Lot 168: Raden Sarief Bastaman Saleh (Semarang 1811-1880 Buitenzorg)

Raden Sarief Bastaman Saleh (Semarang 1811-1880 Buitenzorg)
An Arabic horseman and his horse in the desert
signed and dated 'Raden Saleh f 1843.' (lower left)
oil on canvas
45.4 x 54.5 cm.

Anonymous sale; Rasmussen, Copenhagen, May 1953, lot 133. as attributed to Nils Simonson.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, Singapore, 3 October 1999, lot 827.
Anonymous sale; Rasmussen, Copenhagen, 6-8 September 2000.

Christie’s charges a premium to the buyer on the Hammer Price of each lot sold at the following rates: 29.75% of the Hammer Price of each lot up to and including €20,000, plus 23.8% of the Hammer Price between €20,001 and €800.000, plus 14.28% of any amount in excess of €800.000. Buyer’s premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.
Raden Sarief Bastaman Saleh (1811-1880) was born into one of the noblest regent families on the island of Java. At a young age he was taught by the Belgian artist A.J. Payen (1792-1853), who recognised his talent and ensured Saleh was able to travel to the Netherlands to study art. After he arrived in 1829 he received artistic training by the renowned Dutch Romantic painters Cornelis Kruseman (1797-1857) and Andreas Schelfhout (1787-1870) in The Hague.

Saleh would stay in Europe for over 20 years. During this time he remained at several European courts, where he painted many portraits. Soon he shifted his attention to painting large scenes with fights between men and lions and other animalistic scenes, which brought him much fame. He studied the animals in the circus in The Hague, from prints he collected and from Old Master paintings he saw in museums.

In 1851, Raden Saleh returned to Java, where he held the position of curator of the colonial collection of government art. He continued painting portraits and landscapes, and died in 1880 after he returned from a second trip to Europe.