Artwork
Bali
Bali is a paint painting by the Impressionist artist Unknown. It dates from 1890 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
You see a busy street in Bali: palm trees, thatched roofs, people in bright sarongs carrying baskets on their heads.
You see a busy street in Bali: palm trees, thatched roofs, people in bright sarongs carrying baskets on their heads.
The painting feels loose and quick, like the artist was sketching on the spot. But it’s from around 1890, when most European artists still painted carefully in studios. This one looks like it was done outside, under real sunlight.
If you like how light plays in this scene, look up Impressionism.
Overview
The painting 'Bali' is a watercolour and tin alloy work on paper, created around 1890. It depicts a scene from the Ramayana narrative.
Subject & Meaning
The scene shows the death of Bali, king of Kishkindha, set against a vibrant backdrop of a busy street with palm trees and thatched roofs, and people in bright sarongs.
Technique & Style
Executed in the Kalighat style, the painting is characterized by vivid colours, simplified forms, and quick brushwork, giving it a loose and spontaneous feel, suggestive of outdoor sketching.
Context
The work is part of a tradition of Bengali artists producing paintings that blended local mythology and colonial-era themes in Calcutta, the capital of British India at the time.
Artist & collection
Domestic Scene
Giacomo and Cardinal Marco, investing Andrea, Abbot of San Zeno, with his Benefice
The Nymph of Fontainebleau
Portrait of a Woman
Madonna and Child with Saints in the Enclosed Garden
Venus and Minerva
Family Group of Four on Sofa
Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
