Lee Man Fong

Art Retreat, Lee Man Fong: Oil Paintings Volume II, Art Retreat Ltd., Singapore, 2005, colorplate, p. 116

This work is in good overall condition as viewed and the paint layers are healthy overall. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals evidence of restoration primarily in the background of the work. Framed.
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Few people are able to express themselves with the aesthetics and inspiration of one country, let alone three. Lee Man Fong, one of the most notable painters in modern Indonesian art history, was one such talented individual, drawing on his roots in Guangzhou, China, his immersion in Western Art from the Netherlands and the love of his Indonesian residence in Bali. This resulted in a unique blend of Eastern and Western characteristics, utilizing Western oil painting to depict a consistent island narrative that focuses on everyday figures within the activities of rural life.

Lee Man Fong’s paintings either featured sweeping documentation or niche vignettes, all tinged with vaguely Chinese painterly aesthetics such as the accuracy of form and the harmony of few individuals with nature. They highlight Lee Man Fong’s status as an immigrant from Guangzhou not only with overtly Chinese elements such as inscriptions and signature stamps but with the perspective of an outsider looking in on a collection of moments in a tropical, foreign paradigm. Conversely, while the composition and general subject matter are vaguely reminiscent of Chinese art, Lee Man Fong actively strays from Eastern stereotypes of women in roles such as dancers or singers, instead choosing to emphasize gentle charisma and humility in naturalistic situations.

The present piece, Satay Vendor with Mother and Son, reflects this strongly, depicting a singular moment between a vendor and his two eager customers, an intimacy of village life. It features three figures which anchor the central composition of the piece, bearing a resemblance to Rojak Seller, also by Lee Man Fong. Unlike Rojak Seller however, the vendor is a man and the customers are a woman and her son, shifting focus from a portrayal of femininity to an appreciation of a traditional vocation.  In his other works, it is evident that the archetype of a woman is a common theme; Lee Man Fong often shows women in quiet, still moments, retaining some stereotypes such as being followed closely by children while rejecting others such as existing within the male gaze as a fetish or ideal. The women in his paintings were often presented in roles that accentuated their facial expressions, as in this piece where the mother conveys a sense of yearning and anticipation.

Lee Man Fong’s style keenly reflects his background in Western Art; he was the recipient of a prestigious scholarship from the Dutch government, usually only awarded to artists born in the West Indies. This allowed him to travel and study in the Netherlands and to observe the work of Dutch masters, particularly their attention to light and shadow as well as their penchant for capturing the simplicity of domestic, daily life to reveal human complexity. The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer is an example of the aforementioned domesticity that inspired Lee Man Fong. It features a kitchen maid in the act of pouring milk and little else, amplifying the beauty in an ordinary occurrence and drawing the viewer’s attention to her concentrated countenance.

Stylistically, Satay Vendor with Mother and Son harkens Lee Man Fong’s initial, impressionistic approach to oil painting. There is a lack of harsh lines and definitive edges, communicating subject matter through suggestions of form within darkness and light. Lee Man Fong uses negative space to define the foreground, a technique also seen in Rojak Seller, wherein an amorphous crowd is framed by blank space and soft contours. He also features a muted, earthy palette of browns and greens, the most vibrant of which is applied to the cloth of the satay vendor’s wares, drawing the viewer’s attention to the painting’s intended center. These artistic choices create an atmosphere of serenity, emphasizing the human connection being made in a simple transactional relationship, one that peppered his day to day experiences while living in Indonesia, as shown by its repetition in his body of work.

One example of a Western equivalent to Satay Vendor with Mother and Son would be The Vegetable Market by Gabriel Metsu. Unlike Lee Man Fong’s piece, it depicts a bustling marketplace using luminous, warm colors and features the Dutch staple of root vegetables – just as satay is an intrinsic part of Indonesian cuisine, so too are carrots and potatoes. The Vegetable Market shows various interactions between customers and sellers including that of tension and of flirtation. Both paintings use the act of selling food to highlight cultural nuances and illustrate human connections.

In the present painting, Lee Man Fong has chosen to isolate an interaction between a satay vendor and a mother with her child. He draws attention to the simple act of selling food and emphasizes it by his candid depiction of the figures and his manipulation of atmosphere. Besides being emotionally captivating and technically complex, Satay Vendor with Mother and Son features Lee Man Fong’s common motifs of women and of Balinese culture, making it a piece that is both visually engaging and easily identifiable as part of his oeuvre.