President’s man: Presidential palace painter Dullah (squatting) and President Sukarno (left, standing) frame a painting.

Dullah was Indonesia’s eminent painter whose artistic reputation has been recognized by most artists and art observers.

Born on Sept. 19, 1919, in Surakarta, Central Java, Dullah was described as “a maestro of people’s painting art” by art critic Kusnadi.

Another critic, Sudarmaji, described Dullah as the “king of Indonesian realism”, which was later used as the title of the painter’s biography published in 1998. Painter Sudjojono described Dullah as a “proficient, natural and honest populist painter”.

First president Sukarno, meanwhile, saw Dullah as “the one and only portrayer of Marhaen”. Marhaen is Sukarno’s reference to common (and underprivileged) people of Indonesia.

“That’s why I like Dullah’s vision most. No other painters can portray poor people so plainly like Dullah,” Sukarno said.

As Sukarno’s favorite, Dullah was appointed to be the presidential palace painter in 1950. It was a highly prestigious position that kept him occupied with the maintenance of artworks at all six palaces spread across Java and Bali.

Nevertheless, Dullah felt grateful that he could see different parts of the world during President Sukarno’s international trips.

“While in a city abroad, the president always sought galleries and bought artworks. I was his consultant. If he was running out of money, I was the one to find funds,” said Dullah, adding that Sukarno borrowed from Agoes Moesin Dasaad, an entrepreneur dubbed the president’s “walking wallet” for paintings.

According to Sukarno’s son, Guruh Sukarnoputra, Dullah performed his duties very well. The painter wrote several large volumes documenting Sukarno’s art collection.

Dullah gave up the post after serving for 10 years – a decision that irritated Sukarno at first. Dullah promptly recommended Lee Man Fong and Lim Wasim to replace him.

In the wake of the Sept. 30, 1965, movement and the eventual fall of Sukarno, Dullah – like many of Sukarno’s followers at the time – tried to go under the radar to avoid the New Order’s purge.

Dullah moved from one quiet area to another, and in the early 1970s, he decided to settle in Pejeng village in Gianyar, Bali.

Feeling the situation was secure, he set up Sanggar Pejeng, a studio with dozens of painters from various regions as members.

“There, Pak Dullah trained young painters who have an interest in realism. But actually, what he really wanted was to have new friends in the studio. He had long been in solitude due to politics,” said Hendro Sutjahjo, one of Dullah’s students.

Inspired by his time as an independence fighter, Dullah guided Sanggar Pejeng students to paint the episodes of Indonesia’s independence struggles. He recounted the details of the battles to provide inspiration to his students.

Under Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX’s support, the paintings of Dullah’s students along with other works were displayed at Gedung Agung, a presidential palace in Yogyakarta, in 1978. The event drew thousands of visitors. The exhibition was continued at Aldiron Plaza, Jakarta, in the following year.

The sultan was aware that apart from being a revered painter, Dullah was a relentless freedom fighter. The slim artist was captured, tortured and jailed several times by the Dutch and the Japanese.

“Since [the exhibition], I felt free as an Indonesian citizen,” said Dullah.

But as free as he could be, his activity as a “Sukarnoist” remained under the New Order’s surveillance, and his outstanding achievements were forgotten. He only received a municipal-level trophy engraved with his misspelled name, and President Suharto only gave him a watch.

The realist painter in 1945 became a model for a famous heroic poster: “Boeng Ajo Boeng” (Come on Brothers), painted by Affandi adorned with the text from poet Chairil Anwar. The posters were displayed in public places to fire up the people’s spirit to fight for Indonesia’s independence. The original painting is now kept by collector Ismail Sofyan.

During the Dutch aggression from 1948 to 1949, Dullah deployed teenage artists to document the battlefield. One of them was Mohammad Toha (1937-2007), whose dozens of works are now kept in Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The artist died on Jan. 1, 1996. His achievements finally received proper recognition on Aug. 15, 2017, when President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo posthumously bestowed the Bintang Budaya Parama Dharma cultural award upon Dullah at the State Palace, which was once decorated lavishly by Dullah.

If he was still living, Dullah would turn 100 today. Strangely, there is no celebration in memory of his extraordinary services. It could have been a perfect opportunity to reopen Museum Dullah in Surakarta, which has been closed for quite a long time.

— Photos by Agus Dermawan T.

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