Paintings

PAINTINGS

The placesynonymous with the traditional form of Balinese painting is the villageof Kamasan near Klungkung. In the service of the kings of Gelgel and Klungkungup until the beginning of this century, it was only natural that the paintersand illustrators, called 'Sangging', should settle in this one area. Asit was not uncommon for ruling families from other parts of Bali of acquirethe use of a Sangging to decorate their own palaces or temples, the Kamasanstyle of painting quickly spread throughout the whole of Bali.

 Until thestart of this century, the dominant form of painting was the portrayalof Hindu epics, on 'Langse' - large narratives painted either on broad,rectangular cloths or on 'Ider-ider' which were much narrower (about 30cmwide and several meters long). Langse were placed in temples as wall hangingsor used as curtains in the palaces. Ider-ider were hung around the roofsof temples and shrines and were used decoratively at court on festive occasions.The artists also painted on wooden boards which were placed between raftersas ceiling friezes. A side from large representational paintings, the 'Sangging'were also expected to decorate everything from gourds, wooden altars, bamboovessels, headboards for princely bed chambers and in particular to illustrateastrological wall hangings on bark paper or cloth.
 
The stylefor which the artists of Kamasan are famous is based on the East Javanese'Wayang' art. These were basically two-dimensional, iconographic representationsfollowing strict rules and guidelines as to how the characters should beportrayed. For example a person's character and status can be seen fromthe colors used to portray them, his headdress of even the direction inwhich he is facing. Noblemen always have very refined faces while coarsecharacters have large, bulging eyes and fangs. Today in Kamasan you canstill 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, hasstarted a school to try and keep the Wayang tradition alive.
 
It wasn'tuntil the early nineteen hundreds that Western influence reached Bali.The use of Asian symbols in the works of, amongst others, Paul Gauguin,Toulouse Lautrec and Camille Pissaro created a new trend for Asian-influencedart and European painters began to move to Bali. Ubud's fame for art canbe traced to the arrival of German painter, Walter Spies and Dutch painterRudolf Bonnet. Together, with Indonesian artist Gede Agung Sukawati, theyestablished the Pitamaha Group which encouraged Balinese artists to moreexpressive and less tradition-bound. Aside from the Kamasan school of paintingthere now exists a wide range of different styles. Some characteristicsare listed briefly below.

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