S. Sudjojono, 1913-1986 One of the ultimate tools of revolution is art. So, too, revolution ideas often stimulate revolutionary visuals – posters and icons that embody the aspirations of those struggling against the old order. Art also serves the victorious in their search for iconic images that embody the principles of the revolution. The Father [...]

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In the west the Piggy Bank has long been a time-honoured rite of passage, a whimsical but didactic tool for inculcating children with the benefits of saving. While today many may consider the humble piggy bank a quaint but dated holdover from the Victorian Age, few are aware of its ancient origins and profound symbology. [...]

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Raden Saleh Boestaman (c. 1807-1880) This well-known photo of Raden Saleh, Indonesia’s ‘first’ western-style painter was taken in 1870 when he was at the peak of his fame.  Seated upon a tall Gothic Revival chair in total ease, the artist turns away from an art book he is reading and gazes directly at us with [...]

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Although the world’s most famous artist, Vincent van Gogh, once wrote to this brother Theo that he would like to set up a community of artists, this is about as close as he ever came to the “Garden of the East”. Instead of sailing to Batavia, he instead sliced off his ear and slowly slipped [...]

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Complex, contradictory and politically brilliant, Engineer Sukarno, the first president of the Republic of Indonesia, was a renowned lover of the arts and women. For the most part his eclectic collection of paintings and sculptures now belong to the Indonesian State. Like the man who put the collection together, it has been a source of [...]

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