GUNUNG KERINCI BY ERNEST DEZENTJE

ERNEST DEZENTJE (1885-1972) 

Gunung Kerinci  (3,805 m - 12,484 ft) 

 Indonesia (Sumatra)

The mountain 

Guning Kerinci (3,805 m - 12,484 ft) or  Peak of Indrapura  is a volcano in Sumatra island of Indonesia. It is surrounded by the lush forest of Kerinci Seblat National Park. 

Kerinci is  one the more active Indonesian volcanoes, with nearly annual phreatic eruptions. 

In 2004, Kerinci erupted and continues to spew clouds of sulphurous smoke, with plumes reaching as high as 1,000 m (3,281 ft) above the summit. In 2009, Kerinci erupted again and followed by June 2, 2013 eruption with 600 m (1,969 ft) spewed black smoke.  There is farmland in the area, and a tea plantation on its southern slope, Kerinci, being located in an Indonesian national park, and perhaps out of respect for its frequent growlings as well, sits in an area that is sparsely populated by Indonesian population-density standards.

Based on research in 1973, the 'Kecik Wok Gedang Wok' people are recognized as the first tribe to settle at a plateau around Mount Kerinci 10,000 years ago. Today, the Kecik Wong Gedang Wok people are limited due to assimilation with the Proto-Malay tribes which came later. There are around 135 dialects used only along the valley. This makes ethnographic analysis difficult to conduct.

The painter
The ‘Indisch’- Indonesian landscape painter Ernest Regnard Leonce Dezentjé was an autodidact.  His career  (mostly local) began when first president of the Republic of Indonesia, Soekarno (1901-1970), - who declared the independence of the country in 1945, felt in love with his painting and decided to make him the  "court painter".  Dezentje was then labelled an impressionist of the early Indonesian School, being considered by critics and young artists as a  typical establishment artist.  Along his eminently nationalistic themas the mountains and volcanoes of Indonesia took a important place.

GUNUNG MERAPI (2) BY ARTHUR ELAND

ARTHUR ELAND (1884-1948)

 Gunung Merapi (2,914m - 9,500 ft)

Indonesia (Java) 

The mountain 

Gunung Merapi (2,914m - 9,500 ft)  is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of Yogyakarta city which has a population of 2.4 million, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.

Smoke can often be seen emerging from the mountaintop, and several eruptions have caused fatalities. Pyroclastic flow from a large explosion killed 27 people on 22 November 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano.Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.

On 25 October 2010 the Indonesian government raised the alert for Mount Merapi to its highest level and warned villagers in threatened areas to move to safer ground. People living within a 20 km (12 mi) zone were told to evacuate. Officials said about 500 volcanic earthquakes had been recorded on the mountain over the weekend of 23–24 October, and that the magma had risen to about 1 kilometre (3,300 ft) below the surface due to the seismic activity. On the afternoon of 25 October 2010 Mount Merapi erupted lava from its southern and southeastern slopes.

The mountain was still erupting on 30 November 2010, but due to lowered eruptive activity on 3 December 2010 the official alert status was reduced to level 3. The volcano is now 2930 metres high, 38 metres lower than before the 2010 eruptions.

After a large eruption in 2010 the characteristic of Mount Merapi was changed. On 18 November 2013 Mount Merapi burst smoke up to 2,000 meters high, one of its first major phreatic eruptions after the 2010 eruption. Researchers said that this eruption occurred due to combined effect of hot volcanic gases and abundant rainfall.

In 2004 an area of 6,410 hectares around Mount Merapi was established as a national park. The decision of the Ministry of Forestry to declare the park has been subsequently challenged in court by The Indonesian Forum for Environment, on grounds of lack of consultation with local residents. During the 2006 eruption of the volcano it was reported that many residents were reluctant to leave because they feared their residences would be confiscated for expansion of the national park, meaning they wouldn't have a house.

Merapi is very important to Javanese, especially those living around its crater. As such, there are many myths and beliefs attached to Merapi. It is believed that when the gods had just created the Earth, Java was unbalanced because of the placement of Mount Jamurdipo on the west end of the island. In order to assure balance, the gods (generally represented by Batara Guru) ordered the mountain to be moved to the centre of Java. However, two armourers, Empu Rama and Empu Permadi, were already forging a sacred keris at the site where Mount Jamurdipo was to be moved. The gods warned them that they would be moving a mountain there, and that they should leave; Empu Rama and Empu Permadi ignored that warning. In anger, the gods buried Empu Rama and Empu Permadi under Mount Jamurdipo; their spirits later became the rulers of all mystical beings in the area. In memory of them, Mount Jamurdipo was later renamed Mount Merapi, which means "fire of Rama and Permadi.

The Javanese believe that the Earth is not only populated by human beings, but also by spirits (makhluk halus). Villages near Merapi believe that one of the palaces (in Javanese kraton) used by the rulers of the spirit kingdom lies inside Merapi, ruled by Empu Rama and Empu Permadi. This palace is said to be a spiritual counterpart to the Yogyakarta Sultanate, complete with roads, soldiers, princes, vehicles, and domesticated animals. Besides the rulers, the palace is said to also be populated by the spirits of ancestors who died as righteous people. The spirits of these ancestors are said to live in the palace as royal servants (abdi dalem), occasionally visiting their descendants in dreams to give prophecies or warnings. "

To keep the volcano quiet and to appease the spirits of the mountain, the Javanese regularly bring offerings on the anniversary of the sultan of Yogyakarta's coronation. For Yogyakarta Sultanate, Merapi holds significant cosmological symbolism, because it is forming a sacred north-south axis line between Merapi peak and Southern Ocean (Indian Ocean). The sacred axis is signified by Merapi peak in the north, the Tugu Yogyakarta (id) monument near Yogyakarta main train station, the axis runs along Malioboro street to Northern Alun-alun (square) across Keraton Yogyakarta (sultan palace), Southern Alun-alun, all the way to Bantul and finally reach Samas and Parangkusumo beach on the estuary of Opak river and Southern Ocean. This sacred axis connected the hyangs or spirits of mountain revered since ancient times—often identified as "Mbah Petruk" by Javanese people—The Sultan of Yogyakarta as the leader of the Javanese kingdom, and Nyi Roro Kidul as the queen of the Southern Ocean, the female ocean deity revered by Javanese people and also mythical consort of Javanese kings.

The painter 

There is not much biographical information about Arthur Eland, except that he was Leo Eland's twin brother. These two Dutch  brothers were born in 1884 in the Dutch East Indies on Java in Salatiga. After the death of Arthur and since the 1970s many of his canvases and watercolors representing large Indonesian volcanic landscapes have gone into auctions especially at Christie's and have acquired unmistakable market value. Christie's classified him after the colonial impressionist painters

GUNUNG, SEMERU, BROMO AND BATUR BY ENVER LARNEY

ENVER LARNEY (bn. 1955)    

Gunung Semeru (3, 676m - 12, 060ft) 

 Gunung Bromo (2,329m - 7,641ft)

Gunung Batur (1,717 m - 5,633ft) 

Indonesia (Java) 

 In Gunung Semeru, Bromo and Batok Jawa Timor Indonesia,  2008

The volcanoes

Gunung Bromo (2,329m - 7,641ft) or Gunung Brama, an active volcano, in East Java, Indonesia,  is not the highest peak of the Tengger massif, but the best known. The massif area is one of the most visited tourist attractions in East Java, Indonesia. The volcano belongs to the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The name of Bromo derived from Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu creator god. Gunung Bromo sits in the middle of a plain called the "Sea of Sand"  a protected nature reserve since 1919. The best way to visit Gunung Bromo is from the nearby mountain village of Cemoro Lawang, from where it is possible to walk during 45 mn to the volcano. It is also possible to take an organised jeep tour, which includes a stop at the viewpoint on Gunung Penanjakan (2,770 m - 9,088 ft). Mount Bromo recently erupted in 2004, 2010, 2011 and 2015.

