Modern Art in Indonesia  

Modern art, ie, art of the 19th and 20th century, flourished mainly in two areas of Indonesia: Java and the island of Bali. The dominant medium was painting: from the early 1800s, the colonial Dutch were a key influence in the introduction of European oils to Indonesian artists such as Raden Salleh. He was considered Java’s earliest modern painter, whose works influenced the “Beautiful Indies” school of the later 1900s. These oil paintings featured pleasant, naturalistic landscapes and still-life flowers. However, at the time there were also painters living in the cities who broke away from this tradition, such as Affandi and Hendra Gunawan. They preferred to address more social issues in their works, painted in various Western styles including Impressionism. Meanwhile, in Bali where ink painting dominated instead, three modern styles emerged after the 1930s – in Ubud, Sanur and Batuan. The artists’ works featured scenes of daily life, plants, animals, and images from traditional folklore.

This pathfinder serves as a guide to help you to source for information on modern art in Indonesia, which is available at the National Library Board libraries as well as on the Internet.

Compiled by Alicia Yeo. For further assistance, please ask the staff at the Information Counter or email us at ref@nlb.gov.sg

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