Not the easiest subject I’ve attempted to photograph because the linen is so thin that the background shows through. However, this is the best of 16 attempts to do it correctly. The frame is hand-carved teak and the size of the piece is 26×36 inches. The artist is MD Kerta.
Beautiful image – the Ramayana is such a mesmerising and evocative story. Will drop back again and visit when I have done a bit more on my Bandung to Bali story. It’s sort of my blog challenge as I’m trying to write each day as and when the journey my family took to Indonesia happened back in 1973. But as I haven’t even left Australia yet – the ‘road to Bali’ will be a little time away! Would love to hear more about the story behind this painting…did you buy it in Bali or come across it somewhere else?
The painting was a gift from a friend who worked on trade missions abroad. In around 1975, when he brought me this painting from Bali rolled up in a tube, he also supplied the framing material and it has hung in my living room ever since. My love for all artistic works from the islands and areas encompassing India, the Philippines, Indonesia (etc.) has been present all my life since my extended family has left roots in those places.
I have not gone to those areas either, but I fully intend to one day. After all, in my daily life I’m surrounded by all sorts of fabulous momentos which my family collected over a century. These objects, like the painting, carvings and other odd things, fascinate and urge me to look into their amazing cultures.
Thanks for sharing the story of the painting. It did remind me of the paintings my parents bought in Bali at around this time (early ’70s).