Gunung Semeru  (3, 676m - 12, 060ft)  or Gunung Mahameru indonesian is an active volcano located in East Java, Indonesia. It is the highest mountain on the island of Java. This stratovolcano is also known as Mahameru, meaning 'The Great Mountain. The name derived from the Hindu-Buddhist mythical mountain of Meru or Sumeru, the abode of gods.  Semeru is named from Sumeru, the central world-mountain in Buddhist cosmology and by extension Hinduism. As stated in legend, it was transplanted from India; the tale is recorded in the 15th-century East Javanese work Tantu Pagelaran.  Since 1818, at least 55 eruptions have been recorded (10 of which resulted in fatalities) consisting of both lava flows and pyroclastic flows. All historical eruptions have had a VEI of 2 or 3. Semeru has been in a state of near-constant eruption from 1967 to the present. At times, small eruptions happen every 20 minutes or so.

Gunung Batur (1,717 m - 5, 633ft) is an Indonesian volcano located in the north of the island of Bali. This volcano consists of a vast caldera whose rim culminates at Mount Abang. The interior of the depression, whose bottom is occupied on the south-east by Lake Batur, has several volcanic cones, including Mount Batur itself. The first historically dated eruption dates back to 18041; since then, 24 others have occurred, including the last from March 15, 1999 to June 2000.

The painter 

Enver Larney was born in the fifties  in Cape Town, South Africa. For many decades now, he has captured scenes around the world in oils on canvas. An impressionist in the traditional manner, Larney's medium format works are achieved in one sitting and in the open. Since 1972, his works appear in many collections and Institutions such as, the Chase Manhattan Bank New York USA and the Musée de l'Affiche in Paris, as well as countless private collections worldwide....

GUNUNG KRAKATOA 1883 ERUPTION BY PARKER & COWARD LITH.

PARKER & COWARD  LITHOGRAPH (1888)

Gunung Krakatoa (813 m - 2,667 ft) 

Indonesia (Java- Sumatra)  

 In  The eruption of Krakatoa, and subsequent phenomena.  27 May 1883, litho on paper, 

Report of the Krakatoa Committee of the Royal Society 

The volcano

Krakatoa, or Krakatau  (813 m - 2,667 ft) is a volcanic island situated in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The name is also used for the surrounding island group comprising the remnants of a much larger island of three volcanic peaks which was obliterated in a cataclysmic 1883 eruption. 
The most notable eruptions of Krakatoa culminated in a series of massive explosions over August 26–27, 1883, which were among the most violent volcanic events in recorded history. With an estimated Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6, the eruption was equivalent to 200 megatons of TNT (840 PJ)—about 13,000 times the nuclear yield of the Little Boy bomb (13 to 16 kt) that devastated Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II, and four times the yield of Tsar Bomba (50 Mt), the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated.
The 1883 eruption ejected approximately 25 km3 (6 cubic miles) of rock.  The cataclysmic explosion was heard 4,800 km (3,000 mi) away in Alice Springs, as well as on the island of Rodrigues near Mauritius, 4,653 km (2,891 mi) to the west.
According to the official records of the Dutch East Indies colony, 165 villages and towns were destroyed near Krakatoa, and 132 were seriously damaged. At least 36,417 people died, and many more thousands were injured, mostly from the tsunamis that followed the explosion. The eruption destroyed two-thirds of the island of Krakatoa.

Eruptions in the area since 1927 have built a new island at the same location, named Anak Krakatau (which is Indonesian for "Child of Krakatoa"). Periodic eruptions have continued since, with recent eruptions in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. In late 2011, this island had a radius of roughly 2 kilometres (1.2 mi), and a highest point of about 324 metres (1,063 ft) above sea level,[5] growing 5 metres (16 ft) each year.[6] In 2017 the height of Anak Krakatau was reported as over 400 metres above sea level.
The previous recorded and documented eruptions were in 1680-81, 535AD, 416AD.   

GUNUNG MERAPI BY ARTHUR ELAND

ARTHUR ELAND (1884-1948)

 Gunung Merapi or Mount Merapi (2,914m - 9,500 ft)

Indonesia (Java) 

The mountain 

Gunung Merapi (2,914m - 9,500 ft)  is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of Yogyakarta city which has a population of 2.4 million, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.

Smoke can often be seen emerging from the mountaintop, and several eruptions have caused fatalities. Pyroclastic flow from a large explosion killed 27 people on 22 November 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano.Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.

On 25 October 2010 the Indonesian government raised the alert for Mount Merapi to its highest level and warned villagers in threatened areas to move to safer ground. People living within a 20 km (12 mi) zone were told to evacuate. Officials said about 500 volcanic earthquakes had been recorded on the mountain over the weekend of 23–24 October, and that the magma had risen to about 1 kilometre (3,300 ft) below the surface due to the seismic activity. On the afternoon of 25 October 2010 Mount Merapi erupted lava from its southern and southeastern slopes.

The mountain was still erupting on 30 November 2010, but due to lowered eruptive activity on 3 December 2010 the official alert status was reduced to level 3. The volcano is now 2930 metres high, 38 metres lower than before the 2010 eruptions.

After a large eruption in 2010 the characteristic of Mount Merapi was changed. On 18 November 2013 Mount Merapi burst smoke up to 2,000 meters high, one of its first major phreatic eruptions after the 2010 eruption. Researchers said that this eruption occurred due to combined effect of hot volcanic gases and abundant rainfall.

In 2004 an area of 6,410 hectares around Mount Merapi was established as a national park. The decision of the Ministry of Forestry to declare the park has been subsequently challenged in court by The Indonesian Forum for Environment, on grounds of lack of consultation with local residents. During the 2006 eruption of the volcano it was reported that many residents were reluctant to leave because they feared their residences would be confiscated for expansion of the national park, meaning they wouldn't have a house.

Mythology

Merapi is very important to Javanese, especially those living around its crater. As such, there are many myths and beliefs attached to Merapi. It is believed that when the gods had just created the Earth, Java was unbalanced because of the placement of Mount Jamurdipo on the west end of the island. In order to assure balance, the gods (generally represented by Batara Guru) ordered the mountain to be moved to the centre of Java. However, two armourers, Empu Rama and Empu Permadi, were already forging a sacred keris at the site where Mount Jamurdipo was to be moved. The gods warned them that they would be moving a mountain there, and that they should leave; Empu Rama and Empu Permadi ignored that warning. In anger, the gods buried Empu Rama and Empu Permadi under Mount Jamurdipo; their spirits later became the rulers of all mystical beings in the area. In memory of them, Mount Jamurdipo was later renamed Mount Merapi, which means "fire of Rama and Permadi.

