to put Dutch readers article was
written in Dutch into place of Javanese and to explain them Javanese and all other Indonesians point toward colonization. It is sad that the Internet viewers cannot do that
with looking at different view toward Pangeran Diponegoro and the Java War. Small perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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research about the Internet visibility of these two paintings is attached as appendix at the end of this research. Language „alloаed intellectuals to saв to their felloа speakers [of the
indegious Яernaculars] that „аe‟ can be like „them‟ Anthonв Barnett from Anderson,
1996. In this research it is showed that not just language in its printed and spoken form has power to do that, but it is also visual language in form of painting can do that as well.
„Bilingualism meant access, and, in particular, to the models of nationalism, nationness, and nation-
state produced elseаhere in the course of the nineteenth centurв.‟ Anderson, 1996. Raden Saleh was one of the first Indonesian men who had access to
Western education, space, people, and ideas. He could speak several European languages, but for this
research his „bilingualism‟ is performed in his painting replв to Pieneman painting.
Arrest of Pangeran Diponegoro
is the first historical painting in this part of world South-East Asia and it is also the first one done completely by local artist. Role models
for this painting were European historical paintings which were popular genre while Raden Saleh was in Europe and paintings from high renaissance which are regard as classical.
Kraus, 2005 said for Raden Saleh‟s art [it is] „the perfect sвnthesis between the rational West and the sensual East‟.
Raden Saleh himself embraced idea of his
Asianicity
and he was really proud that with that he can compete with European artists in that time. He painted lions, buffalos,
Arab men, horses, and place them in settings and situations not known to Europeans. He did not also come from a place on Earth where these scenes are inserts from everyday life,
but he used his knowledge and experience from Java to make these beautiful worlds. He explained that he see himself superior in this accept, because of his experience as a man
who comes from Asia. Even today these scenes are considered as his best artworks. After spending almost twenty years in Europe West he went back to Java East. In one of his
letters he wrote: „Betаeen these tаo аorlds mв heart is split. And I feel urged to offer both
sides mв loЯing thanks‟ Kraus, 2005 Locked betаeen tаo аords are „hвbrids‟ of cultures like Homi Bhabha described it
in his concept of hybridization. Hybridity is a metonymy of presence. Hybridity opens up a space, figuratively speaking, where the construction of a political object that is new, neither
the colonizer nor the Other, properly defies political expectations. Hybridity is a doubling, perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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dissembling image of being in at least two places at once. This turn in the effect of hybridity makes the presence of colonist authority no longer immediately visible. Hybridity
can unsettle the narcissist demands of colonial power, but reforms its identifications in strategies of subversion that turn the gaze of the discriminated back upon the colonist.
Bhabha, 1994 Raden Saleh in one letter explains his hybrid identity: ... Even though Im aware that I have to be thankful to the Dutch government for
my education, especially the King, and I never will forget this, you still have to excuse me that I thoroughly deplore the low level of culture my people have to live
on and I very much deplore their subjugation.Raden Saleh
in
Kraus, 2005 In Raden Saleh‟s Яision: big heads of main Dutch officers, angry face of Pangeran
Diponegoro, sad and „inЯisible‟ faces of his closest ones, absence of national features; аe do not see heroism
– both in Pangeran Diponegoro or artist himself. We see protest and raised voices. Pangeran Diponegoro was also not acknowledged as a hero soon after the
Java War was over, he left Java in a horrible condition, with thousands dead by military actions, others dead because of hunger, and ultimately he lost his fight
– he was arrested and exiled. Nevertheless his bravery to fight against all chances is a heroic act, and a heroic
act is to paint his arrest as „a caricature, a bitter comment on Dutch colonial rule‟ Kraus, 2005. Raden Saleh was the first educated painter in Java and in Indonesia. He brought
Western knowledge and influences about painting to Javanese cultural land, which was already in that time flourished with traditional and court sponsored art, such are dances,
wayang performances, production of batik clothes, etc. This аas a small „hвbrid‟ reЯolution in Javanese and Indonesian art. Soon,
Javanese followed by Balinese artist will master this art and show to their fellow countrymen that they can compete in this field with dominant Western powers. Yet, until
todaв, Indonesian artist are still „trapped‟ and looked upon like „hвbrids‟ and present daв art discussions are full of artist trвing to shoа their „loвaltв‟ and belonging to East, but in
the same time attacking these notions about
Orientalisation
and
hybridization
. perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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B. Indonesian paintings 1950
