Bartele Gallery Willem Gerard Hofker (1902 - 1981) Bartele Gallery Kantor Taman E3.3 Unit A1 4th Floor (Via Cazbar) Jl. Mega Kuningan Jakarta, Indonesia Tel: +62 21 5764575 Fax: +62 21 5764576 Email: [email protected] (Fig 1) Premie ETS. Ni Asoeg with Ardja Headdress, 1944, etching available in the gallery. This extremely influencial artist was born on 2nd May 1902 in The Hague, the Netherlands. His father, Gerrit Jan Hofker, a public servant with the postal services, was also an amateur artist and writer. As well as attending the Haagse Academie and the Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunsten, he was also educated by Willem Witsen and Isaac Israel who were friends of his father. In 1927 Willem Hofker won the 2nd prize at the Prix de Rome and in 1930 he married Maria Rueter, also a painter, daughter of Georg Rueter who was a painter and lecturer at the Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam. In the 1920s Hofker concluded a number of monumental decorative assignments, one of which was for the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomvaart Maatschappij, for whom he made a few mural paintings of ships. His reputation as a portrait artist was such, that he received the assignment in 1936 to paint a portrait of Queen Wilhelmina for the head office of the Koninklijke Pakketvaart Maatschappij (KPM) in Batavia in the East Indies. In 1938 the couple accompanied the painting to the Dutch East-Indies and concluded with a trip through the colonies. During this trip they made drawings and paintings of Indonesian subjects which could be reproduced and used by the KPM. The Hofkers settled in Bali where Willem made popular drawings of Balinese landscapes and people. They socialised with many painters including Spies, Strasser, Meyer and their good friend Rudolf Bonnet. In 1940, the couple moved to Ubud and in the period between 1938 to 1944 most of Hofker’s work in Indonesia was created. His art pieces were refined and flowing, as well as poetic. His paintings were idealised, but never overly romanticised, portraits focusing on real people. In the Second World War, Hofker was forced by the KNIL (Royal Dutch East-Indies Army) in Surabaya to join the services, upon which his wife and he were interned by the Japanese occupier in different camps, he himself in Tanah Toraja, in central Celebes (Sulawesi). During this period, most of the sketches of Maria Hofker were lost. At the end of the war, the couple decided not to join the Indonesian nationalists and returned home to the Netherlands. Back home in the Netherlands, Hofker still continued to record people and landscapes of Bali on paper and canvas. In the latter part of his life, Hofker published his works and his Balinese pieces were very much in demand and drew (Fig 2) Charming & Beautiful Bali. Bali Hotel, 1948, lithograph poster available in the gallery. international attention. Willem Gerard Hofker died in Amsterdam on 30th April 1981, but he lives on in his art. He will be remembered for painting the ultimate icons of Bali’s extraordinary pre-World War II “Golden Age”.

W.G. Hofker

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Hofkers at Bartele Gallery

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Bartele Gallery Willem Gerard Hofker (1902 - 1981)

Bartele GalleryKantor Taman E3.3 Unit A1 4th Floor (Via Cazbar)Jl. Mega KuninganJakarta, IndonesiaTel: +62 21 5764575Fax: +62 21 5764576Email: [email protected]

(Fig 1) Premie ETS. Ni Asoeg with Ardja Headdress, 1944, etching available in the gallery.

This extremely influencial artist was born on 2nd May 1902 in The Hague, the Netherlands. His father, Gerrit Jan Hofker, a public servant with the postal services, was also an amateur artist and writer. As well as attending the Haagse Academie and the Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunsten, he was also educated by Willem Witsen and Isaac Israel who were friends of his father.

In 1927 Willem Hofker won the 2nd prize at the Prix de Rome and in 1930 he married Maria Rueter, also a painter, daughter of Georg Rueter who was a painter and lecturer at the Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam.

In the 1920s Hofker concluded a number of monumental decorative assignments, one of which was for the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomvaart Maatschappij, for whom he made a few mural paintings of ships. His reputation as a portrait artist was such, that he received the assignment in 1936 to paint a portrait of Queen Wilhelmina for the head office of the Koninklijke Pakketvaart Maatschappij (KPM) in Batavia in the East Indies.

In 1938 the couple accompanied the painting to the Dutch East-Indies and concluded with a trip through the colonies. During this trip they made drawings and paintings of Indonesian subjects which could be reproduced and used by the KPM.

The Hofkers settled in Bali where Willem made popular drawings of Balinese landscapes and people. They socialised with many painters including Spies, Strasser, Meyer and their good friend Rudolf Bonnet. In 1940, the couple moved to Ubud and in the period between 1938 to 1944 most of Hofker’s work in Indonesia was created. His art pieces were refined and flowing, as well as poetic. His paintings were idealised, but never overly romanticised, portraits focusing on real people.

In the Second World War, Hofker was forced by the KNIL (Royal Dutch East-Indies Army) in Surabaya to join the services, upon which his wife and he were interned by the Japanese occupier in different camps, he himself in Tanah Toraja, in central Celebes (Sulawesi). During this period, most of the sketches of Maria Hofker were lost. At the end of the war, the couple decided not to join the Indonesian nationalists and returned home to the Netherlands.

Back home in the Netherlands, Hofker still continued to record people and landscapes of Bali on paper and canvas. In the latter part of his life, Hofker published his works and his Balinese pieces were very much in demand and drew

(Fig 2) Charming & Beautiful Bali. Bali Hotel, 1948, lithograph poster available in the gallery.

international attention.

Willem Gerard Hofker died in Amsterdam on 30th April 1981, but he lives on in his art. He will be remembered for painting the ultimate icons of Bali’s extraordinary pre-World War II “Golden Age”.