Javanen en mensen uit Bantam c. 1660

Wouter Schouten made this pen and wash drawing titled "Javanen en mensen uit Bantam" at an unknown date. The image shows people from Java and Bantam in Indonesia, and the drawing can tell us much about Dutch perceptions of the Javanese. The artist was a surgeon in the service of the Dutch East India Company, or VOC. This company was a powerful entity, and the first multinational corporation. The VOC played a crucial role in shaping trade, politics, and culture. The VOC’s operations relied on visual documentation and it commissioned artists to create images of the lands and people they encountered. Schouten's drawings are not objective records, they reflect the cultural biases of his time. By studying these images alongside historical documents, trade records, and travelogues, we can begin to understand the complex relationship between the Netherlands and Indonesia. The power dynamics between colonizer and colonized become visible, allowing us to reflect on the legacy of colonialism and its ongoing impact on both cultures.