The Javanese believe that the Earth is not only populated by human beings, but also by spirits (makhluk halus). Villages near Merapi believe that one of the palaces (in Javanese kraton) used by the rulers of the spirit kingdom lies inside Merapi, ruled by Empu Rama and Empu Permadi. This palace is said to be a spiritual counterpart to the Yogyakarta Sultanate, complete with roads, soldiers, princes, vehicles, and domesticated animals. Besides the rulers, the palace is said to also be populated by the spirits of ancestors who died as righteous people. The spirits of these ancestors are said to live in the palace as royal servants (abdi dalem), occasionally visiting their descendants in dreams to give prophecies or warnings. "

Spirits of Merapi

To keep the volcano quiet and to appease the spirits of the mountain, the Javanese regularly bring offerings on the anniversary of the sultan of Yogyakarta's coronation. For Yogyakarta Sultanate, Merapi holds significant cosmological symbolism, because it is forming a sacred north-south axis line between Merapi peak and Southern Ocean (Indian Ocean). The sacred axis is signified by Merapi peak in the north, the Tugu Yogyakarta (id) monument near Yogyakarta main train station, the axis runs along Malioboro street to Northern Alun-alun (square) across Keraton Yogyakarta (sultan palace), Southern Alun-alun, all the way to Bantul and finally reach Samas and Parangkusumo beach on the estuary of Opak river and Southern Ocean. This sacred axis connected the hyangs or spirits of mountain revered since ancient times—often identified as "Mbah Petruk" by Javanese people—The Sultan of Yogyakarta as the leader of the Javanese kingdom, and Nyi Roro Kidul as the queen of the Southern Ocean, the female ocean deity revered by Javanese people and also mythical consort of Javanese kings.

The painter 
There is not much biographical information about Arthur Eland, except that he was Leo Eland's twin brother. These two Dutch  brothers were born in 1884 in the Dutch East Indies on Java in Salatiga. After the death of Arthur and since the 1970s many of his canvases and watercolors representing large Indonesian volcanic landscapes have gone into auctions especially at Christie's and have acquired unmistakable market value. Christie's classified him after the colonial impressionist painters

GUNUNG TALAMAU BY BASOEKI ABDULLAH

BASOEKI ABDULLAH (1915 -1993) 

Gunung Talamau (2,913 m -  9,557 ft)

Indonesia  (West Sumatra) 

In Ngarat Minangkabau,  oi on painting, Bung Karno collection 

The mountain 

Gunung Talamau (2,913 m -  9,557 ft) or Talakmau - also called in the dutch times Mount Ophir-  is the highest mountain in West Sumatra located in Pasaman Barat Regency , adjacent to Mount Pasaman. it  is a volcano but not active anymore.Below the mountain peak at an altitude of about 2,750 m, there are 13 ponds. The names of the ponds are based on some legendary stories believed by the inhabitants around Mount Talamau.  Mount Talamau also has a waterfall with a height of more than 100 meters, named Puti Lenggo Geni Waterfall. It is a popular climbing spot, starting at  the village of Pinagar (240 m).

The painter 

Basoeki  (or Basuki) Abdullah is one of a the modern master painters of Indonesia, known as a realist and naturalist painter. He has been appointed as the official painter of Merdeka Palace in Jakarta and works adorn palaces and presidential countries Indonesia, in addition to have been collectibles from around the world. His father, Abdullah Suriosubroto, was a famous painter and dancer, while his grandfather,  Doctor Wahidin Sudirohusodo, was a prominent Indonesian National Awakening Movement in the early 1900's. Since the age of 4 years, he began to paint  famous personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and "even Jesus Christ and Krishnamurti". His acquired a formal education in the Basoeki Abdullah Catholic and Catholic Mulo in Solo.
In 1933,  he obtained a scholarship to study at the Academic Arts in The Hague, Netherlands, and completed his studies within 3 years with awarded Certificate of Royal International of Art (RIA). On 6 September 1948,  during the revolutionary period,  Basoeki Abdullah is housed in Amsterdam (Netherlands) during the coronation of Queen Juliana which held a contest to paint, he defeated 87 European painters and managed to come out as winners.
Since then, the world began to recognize Basoeki Abdullah, during his frequent visits around Europe (Italy and France) and was well known by many resident artists with a worldwide reputation.

GUNUNG GAMPING BY FRANZ-WILHELM JUNGHUHN

FRANZ-WILHELM JUNGHUHN (1809-1864)

Gunung Gamping

Indonesia (Java) 

 In Gunung Gamping near Yogyakarta, 1853-1854, Ledien Univsersity Library 

The mountain

Gunung Gamping (250 m)  is a hill  located in the province of Jawa Timur, in the southwestern part of the country, 800 km east of the capital Jakarta, Indonesia  The top of Gunung Gamping is 534 meters above sea level ( or 250 meters above the surrounding terrain) . The width at the base is 2.7 km. The terrain around Gunung Gamping is mainly hilly. The highest point nearby is 965 meters above sea level, 7.3 km southeast of Gunung Gamping. Around Gunung Gamping, it is quite sparsely populated, with 28 inhabitants per square kilometer.  with mainly green-green deciduous forest grows.  Savann climate prevails in the area. The annual average temperature in the funnel is 21 ° C. The warmest month is March, when the average temperature is 22 ° C, and the coldest is July, at 20 ° C.  The rainy month is January, with an average of 498 mm rainfall , and the driest is August, with 33 mm rainfall. 

The artist
Friedrich Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn was a German-Dutch botanist and geologist, who studied medicine in Halle and in Berlin from 1827 to 1831, meanwhile publishing  (1830) a seminal paper on mushrooms in Limnaea.  Junghuhn settled on Java, where he made an extensive study of the land and its people.  He discovered the Kawah Putih crater lake south of Bandung in 1837.
He published extensively on his many often highly adventurous expeditions and his scientific analyses.  Among his works is an important description and natural history in many volumes of the volcanoes of Java, Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis der vulkanen in den Indischen Archipel (1843).
He completed Die Topographischen und Naturwissenschaftlichen Reisen durch Java (Topographic and Scientific Journeys in Java) in 1845 and a first anthropological and topographical study of Sumatra, Die Bättalander auf Sumatra (Batak lands of Sumatra). in 1847.
In 1849, ill health forced his return to the Netherlands.  While in the Netherlands, Junghuhn began work on a four volume treatise published in Dutch and translated into German between 1850 and 1854: Java, deszelfs gedaante, bekleeding en inwendige struktuur. Junghuhn was an avid humanist and socialist. In the Netherlands he published anonymously his free-thinking manifesto Licht- en Schaduwbeelden uit de Binnenlanden van Java (Images of Light and Shadow from Java's interior) between 1853 and 1855. The work was controversial, advocating socialism in the colonies and fiercely criticizing Christian and Islamic proselytization of the Javanese people.  Junghuhn instead wrote of his preference for a form of Pandeism (pantheistic deism), contending that God was in everything, but could only be determined through reason.  The work was banned in Austria and parts of Germany for its "denigrations and vilifications of Christianity", but was a strong seller in the Netherlands where it was first published pseudonymously.  It was also popular in colonial Indonesia, despite opposition from the Dutch Christian Church there.
Recovered from his ills, Junghuhn returned to Java in 1855.  He remained on Java until his death from liver disease in 1864.  On his deathbed in his house near Lembang on the slopes of the volcano Tangkuban Perahu just north of Bandung, Java, it is said that Junghuhn asked the doctor to open the windows, in order to say goodbye to the mountains that he loved.
In Lembang there is a small monument to his memory in a grassy square named after him planted with some of his favorite trees among which the Cinchona. A minor item of trivia playing into polemical discussions of Junghuhn is his surname, literally translated as "young chicken".
The plants Cyathea junghuhniana and Nepenthes junghuhnii are named after Franz Junghuhn.

