Ida Bagus Nyoman Rai: painter of history / Adrian Vickers and Leo Haks

Abstract

The Balinese painter Ida Bagus Nyoman Rai died in 2000, leaving behind one of the few depictions of the Japanese occupation of Bali, an enigmatic work that has only now come to public attention. A 'history painting' that tells us much about Balinese art and its development during the modernist period, it also shows how art that appears to represent history ambiguously can actually enhance our understanding of it.