LOT 53
JEIHAN SUKMANTORO
B. Indonesia, 1938
Dewi, 2012
Signed and dated “Jeihan 12” on upper left
Oil on canvas
70 x 70 cm
Provenance Private Collection Singapore
Internationally sought after for his tasteful figurative portraits, Jeihan Sukmantoro’s body of work comes from his imagination. Dramatic and striking, there are many theories that surround the technique of painting black on the eyes of his subjects, and one of the few that were procured was that Sukmantoro was notorious for his non-conformist views when it came to painting the eyes, and the other being that he preferred his subjects to look out- of-this-world. Formerly a student in ITB, Indonesia, he never completed his studies due to his rebellious nature. When he was about 5 years old, he had an accident that left him with a brain injury. He was believed to be dead, but he awakened before he was buried. This experience was believed to play a significant role in his paintings.