GUNUNG MERBABU BY ISODORUS VAN MENS

ISODORUS VAN MENS  (1890-1985) 

Gunung Merbabu (3,145m -10, 318ft)  

Indonesia (Java) 

 In The Merbaboe Seen From Salatiga On Semarang, oil on canvas

Gunung  Merbabu  (3,145m -10, 318ft)  is a dormant stratovolcano in Central Java province on the Indonesian island of Java. The name Merbabu could be loosely translated as 'Mountain of Ash' from the Javanese combined words; Meru means "mountain" and awu or abu means "ash".
The active volcano Gunung Merapi is directly adjacent on its south-east side, while the city of Salatiga is located on its northern foothills. A 1,500m high broad saddle lies between Merbabu and Merapi, the site of the village of Selo, Java and highly fertile[citation needed] farming land.
There are two peaks; Syarif (3,119 m) and Kenteng Songo (3,145 m). Three U-shaped radial valleys extend from the Kenteng Songo summit in northwesterly, northeastly and southeastly directions.
Two known moderate eruptions occurred in 1560 and 1797. The 1797 event was rated 2: Explosive, on the Volcanic Explosivity Index. An unconfirmed eruption may have occurred in 1570.
Geologically recent eruptions originated from a North Northwest-South Southeast fissure system that cut across the summit and fed the large-volume lava flows from Kopeng and Kajor craters on the northern and southern flanks, respectively.
Merbabu can be climbed from several routes originating from the town of Kopeng on the north east sideside, and also from Selo on the southern side. A climb from Kopeng to Kenteng Songo takes between 8 and 10 hours.[citation needed]
An area of 57 kmІ at the mountain has been declared a national park in 2004.

GUNUNG SALAK BY BASOEKI ABDULLAH

BASOEKI ABDULLAH (1915 -1993), 

 Gunung Salak (2, 211m - 7, 254ft)

Indonesia (Java) 

The mountain 

Gunung Salak (2, 211m - 7, 254ft) is an eroded volcano in West Java, Indonesia. It has several satellite cones on its southeast flank and the northern foot, along with two additional craters at the summit. Mount Salak has been evaluated for geothermal power development. According to a popular belief, the name "Salak" derived from salak, a tropical fruit with scaly skin; however, according to Sundanese tradition, the name was derived from the Sanskrit word Salaka which means "silver". Mount Salak can be translated to "Silver Mountain".

Mount Salak offers several routes for climbing. The route most often climbed is Curug Nangka, in the northern part of the range. Peak I is visited via easier routes from the east, through Cimelati and Cicurug. Peak I also can be reached by more challenging routes, from Peak II via Sukamantri and Ciapus. An additional alternate route is "the back way" through Cidahu, Sukabumi, and Kawah Ratu near Bunder Mount.

Mount Salak is popular for many mountain climbing clubs, especially Route II, because of the difficulty involved in reaching the peak. Climbers bring water with them, especially through Post I at Kawah Ratu Route. 

The painter 

Basoeki  (or Basuki) Abdullah is one of a the modern master painters of Indonesia, known as a realist and naturalist painter. He has been appointed as the official painter of Merdeka Palace in Jakarta and works adorn palaces and presidential countries Indonesia, in addition to have been collectibles from around the world. His father, Abdullah Suriosubroto, was a famous painter and dancer, while his grandfather,  Doctor Wahidin Sudirohusodo, was a prominent Indonesian National Awakening Movement in the early 1900's. Since the age of 4 years, Basoeki Abdullah began to paint  famous personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and even Jesus Christ and Krishnamurti. His acquired a formal education in the Basoeki Abdullah Catholic and Catholic Mulo in Solo. In 1933,  BasoekiAbdullah obtained a scholarship to study at the Academic Arts in The Hague, Netherlands, and completed his studies within 3 years with awarded Certificate of Royal International of Art (RIA). On 6 September 1948,  during the revolutionary period,  Basoeki Abdullah is housed in Amsterdam (Netherlands) during the coronation of Queen Juliana which held a contest to paint, Basoeki Abdullah defeated 87 European painters and managed to come out as winners.
Since then, the world began to recognize BasoekiAbdullah, during his frequent visits around Europe (Italy and France) and was well known by many resident artists with a worldwide reputation.

GUNUNG GUNTUR BY FRANZ-WILHELM JUNGHUHN

 FRANZ-WILHELM JUNGHUHN (1809-1864)

Gunung Guntur  (2, 249m - 7,378 ft)
Indonesia (West Java)

In Gunung Guntur, 1853-1854, watercolour on paper,  Leiden University Library

The Mountain 

Gunung Guntur  (2, 249 m) the  Thunder Mountain in Indonesian, is a  stratovolcano, located in Kampung Dukuh village, 3 km from the capital district Cipanas and 7 km from the capital city of Garut, in West Java, Indonesia.   Its last eruption dates back to 1847.
 The ridge of the mountain has a relatively unique shape. To the east, one could see the eruptions thunder until no large trees, and only sites lava flows.  The mountain has been  often used as inspiration by the artist.
From the top of the mountain thunder, the city of Regensburg can be seen.

The artist
Friedrich Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn was a German-Dutch botanist and geologist, who studied medicine in Halle and in Berlin from 1827 to 1831, meanwhile publishing  (1830) a seminal paper on mushrooms in Limnaea.  Junghuhn settled on Java, where he made an extensive study of the land and its people.  He discovered the Kawah Putih crater lake south of Bandung in 1837.
He published extensively on his many often highly adventurous expeditions and his scientific analyses.  Among his works is an important description and natural history in many volumes of the volcanoes of Java, Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis der vulkanen in den Indischen Archipel (1843).
He completed Die Topographischen und Naturwissenschaftlichen Reisen durch Java (Topographic and Scientific Journeys in Java) in 1845 and a first anthropological and topographical study of Sumatra, Die Bättalander auf Sumatra (Batak lands of Sumatra). in 1847.
In 1849, ill health forced his return to the Netherlands.  While in the Netherlands, Junghuhn began work on a four volume treatise published in Dutch and translated into German between 1850 and 1854: Java, deszelfs gedaante, bekleeding en inwendige struktuur. Junghuhn was an avid humanist and socialist. In the Netherlands he published anonymously his free-thinking manifesto Licht- en Schaduwbeelden uit de Binnenlanden van Java (Images of Light and Shadow from Java's interior) between 1853 and 1855. The work was controversial, advocating socialism in the colonies and fiercely criticizing Christian and Islamic proselytization of the Javanese people.  Junghuhn instead wrote of his preference for a form of Pandeism (pantheistic deism), contending that God was in everything, but could only be determined through reason.  The work was banned in Austria and parts of Germany for its "denigrations and vilifications of Christianity", but was a strong seller in the Netherlands where it was first published pseudonymously.  It was also popular in colonial Indonesia, despite opposition from the Dutch Christian Church there.
Recovered from his ills, Junghuhn returned to Java in 1855.  He remained on Java until his death from liver disease in 1864.  On his deathbed in his house near Lembang on the slopes of the volcano Tangkuban Perahu just north of Bandung, Java,  it is  said that Junghuhn asked the doctor to open the windows, in order to say goodbye to the mountains that he loved.
In Lembang there is a small monument to his memory in a grassy square named after him planted with some of his favorite trees among which the Cinchona. A minor item of trivia playing into polemical discussions of Junghuhn is his surname, literally translated as "young chicken".

The plants Cyathea junghuhniana and Nepenthes junghuhnii are named after Franz Junghuhn.

