Description: EXCEPTIONAL ANTIQUE BALINESE MODERN EXPRESSIONIST OIL PAINTING ON CANVAS CLOTH (CIRCA 1960s). THIS WORK DEPICTS A CAPTIVATING FIGURATIVE SCENE OF DAILY LIFE IN BALI. BALINESE ART IS KNOWN FOR ITS RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE, INTRICATE DETAILING, AND SYMBOLIC TRADEMARKS, AS SHOWN HERE IN THIS MASTERFUL PAINTING. THE ARTIST EMBODIES THE TRADITIONAL BALINESE TECHNIQUES WITH WARM, MODERN ARTISTIC ELEMENTS CAPTURING THE ESSENCE OF BALINESE CULTURE AND SPIRITUALITY. THE DETAILS IN THIS PAINTING ARE SPOT-ON AND AMAZING. IT IS SIGNED IN THE LOWER RIGHTHAND CORNER. PERHAPS YOU RECOGNIZE THE ARTIST? IT DATES AROUND THE 1960s. EXCELLENT OVERALL CONDITION. MILD SCRATCHES TO THE FRAME. DIMENSIONS: 27”H x 19”W Balinese art is an art of Hindu-Javanese origin that grew from the work of artisans of the Majapahit Kingdom, with their expansion to Bali in the late 14th century. From the sixteenth until the twentieth centuries, the village of Kamasan, Klungkung (East Bali), was the centre of classical Balinese art. During the first part of the twentieth century, new varieties of Balinese art developed. Since the late twentieth century, Ubud and its neighboring villages established a reputation as the center of Balinese art. Ubud and Batuan are known for their paintings, Mas for their woodcarvings, Celuk for gold and silver smiths, and Batubulan for their stone carvings. Covarrubias describes Balinese art as, "... a highly developed, although informal Baroque folk art that combines the peasant liveliness with the refinement of classicism of Hinduistic Java, but free of the conservative prejudice and with a new vitality fired by the exuberance of the demonic spirit of the tropical primitive". Eiseman correctly pointed out that Balinese art is carved, painted, woven, and prepared into objects intended for everyday use rather than as object d 'art. Balinese paintings are notable for their highly vigorous yet refined, intricate art that resembles baroque folk art with tropical themes. The pre-war modernization of Balinese art emanated from three villages: Ubud, where Spies settled, Sanur on the southern coast, and Batuan, a traditional hub of musicians, dancers, carvers, and painters. The artists painted mostly on paper, though canvas and board were also used. Often, the works featured repetitive clusters of stylized foliage or waves that conveyed a sense of texture, even perspective. Each village evolved a style of its own. Ubud artists made more use of open spaces and emphasized human figures. Sanur paintings often featured erotic scenes and animals, and work from Batuan was less colorful but tended to be busier. Ubud became a center for art in the 1930s, under the patronage of the lords of Ubud, who rose to power at the end of the nineteenth century. Before the 1930s, traditional wayang-style paintings from other villages may have been found in Ubud but were more influential in the nearby village of Peliatan, which is nowadays classified as part of Ubud. Significant Ubud artists were already adapting versions of the wayang style by the end of the 1920s, notably Ida Bagus Kembeng of Tebesaya, who may have studied with relatives in nearby Tampaksiring village. I Gusti Nyoman Lempad, who had come to Ubud under the patronage of its ruling lord, changed from being an architect and sculptor to executing outstanding drawings around 1931. Anak Agung Gde Sobrat of Ubud also began to paint around this time. These and other artists were given materials and opportunities to sell their work by the resident European artists Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet. They developed experimental styles which European commentators identified as a new, modern type of Balinese art, differentiated from the traditional art which is governed by strict rules of religious iconography. Under the patronage of the Ubud royal family, especially Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati, and with Rudolf Bonnet as a chief consultant, the Pitamaha Art Guild was founded in 1936 as a way to