Page 56 - Sidharta Auctioneer

The painter Soetopo was born in Yogyakarta in April, 1931. After
completing his education at ASRI Yogyakarta in the 1950s,
Soetopo joined Sanggar Pelukis Rakyat, which was founded by
Hendra Gunawan, and studied under the guidance of Hendra
Gunawan, Trubus, and Soedarso. Using a style akin to realism, he
presents the themes of daily activities and social realities that exist
around Javanese society. His paintings reflect his personal life,
which is simple and unpretentious.
In this painting a chicken vendor is seated in the foreground of
the painting. The chickens she sells are scattered on the ground
in front of her. She holds up two chickens by their legs, offering
them to the standing man in front of her. Meanwhile, another
woman behind her tries to sell the man another chicken. The
standing man, dressed in a red and white striped t-shirt with dark
jacket, with a belt and big buckle holding up his sarung and black
pants, seems ready to bargain, while holding a chicken in his left
hand.
Behind them is another scene. On the upper left corner of the
canvas, another standing man holds a chicken while talking to
a woman next to him. Another man who is seated below them,
appears to be refusing money from the woman next to him. The
painting shows the dynamism of the market transactions among
the chicken vendors.
This painting comes from the collection of the late a famous
Indonesian lawyer. Her eclectic collection consist of artworks
by various Indonesian artists, ranging from the more laid back,
humorous artists, like Faizal and Ade Artie Tjakra, to the more
serious, senior artists, like Dolorosa Sinaga, Maria Tjui, Amrus
Natalsya, Soetopo, Jeihan Sukmantoro, and Sudarso.

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