GUNUNG BROMO PAINTED BY BASOEKI ABDULLAH

BASOEKI ABDULLAH ( 1915-1993)

Gunung Bromo (2,329m - 7,641ft)

Indonesia (Java Timur) 

  In Permandangan Gunung Bromo, 1949, oil on canvas, Basoeki Abdullah Museum 

The mountain 

Gunung Bromo (2,329m - 7,641ft) or Gunung Brama, an active volcano,in East Java, Indonesia,  is not the highest peak of the Tengger massif, but the best known. The massif area is one of the most visited tourist attractions in East Java, Indonesia. The volcano belongs to the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. The name of Bromo derived from Javanese pronunciation of Brahma, the Hindu creator god. Gunung Bromo sits in the middle of a plain called the "Sea of Sand"  a protected nature reserve since 1919. The best way to visit Gunung Bromo is from the nearby mountain village of Cemoro Lawang, from where it is possible to walk during 45 mn to the volcano. It is also possible to take an organised jeep tour, which includes a stop at the viewpoint on Gunung Penanjakan (2,770 m - 9,088 ft).
On the fourteenth day of the Hindu festival of Yadnya Kasada, the Tenggerese people of Probolinggo, East Java, travel up the mountain in order to make offerings of fruit, rice, vegetables, flowers and sacrifices to the mountain gods by throwing it into the caldera of the volcano. The origin of the ritual lies in the 15th century legend when princess  Roro Anteng started the principality of Tengger with her husband, Joko Seger. The couple were childless and therefore beseeched the assistance of the mountain gods. The gods granted them 24 children but stipulated that the 25th child, named Kesuma, must be thrown into the volcano as a human sacrifice. The gods' request was implemented. The tradition of throwing sacrifices into the volcano to appease these ancient deities continues today and is called the Yadnya Kasada ceremony. Though fraught with danger, some locals risk climbing down into the crater in an attempt to recollect the sacrificed goods that they believe could bring them good luck.
Depending on the degree of volcanic activity, the Indonesian Centre for Volcanology and Disaster Hazard Mitigation sometimes issues warnings against visiting Mount Bromo.
 Mount Bromo recently erupted in 2004, 2010, 2011 and 2015.

The painter 

Basoeki  (or Basuki) Abdullah is one of a the modern master painters of Indonesia, known as a realist and naturalist painter. He has been appointed as the official painter of Merdeka Palace in Jakarta and works adorn palaces and presidential countries Indonesia, in addition to have been collectibles from around the world. His father, Abdullah Suriosubroto, was a famous painter and dancer, while his grandfather,  Doctor Wahidin Sudirohusodo, was a prominent Indonesian National Awakening Movement in the early 1900's. Since the age of 4 years, Basoeki Abdullah began to paint  famous personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and even Jesus Christ and Krishnamurti. His acquired a formal education in the Basoeki Abdullah Catholic and Catholic Mulo in Solo. In 1933,  BasoekiAbdullah obtained a scholarship to study at the Academic Arts in The Hague, Netherlands, and completed his studies within 3 years with awarded Certificate of Royal International of Art (RIA). On 6 September 1948,  during the revolutionary period,  Basoeki Abdullah is housed in Amsterdam (Netherlands) during the coronation of Queen Juliana which held a contest to paint, Basoeki Abdullah defeated 87 European painters and managed to come out as winners.
Since then, the world began to recognize BasoekiAbdullah, during his frequent visits around Europe (Italy and France) and was well known by many resident artists with a worldwide reputation.
BasoekiAbdullah is famous as a portrait painter, especially painting  the royal family and heads of state that tends to beautify or embellish  persons. Aside from being an accomplished portrait painter, he too painted landscapes, mountains, fauna, flora, the themes of struggle, construction and so on.
Basoeki Abdullah held many solo exhibitions both domestically and abroad, among others, his work was exhibited in Bangkok (Thailand), Malaysia, Japan, the Netherlands, England, Portugal... Approximately 22 countries have Basoeki Abdullah paintings in their official collections. Most of his life was spent abroad including several years living in Thailand.

DIENG VOLCANIC COMPLEX PAINTED BY RADEN SALEH

RADEN SALEH (1811-1880)

Dieng Volcanic Complex (2,565m -8,415ft) 

Indonesia, Java 

In Dieng Mountain, 1862, oil on canvas,  Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The mountain

Dieng Volcanic Complex (2,565m -8,415ft)  is on the Dieng Plateau, a marshy plateau that forms the floor of a caldera complex near Wonosobo, Central Java, Indonesia. Referred to as "Dieng" by Indonesians, it sits at 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level, far from major population centres. The name "Dieng" comes from Di Hyang which means "Above of the Gods". 

The volcanic complex consists of two stratovolcanoes with more than 20 small craters and Pleistocene-to-Holocene age volcanic cones. It covers over 6 × 14 km area. The Prahu stratovolcano was truncated by a large Pleistocene caldera and then filled by parasitic cones, lava domes and craters. Some of them are turned into lakes. Toxic volcanic gas has caused fatalities and is a hazard at several craters. On 20 February 1979, 149 people died of gas poisoning in Pekisaran village on the plateau near the Sinila crater. The area is also a major geothermal project.

Part of General Sudirman's guerrilla campaign during the Indonesian War of Independence took place in the area.

The painter 

Raden Saleh Sjarif Boestaman was a pioneering Indonesian Romantic painter of Arab-Javanese ethnicity.  He was considered to be the first "modern" artist from Indonesia (then Dutch East Indies), and his paintings corresponded with nineteenth-century romanticism which was popular in Europe at the time. He also expressed his cultural roots and inventiveness in his work.

Raden Saleh Sjarif Boestaman was born in 1811 in Semarang on the island of Java into a noble Hadhrami family where his father was Sayyid Husen bin Alwi bin Awal bin Yahya, an Indonesian of Arab descent. 

Young Raden Saleh was first taught in Bogor by the Belgian artist A.J. Payen. Payen acknowledged the youth's talent, and persuaded the colonial government of the Netherlands to send Raden Saleh to the Netherlands to study art.  He arrived in Europe in 1829 and began to study under Cornelius Kruseman and Andreas Schelfhout. From Schelfhout, Raden Saleh furthered his skills as a landscape painter. 

During his stay in Paris, Saleh met Horace Vernet whose painting frequently took themes of African wildlife. Compared to Vernet, Saleh's painting seems to be more influenced by the romantic painter Eugène Delacroix. This could be seen in one of Saleh's work, Hunting Lion, 1840, which has similar composition to Delacroix's La Liberté guidant le peuple. However, Werner Kraus, a researcher in the Southeast-Asian Art Center of Passau, German, said that Saleh "never mentioned Delacroix. Perhaps he saw Delacroix's, and possibly Vernet's, works during an exhibition."

While in Europe, in 1836 Saleh became the first indigenous Indonesian to be initiated into Freemasonry. From 1839, he spent five years at the court of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who became an important patron.

Raden Saleh returned to Dutch East Indies in 1852 after living in Europe for 20 years.  He worked as conservator for the colonial collection of government art and continued painting portraits of the Javanese aristocracy, and many more landscape paintings. 

Raden Saleh visited several European cities.  Many of his paintings were exhibited at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Several of his paintings were destroyed when the Colonial Dutch pavilion in Paris was burnt in 1931.

Source:

- Raden Saleh: The Romantic Aristocrat

GUNUNG MERAPI BY FRANZ-WILHELM JUNGHUHN

FRANZ-WILHELM JUNGHUHN (1809-1864)

Gunung Merapi  (2,914m - 9,500 ft) 

Indonesia (Java)

In  Mount Merapi, color print on paper, 1845, Leiden University Library 

In Gunung Merapi seen from Gunung Merabu,  color print on paper, 1853  

The mountain 

Gunung Merapi  or Mount Merapi (2,914m - 9,500 ft)  is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of Yogyakarta city which has a population of 2.4 million, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.

Smoke can often be seen emerging from the mountaintop, and several eruptions have caused fatalities. Pyroclastic flow from a large explosion killed 27 people on 22 November 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano.Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes....