professionalize Balinese painting. Its mission was to preserve the quality of Balinese Art in the rush of tourism to Bali. The board members of Pitamaha met regularly to select paintings submitted by its members, and to conduct exhibitions throughout Indonesia and abroad. Between 1936 and 1939, Bonnet organized significant exhibitions of this modern Balinese art in the Netherlands, with a smaller exhibition in London. Pitamaha was active until the Second World War came to Bali in 1942. Ubud artists who were members of Pitamaha came from Ubud and its surrounding villages: Pengosekan, Peliatan, and Tebasaya. Among them, besides those mentioned above, were: The three sons of Ida Bagus Kembeng: Ida Bagus Wiri, Ida Bagus Made, and Ida Bagus Belawa; Tjokorda Oka of the royal house of Peliatan; Sobrat and his family members, including Anak Agung Gde Meregeg, I Dewa Putu Bedil, I Dewa Nyoman Leper, Anak Agung Dana of Padangtegal; and I Gusti Ketut Kobot, his brother I Gusti Made Baret, I Wayan Gedot, Dewa Putu Mokoh of Pengosekan. Artists from other areas also participated, including Pan Seken from Kamasan, I Gusti Made Deblog from Denpasar, and some of the Sanur artists. Although short-lived, Pitamaha is identified with the outpouring of modern art of the 1930s which preceded it, and with succeeding developments in art. Artists from Ubud have continued the Pitamaha tradition. Important among these Ubud Artists are Ida Bagus Sena (nephew of Ida Bagus Made Poleng), A.A Gde Anom Sukawati (son of A.A Raka Pudja), I Ketut Budiana, I Nyoman Kayun and I Nyoman Meja. Budiana is the artist with one of the most impressive solo exhibition track records. His paintings are collected by the Fukuoka Museum of Arts, Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Museum Puri Lukisan, Neka Museum, and Arma Museum. Ida Bagus Sena also has developed a unique style and has a deep understanding of Balinese philosophy in his paintings. Anom Sukawati is Balinese most successful colorist. I Nyoman Meja developed a style that is closely copied by several of his students. I Nyoman Kayun received the Bali Bangkit award in 2008. Among the early Batuan artists, I Ngendon (1903-1946) was considered the most innovative Batuan School painter. Ngendon was not only a good painter but a shrewd businessman and political activist. He encouraged and mobilized his neighbors and friends to paint for tourist consumption. His ability in portraiture played an important role in teaching his fellow villagers in Batuan more than Spies and Bonnet.[6] The major Batuan artists from this period were: I Patera (1900-1935), I Tombos (b. 1917), Ida Bagus Togog (1913-1989), Ida Bagus Made Jatasura (1917-1946), Ida Bagus Ketut Diding (1914-1990), I Made Djata (1920-2001), and Ida Bagus Widja (1912-1992). The spirit of the Pitamaha period is still strong and continues by contemporary Batuan Artists such as I Made Budi, I Wayan Bendi (b. 1950), I Ketut Murtika (b. 1952), I Made Sujendra (b. 1964), and many others. I Made Budi and I Wayan Bendi paintings capture the influence of tourism in modern life in Bali. They place tourists with their cameras, riding a motorbike or surfing during Balinese traditional village activities. The dichotomy of modern and traditional Balinese life is contrasted starkly in harmony. I Ketut Murtika still paints the traditional story of Mahabharata and Ramayana in painstaking details with subdued colors. His painting of the Wheel of Life viewed from the Balinese belief system shows his mastery of local legends and painstaking attention to detail. Unlike Ubud and Batuan which are located in the inland of Bali, Sanur is a beach resort. Sanur was the home of the well-known Belgian artist Le Mayeur de Mepres, who lived with a Balinese wife (Ni Polok) and had a beach house on Sanur beach, although he had no interaction with local artists. Tourists in the 1930s came to Bali on cruise ships docked in Sanur and made side trips to Ubud and neighboring tourist sites. Its prime location provided the Sanur artist with ready access to Western