Hendra Gunawan

Hendra Gunawan, Family Portrait, 1968

1. Describe the painting.

The painting depicts a family portrait with a crowd of people in the distant background. Gunawan used a large variety of bright and lively colours to portray a happy family, consisting of himself, his two wives, and his two sons. We can tell that they are a close-knit family as the boy is seated on his father’s shoulders and the family members are standing very close to each other and are hooking arms.

Gunawan has captured the intricate details of the traditional Indonesian patterned Batik clothes they are wearing, especially in the first wife’s clothes. He has painted his two wives standing to his right, with one standing closer to him, and blocking the other wife slightly. Gunawan painted his skin the most colourful with unnatural splashes of yellow, green and blue which portray the artistic, unique side of him, and make him stand out, among the rest of the family members.

2. What can you infer about the family dynamics from this portrait? Support your answer with evidence from the painting. Remember that he painted this while in prison.

The composition and the organization of the family are indicators of the family dynamics. Gunawan painted his first wife standing adjacent and closer to him, in front of the second wife. The first wife’s clothes are also much more elaborate than the second wife’s clothes. This suggests that she is the more prominent and domineering wife. Moreover, the father is the only one seated on a chair, which indicates his greatest importance in the family.

The younger son sitting on the father’s shoulders is likely to be the more important son, as the father is holding on to his ankles, and he has the most physical contact with the father. His bright legs also stand out against the deep red of the father’s shirt, capturing the viewer’s attention, and drawing importance to this particular son.