Six Horsemen Chasing Deer 1860

Raden Saleh painted "Six Horsemen Chasing Deer" using oils, likely during the mid-19th century. It's a dramatic scene, six men on horseback pursuing deer across a vast landscape, and it speaks volumes about the colonial dynamics of the Dutch East Indies where Saleh lived. The painting combines European Romanticism with Javanese subject matter. Saleh, trained in European artistic traditions, presents an exoticized view of his homeland that catered to Western tastes, but he also subtly asserted the dignity and power of the Javanese people through the dynamic figures and the commanding landscape. He straddled two worlds, acting as a cultural intermediary. To fully understand Saleh's work, scholars delve into colonial archives, travelogues, and studies of Javanese culture. By exploring the social and institutional contexts, we can appreciate the complex negotiations of identity and representation that define his art.