•  
  •  
 

Abstract

This article examines the repatriation of Pita Maha paintings from the 1930s to 1940s, which were returned by the Government of the Netherlands to Indonesia in 2024. Pita Maha, an artistic movement established in Ubud, Bali in 1936, holds an important position in art historiography as a key contributor to the development of modern Balinese painting. The repatriation of these works provides an opportunity to reconsider and expand existing historical narratives. Accordingly, this study aims to contribute to the enrichment of the historiography of modern Balinese painting. The research employs a historical method —encompassing heuristics, source criticism, interpretation, and historiography— combined with visual analysis of a selected sample of five paintings. These works were chosen based on their thematic, ideological, and formal characteristics. The novelty of this study lies in its use of newly repatriated paintings as primary historical sources. The findings identify three recurring thematic dimensions: (1) traditional narratives and Balinese cosmology, (2) everyday life and social traces, and (3) historical and political symbolism. The presence of socio-political elements within these works suggests that Pita Maha artists engaged not only with spiritual and aesthetic concerns, but also with the social and political dynamics of their time, reflecting a broader spectrum of artistic concerns than has been emphasized in existing scholarship. This study highlights the potential of repatriation to contribute to more nuanced and expanded readings of modern Indonesian art historiography.

Bahasa Abstract

Artikel ini mengkaji repatriasi lukisan Pita Maha era 1930-an hingga 1940-an yang dikembalikan Pemerintah Belanda ke Indonesia tahun 2024. Pita Maha merupakan Gerakan seni Lukis di Ubud, Bali yang berdiri tahun 1936. Pita Maha memegang peranan penting dalam historiografi seni karena merupakan perintis  lahirnya seni Lukis modern Bali. Langkah repatriasi  memberikan  titik terang dalam penulisan sejarah yang komprehensif, sehingga tujuan kajian diharapkan dapat memperkaya historiografi seni Lukis modern Bali. Metode penelitian sejarah:  heuristik, kritik, interpretasi,  historiografi melalui analisis visual, dengan sampling  5 (lima)  karya yang memiliki karakter  kuat, baik dari aspek  tema, ideologi, visual maupun estetis.  Kebaruan dari kajian ini, terletak dari sumber sejarah yaitu lukisan repatriasi yang belum pernah dikaji sebelumnya.  Hasil kajian menunjukan ditemukenalinya karya-karya dengan tema-tema sosial politik, hal ini membuktikan telah tumbuh kesadaran berbangsa di kalangan pelukis Pita Maha sebelum era kemerdekaan. Temuan ini sekaligus memperkuat bahwa Reptariasi dapat memperkuat identitas bangsa Indonesia sebagai sumbangan penting dalam memperkaya historiografi seni lukis modern Indonesia. 

References

Adnyana, I Wayan ‘Kun’. 2015. “Arena Seni Pita Maha: Ruang Sosial dan Estetika Seni Lukis Bali 1930’an”. Panggung 25, no. 3. https://jurnal.isbi.ac.id/index.php/panggung/article/view/2.

_________. 2018. Pita Maha: Gerakan Seni Lukis Bali 1930-an. Jakarta: Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia.

Andayani, Ambar. 2010.  “Story Motif Variety in Pancatantra Indian Fable.” Parafrase 10, no. 2: 61–70. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/229330897.pdf.

Anderson, Jane, and Sonya Atalay. 2023.  “Repatriation as Pedagogy.” Current Anthropology 64, no. 6: 670–691. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/727786.

Brinkgreve, Francine, and David J. Stuart-Fox, eds. 2019. Balinese Art Treasures of the 1940s: The Rediscovery of a Collection. The Hague: Indonesian Embassy. https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1130285378150926208.

Chirapravati, M.L. Pattaratorn. 2023. “Returning Southeast Asia’s Past: Objects, Museums, and Restitution, ed. by Louise Tythacott and Panggah Ardiyansyah.” Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia 38, no. 2 2023: 241–244. https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/70/article/901101/summary.

D’Alleva, Anne. 2010. Look! Art History Fundamentals. 3rd ed. London: Pearson.

Fatihah, Lauhil, and Edi Dwi Riyanto. 2024. “Repatriasi Arca-Arca Peninggalan Candi Singhasari Sebagai Upaya Pelestarian Cagar Budaya Pada Era Poskolonial.” Journal of Contemporary Indonesian Art 10, no. 2: 196–217. https://journal.isi.ac.id/index.php/jcia/article/view/12632/3900.

Geertz, Hildred. 1994. Images of Power: Balinese Paintings Made for Gregory Bateman and Margaret Mead. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Gibson, Jason M. 2023. Repatriation of Indigenous Cultural Heritage: Experiences of Return in Central Australia. London: Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003158752/repatriation-indigenouscultural-heritage-jason-gibson.