tourists who frequented the shop of the Neuhaus Brothers who sold Balinese souvenirs and had a tropical fish aquarium. The Neuhaus brothers became the major dealers of Sanur paintings and other local art. The beach around Sanur, full of outriggers and open horizons, provided local artists with a visual environment different from the Ubud and Batuan, which are located in the hinterland. The playful atmosphere pervades the Sanur paintings and is not dictated by the religious iconography. It is lighter and airy than those of Batuan and Ubud with sea creatures, erotic scenery, and wild animals drawn in rhythmic patterns. It is possible that these works, and those of Batuan, influenced the European artist M.C. Escher. Most early works were black and white ink wash on paper, but at the request of Neuhaus, latter works were adorned with light pastel colors often added by a small number of the artists who specialized in coloring black and white drawings, notably I Pica and I Regug, who left their Balinese initials the margins. The Sanur school of painting is the most stylized and decorative among all modern Balinese Art. Major artists from Sanur are I Rundu, Ida Bagus Nyoman Rai, Ida [Bagus] Made Pugug, I Soekaria, I [Gusti] Made Rundu, and I Pica. I Rudin, who lived nearby in Renon, started to paint in the mid-1930s, and in the 1950s turned to drawing Balinese dancers in the manner of the drawings of Miguel Covarrubias. The development of the Young Artist School of painting is attributed to the Dutch artist Arie Smit, a Dutch soldier who served during the 2nd world-war and decided to stay in Bali. In the early 1960s, he came across children in the village of Penestanan near Tjampuhan drawing on the sand. He encouraged these children to paint by providing them with paper and paints. Their paintings are characterized by "child-like" drawings that lacks details and bright colors drawn with oil paint on canvas. By the 1970s, it attracted around three hundred peasant painters to produce paintings for tourists. In 1971 Datuk Lim Chong Kit held an exhibition of Young Artists' work from his collection, at Alpha Gallery in Singapore entitled Peasant Painters of Bali. A version of that exhibition was held in 1983 at the National Gallery of Malaysia. The painting by I Wayan Pugur (b. 1945) shown here, was executed when he was 13 years old and was exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1964, as part of a traveling exhibition in the United States in 1964-1965, which was also exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution. This early drawing, executed on paper, exhibits the use of bright colors and a balanced composition. The drawing space is divided into three solid-color areas: dark blue, bright yellow, and magenta showing the influence of the Wayang painting tradition. The leaves of the large tree with the snakes show the juxtaposition of complementary colors. The faces of the figures were drawn with no details, yet the snakes have eyes and long tongues. Major artists from the Young Artist School are I Wayan Pugur, I Ketut Soki,[10] I Ngurah KK, I Nyoman Londo, I Ketut Tagen, M D Djaga, I Nyoman Cakra, Ni Ketut Gampil, I Nyoman Mundik, I Wayan Regug and many others.
Price: 3500 USD
Location: Pasadena, California
End Time: 2024-12-15T03:33:31.000Z
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Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Unit of Sale: Single Piece
Artist: Illegible Signature
Signed By: Illegible Signature
Size: Large
Signed: Yes
Period: Post-War (1940-1970)
Material: Canvas, Cloth
Item Length: 19 in
Region of Origin: Bali
Framing: Framed
Subject: Figures, Dancing, Bali, Balinese
Type: Painting
Year of Production: 1960s
Original/Licensed Reproduction: Original
Item Height: 27 in
Theme: Art, Balinese Bali Culture
Style: Expressionism, Figurative Art, Cubism, Abstract, Folk Art
Features: One of a Kind (OOAK)
Production Technique: Oil Painting
Country/Region of Manufacture: Indonesia
Culture: Balinese Bali
Handmade: Yes
Item Width: 19 in
Time Period Produced: 1960-1969