He was a pupil of the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam and returned to Indonesia in 1919, where he lived and worked in Bandung, Semarang and Jakarta. He was a member of the Bataviache Kunstkring and participated in several exhibitions between 1923 and 1936. Several of his Indonesian water colours and paintings were used to illustrate De Zweep, a weekly published in 1922 and 1923.

During World War II, he was interned by the Japanese and sent to a camp. Prolific, well-known painter, draughtsman, watercolourist and mural painter in an impressionist style of bright colouring. His paintings reflect the artist's cheerful and open-hearted personality.