Kramer, Jennifer. 2004. “Figurative Repatriation: First Nations ‘Artist-Warriors’ Recover, Reclaim, and Return Cultural Property through Self-Definition.” Journal of Material Culture 9, no. 2 : 161–182. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1359183504044370.

Kusnadi, et al. 1979. Sejarah Seni Rupa Indonesia. Jakarta: Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, Pusat Penelitian Sejarah dan Budaya, Proyek Penelitian dan Pencatatan Kebudayaan Daerah.

Margalit, Avishai, and Joseph Raz. 2022. “National Self-Determination.” In Group Rights, 445–467. London: Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315253770-27/nationalself-determination-avishai-margalit-joseph-raz.

Merta, I Dewa Putu. 2007.  “Seni Lukis Bali dari Perspektif Modernisasi.” Mudra Jurnal Seni Budaya 20, no. 1 . https://jurnal.isi-dps.ac.id/index.php/mudra/article/view/1519.

Mudana, I Gede, I Ketut Sutama, and Cok Istri Shinta Widhari. 2017.  “Mendaki Gunung yang Disucikan: Perspektif Pariwisata, Lingkungan, dan Kebudayaan.” Proceeding TEAM 2: 771–778. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/686f/da02e5243ae6c55e871d6a3619241ee43ec3.pdf.

Nylander, Elina Kristina. 2023. From Repatriation to Rematriation: Dismantling the Attitudes and Potentials Behind the Repatriation of Sámi Heritage. University of Oulu.  https://oulurepo.oulu.fi/handle/10024/46290.

PARTA, I Wayan Sutama. 2011. Perkembangan Seni Rupa Pita Maha dalam Konteks Konstruksi Kebudayaan Bali. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/12239254.pdf.

Pickering, Michael. 2015. “‘The Big Picture’: The Repatriation of Australian Indigenous Sacred Objects.” Museum Management and Curatorship 30, no. 5: 427–443. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09647775.2015.1054418.

Prasetya, I., N. Purnamasari, and I. Karsana. 2021.”Perkembangan Seni Lukis Flora dan Fauna Pengosekan.” Batarirupa: Jurnal Pendidikan Seni 1, no. 2 : 89–104.https://ojs.mahadewa.ac.id/index.php/batarirupa/article/view/1764.

Roehrenbeck, Carol A. 2010. “Repatriation of Cultural Property–Who Owns the Past? An Introduction to Approaches and to Selected Statutory Instruments.” International Journal of Legal Information 38, no. 2 : 185–200.

Sapardan, Wawan. 2023. “Pemulangan Benda Cagar Budaya dan Identitas Nasional pada Era Pascakolonial di Indonesia.” Pratu: Journal of Buddhist and Hindu Art, Architecture and Archaeology of Ancient to Premodern Southeast Asia 2: 1–15. https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/39539/1/Pratu_v2_2021-23_a2_Sapardan.pdf.

Saputra, Yuda D., and Rizky Ramlan. 2020. “Penerapan Prinsip Self Determination terhadap Pembentukan Negara Kosovo Ditinjau dari Perspektif Hukum Internasional.” Uti Possidetis: Journal of International Law 1, no. 2 : 193–223. https://mail.online-journal.unja.ac.id/Utipossidetis/article/view/9867.

Suarka, I Nyoman, and Anak Agung Gde Bawa. 2018. “Cerita Klasik Tantri Kamandaka sebagai Sumber Ekonomi Kreatif.” Journal of Bali Studies 8, no. 1 : 1–14. https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/kajianbali/article/view/39304.

Sucitra, I. 2012. “Pita Maha: ‘Koalisi’ Estetik Seni Lukis Klasik Bali dengan Seni Rupa Modern.” Jurnal Seni Rupa & Desain XV : 5–15. https://journal.isi.ac.id/index.php/ars/article/viewFile/2819/1108.

Wiryandara, H. A., D. Nugroho, and Harriyadi. 2024. “Perburuan Harimau di Bali pada Awal Abad XX Berdasarkan Sumber-Sumber Kolonial.” Purbawidya: Jurnal Penelitian dan Pengembangan Arkeologi 13, no. 1 : 143–161. https://ejournal.brin.go.id/purbawidya/article/download/2896/2952.

Wulandari, A. A. A. 2016. “The Role of Pitamaha in Balinese Artistic Transformation: A Comparison between Kamasan and Gusti Nyoman Lempad Artistic Style.” Humaniora 7, no. 4:463–472. https://journal.binus.ac.id/index.php/Humaniora/article/view/3599.

Zuliati. 2016. “Kelompok Pita Maha: Gerak Menuju Seni Lukis Modern Bali.” Journal of Urban Society’s Arts 3, no. 1 : 44–53. https://journal.isi.ac.id/index.php/JOUSA/article/view/1479.

Download

Share

COinS