"Portrait of Tanja Dezentjé," Sudarso, 1947.

Sudarso (1914-2006) was an Indonesian artist about whom I can find annoyingly little information aside from his dates and that he was a teacher at the Indonesian Fine Arts Academy, and featured in many exhibitions of modern Indonesian art.

Tanja Dezentjé (1918-82) is interesting. Born of a Dutch/Indonesian father and a Belarusan mother, she was born in the Hague, spent a chunk of her life in Argentina, but moved to Indonesia as an adult. She survived the Japanese occupation (although her husband was killed) and she later became a staunch supporter of Indonesian independence. She became known as a broadcaster, giving pro-independence speeches as well as calls for equality between the sexes in the new country. She later became a diplomat and was present at the signing of Indonesia's first trade agreement.

This portrait of her, in a military uniform, was part of a campaign to promote the new, independent Indonesia as a progressive, modern country.

From the RIjksmuseum, Amsterdam.

#Art #AsianArt #IndonesianArt #Sudarso #TanjaDezentjé #WomenInArt #Feminism #IndonesianHistory #WomensHistory