De tuinman, de geldschieter, de koelie-werver en de mandoer

Gábor Pusztai

doi:10.36392/actaneerl/2020/16-17/6

Abstract

The Hungarian planter László Székely was active as a painter on Sumatra during the first decennia of the 20th century. In 1923 he painted four portraits of people from the planters’ community: The Mandoer, The Moneylender, The Toekang-kebon and The Koelie recruiter, which appeared in the weekly paper De Zweep. In this article I will give an overview of the cultural life in Deli and place Székely’s work in this context. Furthermore, I will explain the uniqueness of Székely’s portraits, using the theory of the English cultural historian Peter Burke.

Highlights

The Hungarian planter László Székely was active as a painter on Sumatra during the first decennia of the 20th century
In 1923 he painted four portraits of people from the planters’ community: The Mandoer, The Moneylender, The Toekang-kebon and The Koelie recruiter, which appeared in the weekly paper De Zweep
De algemene interesse voor kunst in Deli was ondanks de inspanningen van de Delische Kunstkring niet te vergelijken met die in het moederland of elders in Europa

Summary

Introduction

The Hungarian planter László Székely was active as a painter on Sumatra during the first decennia of the 20th century. De Zweep was een zeer omstreden weekblad, dat vaak beschuldigd was van pornografie en antisemitisme.[1] Op pagina twee van het “Planters-nummer” vond de lezer vier aquarellen met de titel: “Typen uit het Delische kebonleven.” Het waren vier portretten: De Mandoer, De Geldschieter, De Toekang-kebon en De koeliewerver.[2] De schilder van de vier aquarellen was de Hongaarse planter László Székely (1892–1946), die sinds 1914 in Deli verbleef en als assistent op verschillende ondernemingen werkte.

Results

Conclusion