- More  informations about Gunung Merapi volcano 

The artist
Friedrich Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn was a German-Dutch botanist and geologist, who studied medicine in Halle and in Berlin from 1827 to 1831, meanwhile publishing  (1830) a seminal paper on mushrooms in Limnaea.  Junghuhn settled on Java, where he made an extensive study of the land and its people.  He discovered the Kawah Putih crater lake south of Bandung in 1837.
He published extensively on his many often highly adventurous expeditions and his scientific analyses.  Among his works is an important description and natural history in many volumes of the volcanoes of Java, Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis der vulkanen in den Indischen Archipel (1843).
He completed Die Topographischen und Naturwissenschaftlichen Reisen durch Java (Topographic and Scientific Journeys in Java) in 1845 and a first anthropological and topographical study of Sumatra, Die Bättalander auf Sumatra (Batak lands of Sumatra). in 1847.
In 1849, ill health forced his return to the Netherlands.  While in the Netherlands, Junghuhn began work on a four volume treatise published in Dutch and translated into German between 1850 and 1854: Java, deszelfs gedaante, bekleeding en inwendige struktuur. Junghuhn was an avid humanist and socialist. In the Netherlands he published anonymously his free-thinking manifesto Licht- en Schaduwbeelden uit de Binnenlanden van Java (Images of Light and Shadow from Java's interior) between 1853 and 1855. The work was controversial, advocating socialism in the colonies and fiercely criticizing Christian and Islamic proselytization of the Javanese people.  Junghuhn instead wrote of his preference for a form of Pandeism (pantheistic deism), contending that God was in everything, but could only be determined through reason.  The work was banned in Austria and parts of Germany for its "denigrations and vilifications of Christianity", but was a strong seller in the Netherlands where it was first published pseudonymously.  It was also popular in colonial Indonesia, despite opposition from the Dutch Christian Church there.
Recovered from his ills, Junghuhn returned to Java in 1855.  He remained on Java until his death from liver disease in 1864.  On his deathbed in his house near Lembang on the slopes of the volcano Tangkuban Perahu just north of Bandung, Java,  it is  said that Junghuhn asked the doctor to open the windows, in order to say goodbye to the mountains that he loved.
In Lembang there is a small monument to his memory in a grassy square named after him planted with some of his favorite trees among which the Cinchona. A minor item of trivia playing into polemical discussions of Junghuhn is his surname, literally translated as "young chicken".
The plants Cyathea junghuhniana and Nepenthes junghuhnii are named after Franz Junghuhn.

GUNUNG MERAPI BY BASOEKI ABDULLAH

BASOEKI ABDULLAH (1915 -1993)

Gunung Merapi  (2,914m - 9,500 ft) 

Indonesia (Java)

1. In Gunung Merapi, oil on canvas, 1960 - Basoeki Abdullah Museum, Jakarta

2. In Gunung Merapi, oil on canvas,1971, Private collection 

The mountain 
Gunung Merapi  or Mount Merapi (2,914m - 9,500 ft)  is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of Yogyakarta city which has a population of 2.4 million, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.
Smoke can often be seen emerging from the mountaintop, and several eruptions have caused fatalities. Pyroclastic flow from a large explosion killed 27 people on 22 November 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano.Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes....
More  informations about Gunung Merapi volcano 

The painter 

Basoeki  (or Basuki) Abdullah is one of a the modern master painters of Indonesia, known as a realist and naturalist painter. He has been appointed as the official painter of Merdeka Palace in Jakarta and works adorn palaces and presidential countries Indonesia, in addition to have been collectibles from around the world. His father, Abdullah Suriosubroto, was a famous painter and dancer, while his grandfather,  Doctor Wahidin Sudirohusodo, was a prominent Indonesian National Awakening Movement in the early 1900's. Since the age of 4 years, Basoeki Abdullah began to paint  famous personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and even Jesus Christ and Krishnamurti. His acquired a formal education in the Basoeki Abdullah Catholic and Catholic Mulo in Solo. In 1933,  BasoekiAbdullah obtained a scholarship to study at the Academic Arts in The Hague, Netherlands, and completed his studies within 3 years with awarded Certificate of Royal International of Art (RIA). On 6 September 1948,  during the revolutionary period,  Basoeki Abdullah is housed in Amsterdam (Netherlands) during the coronation of Queen Juliana which held a contest to paint, Basoeki Abdullah defeated 87 European painters and managed to come out as winners.
Since then, the world began to recognize BasoekiAbdullah, during his frequent visits around Europe (Italy and France) and was well known by many resident artists with a worldwide reputation.
BasoekiAbdullah is famous as a portrait painter, especially painting  the royal family and heads of state that tends to beautify or embellish  persons. Aside from being an accomplished portrait painter, he too painted landscapes, mountains, fauna, flora, the themes of struggle, construction and so on.
Basoeki Abdullah held many solo exhibitions both domestically and abroad, among others, his work was exhibited in Bangkok (Thailand), Malaysia, Japan, the Netherlands, England, Portugal... Approximately 22 countries have Basoeki Abdullah paintings in their official collections. Most of his life was spent abroad including several years living in Thailand.
Source:
- Museum Basoeki Abdullah 

GUNUNG LAMONGAN BY FRANZ WILHELM JUNGHUHN

FRANZ WILHELM JUNGHUHN  (1809-1864)

Gunung Lamongan (1,651m - 5, 417 ft) 

Indonesia - Java

Painted in 1853-1854 

 Leiden University Library 

The mountain

Gunung Lamongan or Mount Lamongan  (1,651m - 5, 417 ft) is a small stratovolcano located between the massif Tengger caldera complex and Iyang-Argapura volcano complex in East Java, Indonesia. The volcano is surrounded by maars and cinder cones. The volcano's high point is locally named as Gunung Tarub. Lake-filled maars including Ranu Pakis, Ranu Klakah and Ranu Bedali, located on the eastern and western flanks. The northern flanks are dominated by dry maars.

The artist
Friedrich Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn was a German-Dutch botanist and geologist, who studied medicine in Halle and in Berlin from 1827 to 1831, meanwhile publishing  (1830) a seminal paper on mushrooms in Limnaea.  Junghuhn settled on Java, where he made an extensive study of the land and its people.  He discovered the Kawah Putih crater lake south of Bandung in 1837.
He published extensively on his many often highly adventurous expeditions and his scientific analyses.  Among his works is an important description and natural history in many volumes of the volcanoes of Java, Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis der vulkanen in den Indischen Archipel (1843).
He completed Die Topographischen und Naturwissenschaftlichen Reisen durch Java (Topographic and Scientific Journeys in Java) in 1845 and a first anthropological and topographical study of Sumatra, Die Bättalander auf Sumatra (Batak lands of Sumatra). in 1847.
In 1849, ill health forced his return to the Netherlands.  While in the Netherlands, Junghuhn began work on a four volume treatise published in Dutch and translated into German between 1850 and 1854: Java, deszelfs gedaante, bekleeding en inwendige struktuur . Junghuhn was an avid humanist and socialist. In the Netherlands he published anonymously his free-thinking manifesto Licht- en Schaduwbeelden uit de Binnenlanden van Java (Images of Light and Shadow from Java's interior) between 1853 and 1855. The work was controversial, advocating socialism in the colonies and fiercely criticizing Christian and Islamic proselytization of the Javanese people.  Junghuhn instead wrote of his preference for a form of Pandeism (pantheistic deism), contending that God was in everything, but could only be determined through reason.  The work was banned in Austria and parts of Germany for its "denigrations and vilifications of Christianity", but was a strong seller in the Netherlands where it was first published pseudonymously.  It was also popular in colonial Indonesia, despite opposition from the Dutch Christian Church there.
Recovered from his ills, Junghuhn returned to Java in 1855.  He remained on Java until his death from liver disease in 1864.  On his deathbed in his house near Lembang on the slopes of the volcano Tangkuban Perahu just north of Bandung, Java,  it is  said that Junghuhn asked the doctor to open the windows, in order to say goodbye to the mountains that he loved.
In Lembang there is a small monument to his memory in a grassy square named after him planted with some of his favorite trees among which the Cinchona. A minor item of trivia playing into polemical discussions of Junghuhn is his surname, literally translated as "young chicken".
The plants Cyathea junghuhniana and Nepenthes junghuhnii are named after Franz Junghuhn.
Source: 
- Wandering Above Silent Vertexes blog

GUNUNG SEMERU IMAGED IN AUTOCHROME LUMIERE

AUTOCHROME LUMIERE (ANONYMUS)

Gunung Semeru or Gunung Mahameru (3, 676m - 12, 060ft) 

Java - Indonesia

In Gunung Semeru  Anonymus Autochrome Lumière process, circa 1920
©wandering vertexes collection 2016. No copy allowed. Al rights reserved.  

