Portrait of Raden Syarif Bustaman Saleh c. 1840

Friedrich Carl Albert Schreuel painted this portrait of Raden Syarif Bustaman Saleh, likely in the first half of the 19th century. The painting presents Saleh, an Indonesian aristocrat, as a Europeanized artist. The visual codes here are fascinating. Saleh is dressed in European formal wear, holding the tools of a painter, palette in one hand, brushes in the other. Behind him, an easel displays a seascape, a genre popular in Europe. The painting reflects the colonial dynamics of the time, when European powers sought to "civilize" the elites of colonized societies. Saleh's portrayal as an artist within a European tradition suggests a kind of assimilation. But consider too the power dynamics inherent in portraiture. Who commissioned this portrait? How did Saleh see himself? To understand this painting fully, we would need to delve into archival sources, colonial records, and perhaps even Saleh's own writings, to uncover the complex social and political context in which it was created. It reminds us that art is always shaped by the institutions and power structures of its time.