LOT 53
LUCIEN FRITS OHL
(B. Indonesia, 1904-1976)
Flamboyant
Signed “L. Frits Ohl” on lower left
Oil on canvas
60 x 90 cm
Provenance
Private Collection, Singapore
RM 18,000 – RM 26,000
Lucien Fritz Ohl was considered an important pioneer artist in the Dutch East Indies. He captured articulately the vibrancy of perhaps, the Illawarra Flame Trees. His hallmark brushwork is distinct here, as a vivacious and lively wash of potent red catch the attention of the viewer. The piece is highly expressionistic, with the focus being on the flamboyant trees as the title suggests, but the exquisite way Lucien fills in the rest of the space with virtuosic blending and imagination and skill, the piece comes alive.
Lucien Fritz Ohl was a self-taught artist who lived and worked in Palembang, Jakarta and Yogyakarta. He settled in Hague afterwards and painted in the style of Gerard Pieter Adolfs. He produced illustrations of Indonesia for JC Hamel’s Soldatendominee (Hague 1948) and held many exhibitions in Hague and Netherlands. He died in 1976.