The Water Mill 1835

Raden Saleh painted this landscape with oil on canvas in the nineteenth century. Saleh was a Javanese aristocrat, and one of the first Indonesian artists to study in Europe. This is a Romantic landscape in the style of Biedermeier painters like Johan Christian Dahl. But what does it mean for a Javanese artist to paint in this mode? The cool tones and calm atmosphere evoke a European sensibility, yet the lush vegetation, steep roof pitch, and fast-moving water of the stream are all features of the tropical environment. The image creates meaning through visual codes. The water mill might be a reference to industrialization and modernization. The architecture and the landscape features are both important. As historians of art, we can better understand this painting by researching the artist’s biography, the history of Indonesia in the 19th century, and the history of landscape painting. These resources help us understand the social and institutional context in which this artwork was created.