Bali Arts and Crafts > Foreign Artists in Bali

_____________________________________1904 - 1967

Few western artists were much interested with the exotic countries of the East and their strange costumes and habits before the end of the 19th century. The general opinion was that the sharp contrasts of tropical light were unsuitable for the painterly arts. After Gauguin and the ascendance of modern art movement all this changed. One can muse that if Gauguin, who used many compositions taken from the recently published photos of the relief’s of Borobudur, had known of Bali is yet pristine culture, he would have come here instead of Tahiti whose culture had virtually been destroyed by the time of his arrival at the end of the 19th century.

^{Medieval Bali and her exotic
kingdoms, however, dreamed on unknown to the world-awaiting another generation of foreign
artists to discover Her beauties. Quite a few of them were inspired by Gauguin and
traveled in his footsteps, first to Tahiti before fate led them to Bali. By the 1930
‘s, Bali was the new South Seas Paradise on Earth for an eager western public, an
image created for a large part by the artists named here. Since the turn of the century
scores of foreign painters have visited or lived in Bali. Some were good, same were great
and most have been forgotten. Here is a more or less chronological list of the more
notable among them, ordered according to the date or their first arrival on the island of
the Gods.}

^{Naturally this list is incomplete and will
give rise to calls of injustice. Other painters and artists include Louise Koke, Frida
Holleman, Flip Hamers, Han Snel, Czeslaw Mystkowski, Renato Christiano, Marius Bauer,
Hendrik Paulides, Charles Sayers, H.A.L. Wichers, Ian Fairweather, Gabriele Ferrand, Baron
von Plessum, Dickhoff, Nikerk, Poortenaar, Weyzig and countless others who have visited,
lived and worked in Bali.}

^{Perhaps one of the
most notable realizations one makes when exploring this subject , is the distinct tendency
of the individual artists and their friends to ignore others. In reality there was a
tremendous amount of interaction, not only between artists on the island but also with the
international scene. This was not always pleasant for rivalry, intrigue and jealously was
rife among the Painters of Paradise, when staking their exclusiveclaims to their Muse.}

^{For those interested in a more complete list please
see-the Lexicon of Foreign Artists who Visualized Indonesia : 1600-1950 by Haks and
Maris, Archipelago Press, Singapore 1995-just hot off the press. A major source of
information for this work and expert on this subject is Mr. Didier Hamel of Duta’s
Director and Founder (1986 with Basuki Wihowo, a Java resident of Jakarta) one of his most
important aims has been the collecting and documentation of historical paintings . Duta
certainly has the broadest collections are be found in Museum Neka and ARMA (The Agung Rai
Museum of Art)}

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