Morning Sun 

Basuki Abdullah created this landscape, ‘Morning Sun,’ using oil paint on canvas, a testament to his mastery of realist technique. Abdullah’s choice of oil paint on canvas is significant. These were the standard materials of European academic painting, and the painting carries forward the legacy of colonialism. The artist, who was of Javanese aristocratic descent, depicts an idealized view of Indonesian rural life: a figure leading water buffalo by a river, with lush foliage and mountains as a backdrop. The smooth, almost photographic finish, achieved through careful layering and blending of the oil paint, emphasizes the beauty of the scene. Yet, the painting prompts us to consider the work involved in producing not just the image, but also the landscape itself. The farmer and his animals are inseparable from their labor. Abdullah asks us to consider labor, politics, and the consumption of idyllic imagery.