Gezicht op een berg, Java c. 1816 - 1846

Adrianus Johannes Bik created this pencil drawing, titled ‘View of a mountain, Java’, at an undetermined date. Bik was a painter, draftsman, and lithographer, who spent part of his career in the Dutch East Indies. This drawing invites us to consider the complex relationship between artistic representation and colonial power. It's a landscape, but whose land is it, and who gets to represent it? Bik, as a European artist, captures Java through his own lens, framing it for a European audience. But what perspectives are missed or marginalized in this depiction? Consider the labor and resources extracted from this land, and the impact of colonial rule on the lives of the Indonesian people. The emotional resonance of this landscape is thus intertwined with the historical realities of colonialism. While seemingly neutral, landscapes like this played a role in shaping perceptions and justifying colonial expansion.