Wakidi (1889 – 1979)

Wakidi lahir di Plaju, Palembang, Sumatra Selatan, sekitar tahun 1889. Orang tuanya orang Jawa yang berasal dari Semarang, kemudian mereka bekerja di Plaju, Sumatra. Sejak kecil Wakidi senang melukis dan semakin berkembang bakatnya itu ketika tahun 1903 Wakidi bersekolah di Kweekschool (sering disebut Sekolah Raja - sekolah guru) Bukit Tinggi. Di sekolah ini Wakidi mulai serius belajar melukis dengan bimbingan guru, terutama ia melukis tema-tema pemandangan alam, seperti: ngarai, sawah, gunung, dan sungai. Wakidi lulus tahun 1908 dan mulai mengajar di sana. Ia juga mengajar di INS Kayu Tanam pada tahun 1940-an dan sejak kemerdekaan tahun 1949 ia mengajar di sekolah menengah di Bukit Tinggi.

 

Sesudah lulus sekolah, Wakidi pernah dikirim ke Semarang untuk belajar melukis oleh seorang seniman Belanda, yaitu Van Dijk. Pada masa ini, Wakidi telah menjadi ahli pelukis pemandangan yang mahir. Ia dikenal sebagai pelukis dengan tema-tema tentang panorama dan kehidupan Sumatera Barat. Di kancah nasional perkembangan seni rupa modern Indonesia, Wakidi semasa dengan pelukis Abdullah Suriosubrata dan Mas Pirngadi. Kelak mereka bertiga sering disebut sebagai pelukis Mooi Indie. Selama hidup Wakidi, ia mengajar banyak murid, walaupun sedikit yang telah mengikuti gaya naturalistisnya. Ia melanjutkan mengajar seni di Bukit Tinggi pada akhir 1950-an serta terus melukis sepanjang hidupnya. Ia tinggal berjauhan dari arus utama kehidupan seni rupa di Jawa. Namun, sebagai guru, Wakidi pernah menjadi pengajar dari banyak tokoh dari Sumatera, diantaranya: tokoh nasional Mohammad Hatta dan Jendral A.H. Nasution. Wakidi menerima Anugerah Seni Republik Indonesia tahun 1983. Ia meninggal di Padang (Sumatera Barat) tahun 1983.

Wakidi was born in Plaju, Palembang, South Sumatra, around 1889. His parents were Javanese from Semarang who later worked in Plaju, Sumatra. Since childhood, Wakidi enjoyed painting, and his talent grew stronger when in 1903 he studied at Kweekschool (often called Sekolah Raja—Teacher’s School) in Bukit Tinggi. At this school, Wakidi began to seriously study painting under the guidance of teachers, mainly painting landscapes such as gorges, rice fields, mountains, and rivers. Wakidi graduated in 1908 and started teaching there. He also taught at INS Kayu Tanam in the 1940s and, since Indonesia’s independence in 1949, he taught at a high school in Bukit Tinggi.

 

After finishing school, Wakidi was sent to Semarang to learn painting from a Dutch artist named Van Dijk. During this period, Wakidi had become a skilled landscape painter. He was known for themes depicting panoramas and life in West Sumatra. In the development of modern Indonesian fine arts on the national stage, Wakidi was contemporaneous with painters Abdullah Suriosubrata and Mas Pirngadi. The three of them were often referred to as Mooi Indie painters. Throughout his life, Wakidi taught many students, although few followed his naturalist style. He continued teaching art in Bukit Tinggi in the late 1950s and kept painting throughout his life. He lived apart from the main currents of the art scene in Java. However, as a teacher, Wakidi had taught many figures from Sumatra, including national figures Mohammad Hatta and General A.H. Nasution. Wakidi received the Indonesian Art Award in 1983. He passed away in Padang (West Sumatra) in 1983.

Source: IVAA Online Archive