Title: Gunung-Mĕrapi (‘Mount Merapi’)
Creator: Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn, Winckelmann & Söhne
Description: Lithograph of the smoking summit of the volcano Mount Merapi on the island of Java, Indonesia. It is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia and erupts frequently, most recently in 2013. This is particularly problematic as it is located in a densely populated area, north of the city of Yogyakarta, and as a result it is monitored extremely closely. Its name can be translated as ‘fire mountain’.
Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn, a German-Dutch botanist, came to Java as a surgeon in the Dutch colonial army whilst fleeing a ten year prison sentence for murdering a rival in a duel. He settled on the island and lived there for most of the rest of his life, making extensive studies of the land and its people.
This image was drawn by Junghuhn and lithographed by Winckelmann & Söhne. It was published in Junghuhn’s Landschaften-Atlas zu Java, which accompanied his four volume Java: deszelfs gedaante, bekleeding en inwendige struktuur (Java: its shape, vegetation cover and inner construction), (Amsterdam: PN Van Kampen, 1850-1854).
Date: [1850-1854]
Format: Lithograph
Image reference: 02-24a
Recommended print size: Up to 20 x 16 inches (50 x 40cm)