Dullah was central to the emergence of revolutionary paintings in Indonesia during the Indonesian National Revolution (1945–1949). The painting Istriku (1953) shows Dullah’s realist- romantic superiority in depicting female figures as the subject matter. As the title suggests, the figure in this painting is the painter’s wife, Jan Jaerabby Fatima. She is seen sitting and posing as a painting model in the studio, wearing a traditional kebaya, with a folding fan in her hand. Apart from his substantial engagement with nationalist themes, humanism, and local values, Dullah is known as a portrait painter who is skilled at depicting the humanity and natural beauty of Indonesia and its people. Apart from Istriku, Dullah painted other figures in his paintings including Halimah Gadis Atjeh (Halimah the Atjeh girl, 1950) and Ni Samprik (1952), both of which belong to the collection of Indonesia’s first President Sukarno.
This is the first time the work of Dullah is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Asep Topan
