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Lot Essay
"I've always wanted to see what is behind the next hill, and that makes one into a landscape painter - and I do think Bali deserves a landscape painter... I like solitary things when I paint and I like to be alone. I also love architecture and I find that the firm and beautiful shape of a temple in a landscape sets off the two." - Arie Smit
Born in Zaandam in the Netherlands in 1916, Arie Smit studied design at the Academy of Arts in Rotterdam and came to Bali in 1956. Once he found Bali, Smit has never left and continued up to last year to paint the landscape, temples and culture of Bali as he has done since the 1950s.
Balinese Scene (Lot 7089) dates to the late 1960s, at a time when Arie Smit still had not yet developed his signature style of broken colours, where he applies mosaic-like stipples of paint to build up an image. This rare early work well exemplifies the sense of riotous colours that Smit has often acknowledged at different junctures of his career to trying to capture. A large tree towers over three shrines in a dramatic composition that convey the artist's awe of the nature of the Balinese landscape. Yellow, green and fleshy pink colour mix wonderfully to portray a sense of light breaking through the tropical foliage of Bali.
Balinese Landscape; Pura Bali (Lot 7090) is a later, mature period work where Smit's method of applying coloured stipples of paint is well-developed. Here, the two pictures present contrasting views of Bali in a refreshing new view. Smit would sketch outdoor and then return to his studio to complete works. Elements of early 20th century Fauvism also appear in his works, but his unique stylistic features are what he developed while living in Bali.
Born in Zaandam in the Netherlands in 1916, Arie Smit studied design at the Academy of Arts in Rotterdam and came to Bali in 1956. Once he found Bali, Smit has never left and continued up to last year to paint the landscape, temples and culture of Bali as he has done since the 1950s.
Balinese Scene (Lot 7089) dates to the late 1960s, at a time when Arie Smit still had not yet developed his signature style of broken colours, where he applies mosaic-like stipples of paint to build up an image. This rare early work well exemplifies the sense of riotous colours that Smit has often acknowledged at different junctures of his career to trying to capture. A large tree towers over three shrines in a dramatic composition that convey the artist's awe of the nature of the Balinese landscape. Yellow, green and fleshy pink colour mix wonderfully to portray a sense of light breaking through the tropical foliage of Bali.
Balinese Landscape; Pura Bali (Lot 7090) is a later, mature period work where Smit's method of applying coloured stipples of paint is well-developed. Here, the two pictures present contrasting views of Bali in a refreshing new view. Smit would sketch outdoor and then return to his studio to complete works. Elements of early 20th century Fauvism also appear in his works, but his unique stylistic features are what he developed while living in Bali.