Hasan Djaafar (1919-1995) - Sabung Ayam (Cockfighting)





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Hasan Djaafar (1919–1995) presents Sabung Ayam (Cockfight), an abstract oil on canvas executed in 1970–1980, signed, original edition, measuring 115 × 77 cm, sold with frame, Indonesian origin.
Description from the seller
Cockfighting
Artist / Maker: Hasan Djaafar (1919–1995)
Signature: Signed bottom left
Country of origin: Indonesia
Technique: Oil on canvas
Frame: With frame
Dimensions of the work: 115 × 77 cm
Condition: In good condition.
Background information
Description of the work
Sabung Ayam (Cockfighting) is an expressive oil painting in which Hasan Djaafar has reduced the fight between roosters to a powerful, almost abstract sequence of color, movement, and brushstrokes. Although the subject matter appears abstract at first glance, shapes can be discerned in the central mass that refer to the roosters and their fanned plumage.
The composition is strongly dynamically built. Broad, curved brushstrokes move in circular directions around the center, creating an almost swirling visual structure. Especially in the upper part, the forms fan out into long, powerful bands, while the paint application densifies toward the bottom. This results in a pronounced sense of movement without the scene being detailed or naturalistically worked out.
The color palette is intense and high-contrast. Deep blues, turquoise, greens, and blacks alternate with bright red, orange, yellow, and white. The warm colors are largely concentrated around the center and the vertical axis, while dark and cooler tones enclose the scene. The visible, broad brushwork and areas of thicker paint reinforce the physical and spontaneous character of the painted surface.
Stylistically, the work sits on the boundary between expressionism and figurative abstraction. This aligns with the documented development of Djaafar, whose painting has been associated with both Impressionism and Expressionism. In his later painting practice, conveying the energy and atmosphere of a subject took precedence over faithful, detailed realism.
Artist’s biography
Hasan Djaafar was born in 1919 in Koto Gadang, West Sumatra, and died in 1995. He received his first painting instruction from the Indonesian landscape painter Wakidi. In 1949, Djaafar traveled to Paris, where he met Salim and other artists who were involved with modern and abstract art. From 1951 onward, he worked as a full-time artist.
Djaafar developed a painting approach in which Indonesian subjects were combined with modern European painting techniques. People, landscapes, architecture, and scenes from daily life formed recurring themes. His technique is characterized, among other things, by strong color contrasts and a free handling of paint; he also used a palette knife and sometimes applied colors unmixed. Djaafar himself did not want his work classified under a single specific style.
His career had a distinctly international dimension. In 1959 he held a solo exhibition at Singapore Polytechnic, followed by exhibitions in Jakarta, Washington, D.C., New York, Rio de Janeiro, The Hague, Hamburg, and Eindhoven. In 1971 he exhibited 95 paintings at the Indonesian embassy in The Hague.
Seller's Story
Cockfighting
Artist / Maker: Hasan Djaafar (1919–1995)
Signature: Signed bottom left
Country of origin: Indonesia
Technique: Oil on canvas
Frame: With frame
Dimensions of the work: 115 × 77 cm
Condition: In good condition.
Background information
Description of the work
Sabung Ayam (Cockfighting) is an expressive oil painting in which Hasan Djaafar has reduced the fight between roosters to a powerful, almost abstract sequence of color, movement, and brushstrokes. Although the subject matter appears abstract at first glance, shapes can be discerned in the central mass that refer to the roosters and their fanned plumage.
The composition is strongly dynamically built. Broad, curved brushstrokes move in circular directions around the center, creating an almost swirling visual structure. Especially in the upper part, the forms fan out into long, powerful bands, while the paint application densifies toward the bottom. This results in a pronounced sense of movement without the scene being detailed or naturalistically worked out.
The color palette is intense and high-contrast. Deep blues, turquoise, greens, and blacks alternate with bright red, orange, yellow, and white. The warm colors are largely concentrated around the center and the vertical axis, while dark and cooler tones enclose the scene. The visible, broad brushwork and areas of thicker paint reinforce the physical and spontaneous character of the painted surface.
Stylistically, the work sits on the boundary between expressionism and figurative abstraction. This aligns with the documented development of Djaafar, whose painting has been associated with both Impressionism and Expressionism. In his later painting practice, conveying the energy and atmosphere of a subject took precedence over faithful, detailed realism.
Artist’s biography
Hasan Djaafar was born in 1919 in Koto Gadang, West Sumatra, and died in 1995. He received his first painting instruction from the Indonesian landscape painter Wakidi. In 1949, Djaafar traveled to Paris, where he met Salim and other artists who were involved with modern and abstract art. From 1951 onward, he worked as a full-time artist.
Djaafar developed a painting approach in which Indonesian subjects were combined with modern European painting techniques. People, landscapes, architecture, and scenes from daily life formed recurring themes. His technique is characterized, among other things, by strong color contrasts and a free handling of paint; he also used a palette knife and sometimes applied colors unmixed. Djaafar himself did not want his work classified under a single specific style.
His career had a distinctly international dimension. In 1959 he held a solo exhibition at Singapore Polytechnic, followed by exhibitions in Jakarta, Washington, D.C., New York, Rio de Janeiro, The Hague, Hamburg, and Eindhoven. In 1971 he exhibited 95 paintings at the Indonesian embassy in The Hague.

