Raden Hendra Gunawan Prawiradilaga (11 June 1918 – 17 July 1983), better known as Hendra Gunawan, was an Indonesian painter and sculptor. Born to a family of Sundanese gentry in Bandung, he ran away from home to become an artist. After time as a healer and freelance painter, he met Affandi and began to focus on painting. Learning from contemporaries, including Affandi, Wahdi Sumanta, and S. Sudjojono, Hendra honed his art under the Japanese occupation and gained prominence. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he worked with the Pelukis Front (lit. 'Painters of the Front') to capture the realities of the battlefield, which led President Sukarno to sponsor his first solo exhibition in 1946. After a brief membership in the Young Artists of Indonesia, Hendra co-established the Pelukis Rakjat ('Painters of the People') artist collective.
Based in Yogyakarta, Hendra became one of Indonesia's most prominent painters, helped establish the Indonesian Academy of the Arts (now the Indonesia Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta), and taught younger artists to "crystalize their own characters [and] have confidence in their own peculiarities." In 1955, the Communist Party of Indonesia recommended Hendra, a member of the Institute for People's Culture (LEKRA) council, for a non-party position in the Constitutional Assembly of Indonesia. After his appointment, Hendra returned to Bandung, where he remained even after the assembly was dissolved. Following the failed 30 September Movement, which was blamed on the Communist Party, suspected communists were arrested. Due to his affiliation with LEKRA, Hendra was arrested in December 1965, after which he was held for almost thirteen years without trial at the Kebon Waru Prison. Upon his release in 1978, he faced strong stigma and failing health. He moved to Bali, where he died in 1983.
Hendra is considered one of the founders of modern Indonesian art, alongside Affandi and Sudjojono. His style varied over time, initially stressing realism but becoming increasingly impressionist, with bright, unnatural colours, and an emphasis on curves noted in later works. Most of his paintings depict human figures, with women particularly prominent after the 1960s. Some have poems inscribed by the artist. On the art market, works by Hendra sell for a high price, such that forgeries have become common.
Hendra was born in Bandung, West Java, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) on 11 June 1918, to Raden Prawiranegara and Raden Odah Tejaningsih, who were descended from the Sundanese gentry. After his parents' divorce, Hendra was raised by his father, a railroad employee with gambling and alcoholism issues. He completed studies at the Kadmirah Elementary School in Bandung and a Dutch-run school for indigenous Indonesians in Purwakarta, graduating in 1931. Hendra and his father were reported to have argued frequently over his interest in the performance and visual arts, as he was expected to follow his father's footsteps and work the railroads.
After one such fight, Hendra ran away from home and began wandering West Java. At first gaining a reputation as a healer, in 1937 Hendra joined a theatrical company. For them, he began painting backdrops, also taking jobs painting posters announcing new film releases. During this period, Hendra studied modern art from a porcelain industrialist identified as Giorgi Giseken. In 1939, Hendra met Affandi, who inspired him to focus more on his art, and he began to experiment with painting and sketching. Initially, Hendra sought to hone his art by apprenticing to the naturalist painter Abdullah Suriosubroto. Ultimately, he decided to learn from his contemporaries, taking lessons in landscapes from Wahdi Sumanta and forms from Affandi and becoming part of their Group of Five. From the painter S. Sudjojono, he learned about the history of art. In 1940, Hendra married Karmini, with whom he had three children.
Over time, Hendra became more prominent in the Indonesian art world, in part through the backing of the scholar Sjafei Soemardja. He established friendships with several artists, including Popo Iskandar and Sudjana Kerton, and visited the workshop of Indonesian Painters Association. In 1940, he helped establish the art club Pusaka Sunda (lit. 'Sundanese Heirlooms') and organized a reog troupe. After the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies in 1942, Hendra joined the Institute for People's Education and Cultural Guidance (Poesat Keboedajaan) that had been established by the occupation government. While living in Bandung, he travelled to Jakarta on several occasions to attend the head offices of the Institute. He participated in multiple exhibitions, receiving an award from the Institute after one such exhibition. Several of his paintings from this period bore Japanese influences. Hendra was also a member of Center of the People's Power, another organization established by the occupation regime.
After Indonesia proclaimed its independence and the national revolution began in 1945, Hendra took up arms while simultaneously painting. As part of the Pelukis Front ('Painters of the Front'), Hendra worked with artists such as Barli, Abedy, Sudjana Kerton, and Turkandi, to capture the physical conflict. Together, they held several exhibitions in Tasikmalaya and Yogyakarta. Hendra also produced posters that promoted Indonesian independence and revolution.
Around 1946, Hendra moved to Yogyakarta. He held his first solo exhibition in 1946 at the National Committee of Indonesia Building on Malioboro Street. This event was sponsored by President Sukarno, who also attended the exhibition, based on the revolutionary themes in Hendra's works. Despite existing protocols, it was also attended by numerous beggars. Speaking with a tearful Sukarno, Hendra was reported to have said, "Every person has the right to enjoy my paintings."
Pelukis Rakjat and political activities
Hendra briefly joined the Young Artists of Indonesia (Seniman Indonesia Muda, SIM), but 1947 he split with the organization and established the Pelukis Rakjat ('Painters of the People') with Affandi and Sudarso. This split was in part due to a dispute between Hendra and SIM's founder, Sudjojono, over the allocation of government subsidies. Sudjojono promoted a model similar to that of the Soviet Union, with artists receiving shares determined by their achievements, while Hendra argued for a model wherein subsidies were allocated based on artists' marital status, with married artists receiving a larger share. At the same time, Hendra disagreed with Sudjojono's increasingly photorealistic approach to painting, which he was teaching his followers.
As the leader of Pelukis Rakjat, Hendra and his family lived in a communal dormitory, with their bedroom also serving as his studio. Members of the artist community collaborated on sculptures, with Hendra seeking a gravecutter to teach them to use the chisel and mallet. Hendra received a commission in 1950 to install a 3-metre (9.8 ft) tall sculpture of General Sudirman. Completed in andesite, it was installed in front of the Yogyakarta Provincial Parliament. Hendra also completed the Tugu Muda in Semarang in conjunction with several of his students, including Edhi Sunarso.
Paintings, meanwhile, were generally handled by individuals, though Hendra taught more junior members of the community; in this, he stressed the importance of folk arts such as kuda kepang (a form of trance dance) and ketoprak (a stage performance) and urged members to "crystalize their own characters [and] have confidence in their own peculiarities." Works were exhibited in a shared gallery, as well as joint exhibitions, which also provided venues for the sale of paintings to collectors. Hendra reserved the right to block a sale, refusing to allow works by Itji Tarmizi and Trubus Sudarsono to be sold until the artists produced works that improved on them. By the mid-1950s, Hendra was one of Indonesia's most prominent artists.
Outside of Pelukis Rakjat, Hendra helped establish the Indonesian Academy of the Arts (now the Indonesia Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta), and he remained a visiting lecturer for several years. In 1951, Hendra was part of a delegation to the Youth Festival held in East Berlin, East Germany. During this trip, he made stops in Italy, Romania, the Soviet Union, and China. He was sent to the Soviet Union again in 1954 as part of an arts study program. During this period, Hendra established personal relationships with national leaders, including Sukarno and statesmen such as Adam Malik and Chaerul Saleh. Hendra joined the Lembaga Kebudajaan Rakjat ('Institute for People's Culture', LEKRA) in the early 1950s.