The former residence of renowned painter Raden Saleh located in the PGI Cikini hospital complex, Central Jakarta, needs urgent restorations so as to avoid further damage.

The roof of the mansion, designed and built by the maestro in 1852 upon his return to Jakarta from Europe, is leaking and its wooden floors have begun to rot. Some sections of the floor are broken.

“The owners [once] layered the wooden floor with duplex and carpet so the floor was more comfortable to walk on but it destroyed the floor,” said Arya Abieta, the leader of the research and documentation project for the Raden Saleh house, on Tuesday.

Arya, an architect, said that the duplex and carpet had left the floor moist and this had attracted termites.

He and the team from the Architecture Documentation Center (PDA) started to examine the house and proceeded to map its design in July 2015 as part of an initial effort to revitalize the house, which is now part of the hospital.

“Besides some damage, parts of the building such as the roof and the floor were replaced with new materials, so it has lost authenticity,” he said.

Built on his wife’s land, the mansion was part of a larger property that once included the whole 5.7-hectare plot of the hospital as well as the Ismail Marzuki Arts Center grounds, then Raden Saleh’s private zoo.

The painter resided for a mere six years in the mansion, inspired by Callenberg Castle in Germany, before it was auctioned off by his wife Constantia N. Winkelhagen in 1867.

The 1,365-square-meter building began its transition into a health center when the ownership transferred to a couple by the name of De Graaf. They had received funding from Queen Emma whose name was subsequently given to the hospital, Koningin Emma Ziekenhuis (Queen Emma Hospital).

Since then, the mansion was used as a hospital building. The first floor is still used as an office while the second floor had been closed due to the broken floor, Arya said, adding that he thought the building to be rather peculiar.

“The house does not have a fixed design. Raden Saleh was a painter, not an architect, and thus it was made with craftsmanship” he said.

Arya voiced hope that the mansion may be revitalized promptly as the documentation and research stage had been completed.

“We received funding from the US Embassy through the Ambassador Funds for Cultural Preservation program and also support from the Culture and Education Ministry for the first step,” he said.

He added that his team would submit a grant proposal to the ministry and to the Jakarta Tourism Agency in order to complete the restoration.

US Ambassador to Indonesia Robert O’Blake confirmed that the embassy provided a grant of US$22,000 for the project.

“We want to encourage not only Indonesian partners but also the private sector to contribute to these kinds of projects,” he said during the ceremony, organized to hand over the results of the research.

PGI Cikini Health Foundation chairman Col. Alexander K. Ginting said that the hospital would also participate and that they were committed to preserving the building.

“We are thankful and appreciate those who have shown support and participated in examining the mansion. I hope the effort will not end today,” he said.

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