Mohd. Hoessein Enas, Dato’

045

b. Indonesia, 1924 – d. 1995
Mohd. Hoessein Enas, Dato’
Silat
1991
signed and dated ‘Hoessein enas 1991’ (bottom left)
oil on canvas
76 x 102cm
Provenance
Private collection, Penang; acquired from The Art Gallery, Penang.
Estimate
RM 90,000 – 110,000
Price Realised
RM 126,500

LITERATURE
Dr. Tan Chee Khuan, The Life and Art of Dato’ M. Hoessein Enas, The Art Gallery, Penang, 1999, illustrated p. 80.
Dr. Tan Chee Khuan, The Pioneers of Malaysian Art, The Art Gallery, Penang, 1994, illustrated p.334.

Silat is a popular form of martial arts in the Malay archipelago. Besides being a form of self-defence, it inculcates discipline and fosters healthy living. During the 1960s and 1970s, weddings and royal installations often had silat demonstrations as entertainment, as this painting of the unarmed combat shows.

Hoessein Enas was more interested in the dramatic poses and gestures, with the exponent on the left crouching in a taut stance while the combatant on the right is getting ready for the strike. Those days, the demonstrations were accompanied by music from the gendang (drums), serunai (oboe) and seruling (flute).