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rtists called on the government to create a monument to late maestro Raden Saleh and his Belgian teacher AAJ Payen at the Bogor Botanical Gardens for their contribution to the garden as well as environmental education in the country.

Respected painter Dayan representing his colleagues in Bogor and surrounding areas, said Raden Saleh Syarief Bustaman, was well-known not only as a national hero for his resistance to Dutch colonialism in Indonesia, but also as a naturalist and for his contribution to the botanical gardens.

Dayan made the call during the launch and discussion of Katherina Ahmad'€™s book Kiprah, karya dan misteri kehidupan Raden Saleh: Perlawanan simbolik seorang inlander (Action, work and mystery of Raden Saleh'€™s life: The symbolic resistance of an indigenous people) at the Conservation Hall in the botanical gardens over the weekend.

According to Dayan, during his life Raden Saleh made a significant contribution to the botanical gardens as he and Payen took part in the journeys of the botanical gardens'€™ founder CGC Reinward around Java, Sulawesi and Maluku and painted the rare biodiversity in the country. Payen was an assistant of Reinward.

Raden Saleh, born to a noble family in Semarang, met Reinward after his uncle Adipati Surohadimenggolo, former regent of Terboyo, sent him at the age of eight to Dutch colonial governor GAGP Baron van der Cappellen to get a better education because of his painting talents.

 Cappellen sent him to Reinward and the latter in his capacity as director of agriculture, art and sciences and as founder of the botanical gardens appointed him as official painter at the gardens.

Due to his talent, Raden Saleh was twice sent to The Hague to deepen his study and skills in portraiture and painted many famous portraits during his time in the Netherlands.

Participating in numerous exploratory journeys to many islands, Raden Saleh painted trees, animals, indigenous people and their local cultures. He also painted Diponegoro'€™s capture and those of figures, like himself, who opposed Dutch colonial rule.

Katherina said her book'€™s content was the result of research and analyzing symbolic messages in Raden Saleh'€™s six important paintings relating to his resistance to foreign rule.

'€œRaden Saleh is an interesting figure. He is a world-caliber painter but he never hid his personal identity as an Indonesian patriot,'€ she said, adding that with a special monument to the two figures in the botanical gardens, the people, mainly artists, environmentalists and students, would recognize their contribution to the botanical gardens and the country'€™s biodiversity.