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

Cockfighting (Cockfighting)

Artist / Maker: Hasan Djaafar (1919–1995)
Signature: Signed lower left
Country of origin: Indonesia
Medium: Oil on canvas
Frame: With frame
Dimensions: 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 initially reads as abstract, in the central mass of the image you can discern shapes that refer to the roosters and their fanned tails.

The composition is built with strong dynamism. 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 paintwork densifies toward the bottom. This results in a pronounced sense of movement without the subject being rendered in detail or naturalistic fashion.

The color palette is intense and contrasting. Deep blues, turquoise, greens and blacks alternate with bright reds, oranges, yellows and whites. The warm colors are largely concentrated around the center and the vertical axis, while dark and cooler tones surround the composition. The visible, broad brushwork and areas of thicker paint emphasize the physical and spontaneous character of the painting surface.

In terms of style, the work lies at 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, conveying the energy and atmosphere of a subject took precedence over meticulous, true-to-life detailing.

Biography of the artist

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 engaged with modern and abstract art. From 1951 he worked as a full-time artist.

Djaafar developed a painting practice in which Indonesian subjects were combined with modern European painting techniques. People, landscapes, architecture, and scenes from daily life formed recurring subjects. His technique is characterized in particular by strong color contrasts and a free handling of paint; he also used the palette knife and sometimes applied colors unmixed. Djaafar himself did not want his work to be classified under one specific style.

His career had a distinctly international character. 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.