If you happened to be one of the few tourists wandering on Jalan Kaleran, Ubud (then it does there were no street names) in 1956, you would have certainly noticed the large sign announcing the residence and workshop of Dutch artist - Auke Sonnega; Painter of the Indonesian scene - standing just outside Puri Kaleran, north of Terrazzo Restaurant today. Little known today during his stay in Bali and Indonesia, Sonnega produce hundreds of works in several different styles at once stylized and realistic. By far the largest of them are big bold canvases often treating distinctly mystical spiritual journey mirror object artist's personal.
Born in 1910 in Friesland, Netherlands, a center of Calvinism straight-laced, Auke's parents were shockingly freethinking for their time. Unable to find solace in the Dutch Reformed Church they made the radical choice to join the Theosophical Society a few years after the birth of Auke. Founded in New York in 1875 by the mystic Madame Blavatsky, the Company with its stated objective to seek the wisdom of the hidden masters to help all people achieve spiritual enlightenment has played a major role in the introduction of Eastern philosophy In Occident. From a young age Auke and his siblings attended the Lotus classes of society organized to awaken children to their spiritual potential. The experience would leave an indelible spiritual mark on the young artist.
This will culminate in 1929 when a major crisis engulfed the company after Jiddu Krishnamurti, the anointed heir apparent of spectacular society rejected the hierarchy of the organization to be appointed messianic "Master of the World" s Order of the Star. In an emotional speech given at an international meeting of the Society in Ommen, Holland, August 3, 1929, he would dissolve and order and declare:
"I maintain that truth is a pathless land, and you can not approach a path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. that is my view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, can not be organized; no organization should be formed to lead or coerce people along a particular path ... this magnificent act, because I do not want followers, and i mean this. the moment you follow someone you cease to follow Truth. "
formerOnly 19 years old, the young Sonnega, who attended the meeting was carried by the message of Krishnamurti wrote: "Krishnamurti had put me back on my feet ... I abandoned spiritual Movement and has now decided to never join another."
Auke idyllic life would come to an abrupt halt with the Japanese invasion in 1942. Imprisoned in a camp he and his friends would suffer near starvation and cruelty described in graphic detail his close friend, author Willem Brandt in the short story "And the darkness." Privations would also evoke a deep spirituality, awareness of the transitory nature of life. Upon release, he fully pursued his desire to devote his life to art and freedom. One of his most beautiful works of this period is the "Yellow Blossom" (1942), a single male character surrounded by a basket of flowers on his head surrounded by an aura of yellow light framed by a dark bamboo forest that been compared by some to the work of Walter Spies.
voyaging across the archipelago, Sonnega would paint in the mountains of Sumatra and Java and Bali. In 1951 he will meet the English linguist Husein Rofe in Tampaksiring Guest House. Husein would then present to the Indonesian charismatic spiritual teacher Pak Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo in Jogjakarta. In the coming years Rofe has played a crucial role in the introduction of the teachings of Subuh spiritual leaders like John G. Bennett and the followers of the Russian mystic Gurdjieff G. I. and creating more than 80 Movement Subud centers worldwide.
lessons and exercises (latihan) of Subuh, which evoked an extraordinary insight into those who practiced also had a profound and immediate effect on the subject and visuals seen in the paintings Sonnega. Most of his spiritual works such as "Dewa Thintya" (1954), were inspired by Bali, and stand in stark contrast to his more commercial stylized portraits of pretty girls enigmatic Balinese produced as a stable source of income. He also produced many portraits of men, unsurprisingly since it was decidedly gay, to the delight of the opposite side of the spectrum.
Although it is much better known, the arrival of Arie Smit in Bali was a direct result of Sonnega. The two would meet in 1947 after Arie Smit sought Auke after reading an article he had written. Auke Arie convinced to leave the Dutch colonial army and live his dream of being an artist. Arie, who looked up to the elegant and very Sonnega asked and organized, first went to Bali with Auke. There is also evidence of direct artistic influence especially their portraits of young men.
colorful tropical life Sonnega would suddenly ended in 1958. despite the fact that President Sukarno was an avid collector of his paintings, he been forced to choose between giving up his Dutch citizenship or leave Indonesia. his friends Arie Smit and Han Snel remained. Back in cold climates Auke his homeland failed to find his artistic and personal balance. after a long illness, it would be tragic happen in the Hague in 1963. only 53 years old, he was largely forgotten until the 1990s, when his paintings began to attract the attention of Indonesian collectors.
For those wishing to learn more and willing to sift through a rather random collection of facts and frenglish, scattered among a fearful disposition there a new book on the subject - Auke Sonnega; Artist of Enchanting Tropics. Unfortunately, many of these books his greatest work is burdened by dozens of smaller jobs to the inevitable consequence of a commercial enterprise that sells tickets for collectors wishing much in the same way that the parking spaces are sold in cities.