Hendrik Hermanus Joel Ngantung (1 March 1927 – 12 December 1991), better known as Henk Ngantung was an Indonesian

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

and politician of

Minahasan The Minahasans (alternative spelling: Minahassa) are an ethnic group native to the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the Minahasan p ...

descent. He was appointed Deputy Governor by President

Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...

and then became

Governor of Jakarta The Jakarta Special Capital Region is administratively equal to a province with special status as the capital of Indonesia. Instead of a mayor, the executive head of Jakarta is a governor. The governor of Jakarta is an elected politician who, ...

briefly between 1964 and 1965, the first Christian of the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

faith to hold this important post in predominantly Muslim Indonesia. Henk Ngantung was born in the

Minahasa The Minahasans (alternative spelling: Minahassa) are an ethnic group native to the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the Minahasan p ...

heartland of

North Sulawesi North Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the Minahasa Peninsula of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia. It borders the Philippine province of Davao Occidental and Socc ...

province in the capital city of

Manado Manado () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 Census giving a population of 451,916 distributed over a land area of 162.53 km2.Badan Pusa ...

to a poor family. Henk was an

painter without any formal education. Together with

Chairil Anwar Chairil Anwar (26 July 1922 – 28 April 1949) was an Indonesian poet and member of the " 1945 Generation" of writers. He is estimated to have written 96 works, including 70 individual poems. Anwar was born and raised in Medan, North Sumatr ...

and

Asrul Sani Asrul Sani (10 June 1926 – 11 January 2004) was an Indonesian writer, poet and screenwriter. Biography Sani was born in Rao, West Sumatra on 10 June 1926. His father was Sultan Marah Sani Syair Alamsyah. Together with Chairil Anwar and Riv ...

, he co-founded the Indonesian artistic movement Gelanggang (meaning the arena). He was also member of the China-Indonesia Friendship from 1955 to 1958. Henk Ngantung was married to Hetty Evelyn "Evie" Mamesah and they had four children, Maya Ngantung, Genie Ngantung, Kamang Ngantung and Karno Ngantung. He became Deputy governor of Jakarta during the reign of governor

Soemarno Sosroatmodjo Soemarno Sosroatmodjo (24 April 1911 – 9 January 1991) was an Indonesian soldier, doctor and politician who served as both governor of Jakarta and Minister of Home Affairs of Indonesia. He served two terms as Governor of Jakarta. His first t ...

. President

entrusted him of turning Jakarta into a city of culture based on his work as an artist. After holding the post of deputy governor from 1960 to 1964, he succeeded Soemarno Sosroatmodjo as governor of Jakarta but very briefly 1964–1965 before Soemarno Sosroatmodjo retaking the position in 1965 again briefly until 1966. His appointment was vehemently opposed for his left-wing ideology with some opponents accusing him of being a communist. From 1965 onwards, he consecrated his life to the arts. He lived in poverty, suffered bad health and developed heart disease and glaucoma. He lost eyesight completely in his right eye, and just 30% vision in the left eye, but continued painting with great difficulty. In 1990, the Indonesian businessman and philanthropist Ciputra sponsored Henk Ngantung's one and only official exhibition just a month before his death on 12 December 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngantung, Henk 1921 births 1991 deaths People from Manado Minahasa people Indonesian Roman Catholics Governors of Jakarta 20th-century Indonesian painters