Bali Paintings

The place synonymous with the traditional form of Balinese painting is the village of Kamasan, near Klungkung. Up until the beginning of this century, and in the service of the kings of Gelgel and Klungkung, it was only natural that the painters and illustrators, called 'Sangging', should settle in this one area. As it was not uncommon for ruling families from other parts of Bali to acquire the use of a Sangging to decorate their own palaces or temples, the Kamasan style of painting quickly spread throughout the whole of Bali. Until the start of this century, the dominant form of painting was the portrayal of Hindu epics, on 'Langse' - large narratives painted either on broad, rectangular cloths or on 'Ider-ider', which were much narrower cloths about 30cm wide and several meters long. Langse were placed in temples as wall hangings, or used as curtains in the palaces. Ider-Ider were hung around the roofs of temples and shrines, and were used decoratively in the royal courts on festive occasions. The artists also painted on wooden boards which were placed between rafters as ceiling friezes. Aside from large representational paintings, the 'Sangging' were also expected to decorate everything from gourds, wooden altars, bamboo vessels, headboards for princely bed chambers and in particular to illustrate astrological wall hangings on bark paper or cloth. The style for which the artists of Kamasan are famous is based on the East Javanese 'Wayang' art. These were basically two-dimensional, iconographic representations following strict rules and guidelines as to how the characters should be portrayed. For example, a person's character and status can be seen from the colors used to portray them, his head dress, or even the direction in which he is facing. Noblemen always have had very refined faces, while coarse characters have large, bulging eyes and fangs. Today in Kamasan you can still find people who are dedicated to painting in the traditional 'Wayang' style. One of the most famous Kamasan artists is I Nyoman Mandra, who, aside from producing his own paintings and doing restoration work, started a school to try and keep the Wayang tradition alive. It wasn't until the early 1900's, that Western influence reached Bali. The use of Asian symbols in the works of Paul Gauguin, Toulouse Lautrec and Camille Pissaro created a new trend for Asian-influenced art and European painters began to move to Bali. Ubud's fame for art can be traced to the arrival of German painter Walter Spies, and Dutch painter Rudolf Bonnet. Together with Indonesian artist Gede Agung Sukawati, they established the Pitamaha Group which encouraged Balinese artists to be more expressive and less tradition bound. Aside from the Kamasan school there is now a wider range of different styles. BATUAN STYLE Strongly Wayang based, this style involves hundreds of intricately painted representations of Balinese life, filling every available nook and cranny of the canvas. Batuan artists like I Wayan Bendi, Ni Wayan Warti and I Made Budi make much more of a statement about life in Bali with subject matter that includes everything from traditional village activities to camera-toting tourists and even surfers. Earlier Batuan artists, Ida Bagus Made Togog and Ida Bagus Made Wija, dealt much more with the darker, supernatural side of life in Bali with people depicted as extremely vulnerable to the spirits and powers of nature. KELIKI STYLE Keliki art is very similar to the Old Batuan Style with the one exception being size; Keliki paintings measure 20 cm by 15 cm. They contain scenes of mythical and Ramayanic characters engaged in battle, good versus evil, on sinister backgrounds. Keliki artists also follow the tradition of the old Wayang artists in that they seldom sign their work. UBUD STYLE Influenced by the Western use of perspective and everyday-life subject matter, the Ubud style is one of the most Expressionists of all the Balinese schools. Despite this, Ubud art still retains many traditional features, including attention to detail and very stylized characters. PENGOSEKAN STYLE From this village, on the outskirts of Ubud, a new style sprang up during the 60's. These paintings tend to be more realistic and less expressive than the Ubud style concentrating on just a few natural components like birds, insects, butterflies and plants.