The mountain 

Mount Semeru - Gunung Semeru or Gunung Mahameru indonesian - (3, 676m - 12, 060ft)  is an active volcano located in East Java, Indonesia. It is the highest mountain on the island of Java. This stratovolcano is also known as Mahameru, meaning 'The Great Mountain. The name derived from the Hindu-Buddhist mythical mountain of Meru or Sumeru, the abode of gods.  Semeru is named from Sumeru, the central world-mountain in Buddhist cosmology and by extension Hinduism. As stated in legend, it was transplanted from India; the tale is recorded in the 15th-century East Javanese work Tantu Pagelaran. It was originally placed in the western part of the island, but that caused the island to tip, so it was moved eastward. On that journey, parts kept coming off the lower rim, forming the mountains Lawu, Wilis, Kelut, Kawi, Arjuno and Welirang. The damage thus caused to the foot of the mountain caused it to shake, and the top came off and created Penanggungan as well. Indonesian Hindus also hold a belief that the mountain is the abode of Shiva in Java.

Gunung Semeru or Mahameru is very steep rising abruptly above the coastal plains of eastern Java. Semeru lies at the south end of the Tengger Volcanic Complex.

Semeru's eruptive history is extensive.
Since 1818, at least 55 eruptions have been recorded (10 of which resulted in fatalities) consisting of both lava flows and pyroclastic flows. All historical eruptions have had a VEI of 2 or 3. Semeru has been in a state of near-constant eruption from 1967 to the present. At times, small eruptions happen every 20 minutes or so.
In 2014, there are as many as 25 non-native plants in Mount Semeru National Park, which threaten the endemic local plants. The foreign plants were imported by a Dutch botanist named Van Steenis, in the colonial era. They include Foeniculum vulgare mill, Verbena brasiliensis, chromolaena odorata, and Salvinia molesta.
Mud erosion from surrounding vegetable plantations are also making problem of silting of Ranu Pane Lake, which the lake becomes smaller and shallower. Research predicted the lake will disappear in about 2025, except the kind of vegetables plantation is replaced with more ecological plantations.
Semeru is regularly climbed by tourists, usually starting from the village of Ranu Pane to the north, but though non-technical it can be dangerous. mainly because of the  poisonous gases on Mount Semeru.

Autochrome process
The Autochrome Lumière is an early color photography process. Patented in 1903 by the Lumière brothers in France and first marketed in 1907, it was the principal color photography process in use before the advent of subtractive color film in the mid-1930s.
Between 1909 and 1931, a collection of 72,000 Autochrome photographs, documenting life at the time in 50 countries around the world, was created by French banker Albert Kahn. The collection, one of the biggest of its kind in the world, is housed in The Albert Kahn Museum on the outskirts of Paris. A new compilation of images from the Albert Kahn collection was published in 2008. Several images from the Albert Kahn Collection have been already published in this blog
The National Geographic Society made extensive use of Autochromes and other mosaic color screen plates for over twenty years. 15,000 original Autochrome plates are still preserved in the Society's archives.
In the U.S. Library of Congress's huge collection of American Pictorialist photographer Arnold Genthe's work, 384 of his Autochrome plates were among the holdings as of 1955.
Many photographers used it anonymously as well.

GUNUNG GEDE BY FRANZ WILHEM JUNGHUHN

FRANZ WILHEM JUNGHUHN (1809-1864)

Gunung Gede  (2,958 m - 9,705ft) 

Indonesia (Java) 

Print, 1856, Leiden University Library

The mountain 

Gunung Gede or Mount Gede  (2,958 m - 9,705ft) is a stratovolcano situated in West Java, Indonesia. It contains two peaks: Mount Gede  (Big Mountain in Sundanese)  and Mount Pangrango. Three major cities, Cianjur, Sukabumi and Bogor, are located in the volcano complex at the east, south and northwest, respectively, along with suburban growth. Seven craters are located in the complex: Baru, Gumuruh (2,927 m), Lanang (2,800 m), Kawah Leutik, Ratu (2,800 m), Sela (2,709 m) and Wadon (2,600 m). 

Historical volcanic activity has been recorded since the 16th century. With the amalgamation and growth of Greater Jakarta with those 3 cities, dense suburban growth has engulfed the fringes of the volcano, home to roughly 4 million people. Though not listed as one of the Decade Volcanoes or thought to produce large eruptions, the huge populations nearby give a potential for severe destruction if indeed a large eruption did occur.

Gunung Gede is part of the Mount Gede Pangrango National Park.  It evolved from already existing conservation areas, such as Cibodas Botanical Gardens, Cimungkat Nature Reserve, Situgunung Recreational Park and Mount Gede Pangrango Nature Reserve, and has been the site of important biological and conservation research over the last century. In 1977 UNESCO declared it part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Reference 

- Mount Gede official Website 

The artist 

Friedrich Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn was a German-Dutch botanist and geologist, who studied medicine in Halle and in Berlin from 1827 to 1831, meanwhile publishing  (1830)a seminal paper on mushrooms in Limnaea. 

Junghuhn settled on Java, where he made an extensive study of the land and its people. 

He discovered the Kawah Putih crater lake south of Bandung in 1837.

 He published extensively on his many often highly adventurous expeditions and his scientific analyses.  Among his works is an important description and natural history in many volumes of the volcanoes of Java, Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis der vulkanen in den Indischen Archipel (1843). 

He completed Die Topographischen und Naturwissenschaftlichen Reisen durch Java (Topographic and Scientific Journeys in Java) in 1845 and a first anthropological and topographical study of Sumatra, Die Bättalander auf Sumatra (Batak lands of Sumatra). in 1847.

In 1849, ill health forced his return to the Netherlands.  While in the Netherlands, Junghuhn began work on a four volume treatise published in Dutch and translated into German between 1850 and 1854: Java, deszelfs gedaante, bekleeding en inwendige struktuur (in German: Java, seine Gestalt, Pflanzendecke, und sein innerer Bau). Junghuhn was an avid humanist and socialist. In the Netherlands he published anonymously his free-thinking manifesto Licht- en Schaduwbeelden uit de Binnenlanden van Java (Images of Light and Shadow from Java's interior) between 1853 and 1855. The work was controversial, advocating socialism in the colonies and fiercely criticizing Christian and Islamic proselytization of the Javanese people.   Junghuhn instead wrote of his preference for a form of Pandeism (pantheistic deism), contending that God was in everything, but could only be determined through reason.  The work was banned in Austria and parts of Germany for its "denigrations and vilifications of Christianity", but was a strong seller in the Netherlands where it was first published pseudonymously.  It was also popular in colonial Indonesia, despite opposition from the Dutch Christian Church there. 

Recovered from his ills, Junghuhn returned to Java in 1855. Highly interested in botany and its practical applications, he  became embroiled in a bitter and extended controversy about the effectiveness of Cinchona species in the treatment of malaria.  This controversy was conducted in public and in print with open letters to and demands on Het Natuurkundig Genootschap; part of this exchange of minds can be followed in Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië from 1862 onwards.  At his direction massive plantation of Chincocina was carried out in Java, making it leading producer of Kina (Chinocina bark). 

