Frame size: 54 x 60 cm
Raden Saleh, born sometime between 1807 and 1814 in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia into a family of the ruling elite, is widely regarded as the first modern painter in Indonesia (then known as the Dutch East Indies). He first came into prominence while working under Caspar Reinwardt, the Dutch scientist who was sent to Indonesia to research on the natural sciences. In 1829, Raden Saleh went to Holland to further his interest in art, studying landscape painting under Andreas Schelfhout and portrait painting from Cornelius Kruseman. For the next 20 years or so, he lived in Europe and gained royal patronage, including from the Duchess of Kent (mother of Queen Victoria).Although Raden Saleh is considered a modern painter, his works are heavily influenced by 19th-century Romanticism. In ‘Ship in Distress’, of a ship battling raging waves, his attention to detail can be seen in the careful rendering of the sea foam.