He remained on Java until his death from liver disease in 1864.  On his deathbed in his house near Lembang on the slopes of the volcano Tangkuban Perahu just north of Bandung, Java,  it is  said that Junghuhn asked the doctor to open the windows, in order to say goodbye to the mountains that he loved. 

In Lembang there is a small monument to his memory in a grassy square named after him planted with some of his favorite trees among which the Cinchona. A minor item of trivia playing into polemical discussions of Junghuhn is his surname, literally translated as "young chicken".

The plants Cyathea junghuhniana and Nepenthes junghuhnii are named after Franz Junghuhn.

Reference 

 - Juhnghuhn biography in Dutch  in BWSA

GUNUNG MERAPI PAINTED BY RADEN SALEH

SALEH (1811-1880) 

 Gunung Merapi or Mount Merapi (2,914m - 9,500 ft)

Indonesia (Java) 

  1. Gunung MerapiDuring the1865 eruption
2. Gurnung Merbabu and  Gunung Merapi

The mountain 

Mount Merapi or Gunung Merapi (2,914m - 9,500 ft)  is an active stratovolcano located on the border between Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 kilometres (17 mi) north of Yogyakarta city which has a population of 2.4 million, and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1,700 metres (5,600 ft) above sea level.

Smoke can often be seen emerging from the mountaintop, and several eruptions have caused fatalities. Pyroclastic flow from a large explosion killed 27 people on 22 November 1994, mostly in the town of Muntilan, west of the volcano.Another large eruption occurred in 2006, shortly before the Yogyakarta earthquake. In light of the hazards that Merapi poses to populated areas, it has been designated as one of the Decade Volcanoes.

On 25 October 2010 the Indonesian government raised the alert for Mount Merapi to its highest level and warned villagers in threatened areas to move to safer ground. People living within a 20 km (12 mi) zone were told to evacuate. Officials said about 500 volcanic earthquakes had been recorded on the mountain over the weekend of 23–24 October, and that the magma had risen to about 1 kilometre (3,300 ft) below the surface due to the seismic activity. On the afternoon of 25 October 2010 Mount Merapi erupted lava from its southern and southeastern slopes.

The mountain was still erupting on 30 November 2010, but due to lowered eruptive activity on 3 December 2010 the official alert status was reduced to level 3. The volcano is now 2930 metres high, 38 metres lower than before the 2010 eruptions.

After a large eruption in 2010 the characteristic of Mount Merapi was changed. On 18 November 2013 Mount Merapi burst smoke up to 2,000 meters high, one of its first major phreatic eruptions after the 2010 eruption. Researchers said that this eruption occurred due to combined effect of hot volcanic gases and abundant rainfall.

In 2004 an area of 6,410 hectares around Mount Merapi was established as a national park. The decision of the Ministry of Forestry to declare the park has been subsequently challenged in court by The Indonesian Forum for Environment, on grounds of lack of consultation with local residents. During the 2006 eruption of the volcano it was reported that many residents were reluctant to leave because they feared their residences would be confiscated for expansion of the national park, meaning they wouldn't have a house.

Mythology

Merapi is very important to Javanese, especially those living around its crater. As such, there are many myths and beliefs attached to Merapi. It is believed that when the gods had just created the Earth, Java was unbalanced because of the placement of Mount Jamurdipo on the west end of the island. In order to assure balance, the gods (generally represented by Batara Guru) ordered the mountain to be moved to the centre of Java. However, two armourers, Empu Rama and Empu Permadi, were already forging a sacred keris at the site where Mount Jamurdipo was to be moved. The gods warned them that they would be moving a mountain there, and that they should leave; Empu Rama and Empu Permadi ignored that warning. In anger, the gods buried Empu Rama and Empu Permadi under Mount Jamurdipo; their spirits later became the rulers of all mystical beings in the area. In memory of them, Mount Jamurdipo was later renamed Mount Merapi, which means "fire of Rama and Permadi.

The Javanese believe that the Earth is not only populated by human beings, but also by spirits (makhluk halus). Villages near Merapi believe that one of the palaces (in Javanese kraton) used by the rulers of the spirit kingdom lies inside Merapi, ruled by Empu Rama and Empu Permadi. This palace is said to be a spiritual counterpart to the Yogyakarta Sultanate, complete with roads, soldiers, princes, vehicles, and domesticated animals. Besides the rulers, the palace is said to also be populated by the spirits of ancestors who died as righteous people. The spirits of these ancestors are said to live in the palace as royal servants (abdi dalem), occasionally visiting their descendants in dreams to give prophecies or warnings. "

Spirits of Merapi

To keep the volcano quiet and to appease the spirits of the mountain, the Javanese regularly bring offerings on the anniversary of the sultan of Yogyakarta's coronation. For Yogyakarta Sultanate, Merapi holds significant cosmological symbolism, because it is forming a sacred north-south axis line between Merapi peak and Southern Ocean (Indian Ocean). The sacred axis is signified by Merapi peak in the north, the Tugu Yogyakarta (id) monument near Yogyakarta main train station, the axis runs along Malioboro street to Northern Alun-alun (square) across Keraton Yogyakarta (sultan palace), Southern Alun-alun, all the way to Bantul and finally reach Samas and Parangkusumo beach on the estuary of Opak river and Southern Ocean. This sacred axis connected the hyangs or spirits of mountain revered since ancient times—often identified as "Mbah Petruk" by Javanese people—The Sultan of Yogyakarta as the leader of the Javanese kingdom, and Nyi Roro Kidul as the queen of the Southern Ocean, the female ocean deity revered by Javanese people and also mythical consort of Javanese kings.

The painter 

Raden Saleh Sjarif Boestaman was a pioneering Indonesian Romantic painter of Arab-Javanese ethnicity.  He was considered to be the first "modern" artist from Indonesia (then Dutch East Indies), and his paintings corresponded with nineteenth-century romanticism which was popular in Europe at the time. He also expressed his cultural roots and inventiveness in his work.

Raden Saleh Sjarif Boestaman was born in 1811 in Semarang on the island of Java into a noble Hadhrami family where his father was Sayyid Husen bin Alwi bin Awal bin Yahya, an Indonesian of Arab descent. 

Young Raden Saleh was first taught in Bogor by the Belgian artist A.J. Payen. Payen acknowledged the youth's talent, and persuaded the colonial government of the Netherlands to send Raden Saleh to the Netherlands to study art.  He arrived in Europe in 1829 and began to study under Cornelius Kruseman and Andreas Schelfhout. From Schelfhout, Raden Saleh furthered his skills as a landscape painter. 

During his stay in Paris, Saleh met Horace Vernet whose painting frequently took themes of African wildlife. Compared to Vernet, Saleh's painting seems to be more influenced by the romantic painter Eugène Delacroix. This could be seen in one of Saleh's work, Hunting Lion, 1840, which has similar composition to Delacroix's La Liberté guidant le peuple. However, Werner Kraus, a researcher in the Southeast-Asian Art Center of Passau, German, said that Saleh "never mentioned Delacroix. Perhaps he saw Delacroix's, and possibly Vernet's, works during an exhibition."

While in Europe, in 1836 Saleh became the first indigenous Indonesian to be initiated into Freemasonry. From 1839, he spent five years at the court of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who became an important patron.

Raden Saleh visited several European cities.  Many of his paintings were exhibited at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Several of his paintings were destroyed when the Colonial Dutch pavilion in Paris was burnt in 1931.

Raden Saleh returned to Dutch East Indies in 1852 after living in Europe for 20 years.  He worked as conservator for the colonial collection of government art and continued painting portraits of the Javanese aristocracy, and many more landscape paintings.