W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp (1874-1950)
The First Painter on Bali
Nieuwenkamp was born on July 27th 1874 in Amsterdam. His father owned sailing ships sailing to Indonesia and hearing the stories of the returning captains evoked in the young Nieuwenkamp an obsession for distant lands and adventure. After a failed attempt by his father to have his son make a career in his business, Nieuwenkamp attended the Academy for Decorative Art in Amsterdam. However, he left within one year to go his own way.
He was an autodidact and a great experimenter with new techniques, particularly in the art of etching. Nieuwenkamp was a very focused man with the discipline of a scientist tempered by the sensitivity of an artist, a lust for adventure, a natural appreciation for ethnic arts and an enormous ambition to tread new paths.
In 1898 he visited Indonesia for the first time and on his second visit in 1903-1904 he went on to Bali and became the first foreign artist to love Bali and the Balinese with a passion. Having secured agreements with several museums in the Netherlands to obtain Balinese art and objects for their collections, Nieuwenkamp immediately started to purchase and order a wide range of ethnographic art and objects from local artists and craftsmen.
Through his drawings and books, he gave an excellent impression of Balinese art and culture at that time. Since 1854 Northern Bali was under Dutch rule but Southern Bali in 1904, when Nieuwenkamp visited it, was still independent. Nieuwenkamp would be one of the last Westerners to experience a glorious medieval society in its final days. During his second visit to Bali in 1906 the Dutch decided to end the independence of South Bali and Nieuwenkamp was invited by the Governor-General van Heutz to accompany the Dutch invasion force. By contemporary European standards, the Balinese were barbarous and primitive, particularly with widows throwing themselves in the flames of the funeral pyre of their deceased husbands. But Nieuwenkamp was a singular man who saw in their society the beauty and soul that had been lost in his own.
On September 20th, 1906, Denpasar, the capital of South Bali fell to the Dutch military forces. Official military briefings praised the victory which was reported with nationalistic pride on the front pages of all Dutch newspapers. As Nieuwenkamp had witnessed, the truth was far from glorious. As if in trance the Balinese, men women and children, dressed in their finest silks and jewellery and armed with ancient bejewelled krises, the Raja himself mounted atop a golden palanquin, rushed forward, the men killing their wives and children and the Dutch machinegun fire doing the rest. The once-powerful and magnificent court of Denpasar was left in ashes and as many as two thousand Balinese dead. The Dutch suffered four deads.
Nieuwenkamp made drawings and saved as many beautiful architectural elements and artefacts from the rubbles as he could, most of it now in the collection of the Ethnological Museum in Leiden.
‘Ingang van den tempel bij Blahbatu, Bali 1907’
Signed lower centre, titled at the top, and with artist’s stamp at the verso Pen, brush and ink on cardboard, H. 14.8 x W. 19.4 cm
Guarded by two giant elephant statues, Blahbatu temple is famous for being the home of an ancient mask of Gadjah Mada, the brilliant general of the Majapahit Empire who brought Bali under the control of this last great Javanese-Hindu kingdom. In 1917 an earthquake destroyed the temple.
Literature: Carpenter, 1997, p. 164 (ill.); Venselaar, 2019, p. 642 (ill.)
‘A Buginese boat, Semarang 1898’
Signed, dated, and annotated, upper right Pen, brush and ink on cardboard, H. 11.4 x W. 26.3 cm
Literature:
Venselaar, 2019, p. 69 (ill.)
‘Barong, Ubud en Tabanan Bali 1906’
Signed and described centre right and with artist’s stamp verso Pen, brush and ink on cardboard, H. 16.3 x W. 24.3 cm
While wandering through South Bali in 1906, Nieuwenkamp met several types of barongs, including the mythological beast with his nemesis, the evil witch Rangda which he drew in Tabanan. Above are the barong babi, pig, and barong hariman, tiger. Children usually take these around the village at the end of the Galungan- Kuningan festival.
Literature.: Carpenter, 1997, p. 149 (ill.); Venselaar, 2019, p. 268 (ill.)
‘Wadah, Bali 1906’
Signed upper right and with a pencil sketch annotated Boela(?), depot Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the artist’s stamp verso
Pen, brush and ink on paper laid down on cardboard, H. 20.4 x W. 16.8 cm
The grinning face of a winged Bhoma, God of the earth, forms the foundation of this stunning wadah, a cremation tower, in North Bali, decorated with Dutch flags.
Literature: Carpenter, 1997, p. 139 (ill.); Venselaar, 2019, p.324 (ill.)
Fruit carriers, Bali 1927
Both signed in pencil and with title on the reverse.
Oil on board, 26 x 19.5 cm
Literature:
J.F.K. Kits Nieuwenkamp, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp (1874-1950) gezien door tijdgenoten, Amersfoort 1997, p. 94 (ill.)
‘Ida Bagoes Raki, Bali 1906’
Signed middle right, annotated at the bottom and with artist’s stamp verso
Pen, brush and ink on paper, H. 26.3 x W. 10.8 cm
Ida Bagoes Raki, here 22 years old as annotated, was a young brahmana seen here wearing his finest ceremonial cloth, including a splendid head cloth, saput and a golden kris with an ivory hilt.
‘Meru in Kesiman, Bali 1906’
Signed lower centre and annotated lower left
Pen, brush and ink on cardboard, H. 24.4 x W. 17.1 cm
The stately grandeur of the architecture of South Bali is seen in this eleven-storey meru, pagoda, belonging to the Raja of Kesim. On either side of the entrance are four giant stone statues representing the holy mountain.
Literature: Carpenter, 1997, p.165 (ill.); Venselaar, 2019, p.229 (ill.)
Fruit carriers, Bali 1927
Both signed in pencil and with title on the reverse.
Oil on board, 26 x 19.5 cm
Literature:
J.F.K. Kits Nieuwenkamp, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp (1874-1950) gezien door tijdgenoten, Amersfoort 1997, p. 94 (ill.)
House temple in Singaradja, 1904
Signed with initials upper centre and described with location and date, lower centre (vaguely in pencil 11 oct.).
Pencil, ink and watercolour on paper, laid down on thin cardboard, H. 18 x W. 18 cm
Literature:
Ernst Braches and J.F. Heijbroek, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp. Bouwstoffen, toegepaste grafiek en illustraties, Amsterdam 2016, p.108, 263, 307, 322 (ill.).
W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Zwerftochten op Bali, Edam 1922 p. 44 (ill.).
W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Zwerftochten op Bali, Edam 1910 p. 80 (ill.).
W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Bali en Lombok, Edam 1910 p. 30 (ill.).
W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Schetsen van Bali en Lombok I, de woning der Baliërs, Magazine: Eigen Haard, 7 jan. 1905, p.12-16 (ill.).
Houses in Matoer, Sumatra, 1925
Signed with initials and dated upper centre, W.O.J.N. 30-4-25
Pencil on paper, 34 x 28.8 cm
Literature:
Ernst Braches and J.F. Heijbroek, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp. Bouwstoffen, toegepaste grafiek en illustraties, Amsterdam 2016, p. 244.
Bruce W. Carpenter, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp. First European Artist in Bali, Abcoude 1997, p. 98.
Besakih Temple, Karagasem 1918
Signed with initials and dated lower left, inscribed with location lower right
Charcoal on paper, 26.4 x 32 cm
Forest in Den Pasar, 1937 (a Sema or pyre place near Den Pasar. In the background a pyre is burning)
Signed with the artist initials, dated and with title lower middle and right, W.O.J.N., Den Pasar, 6-7-febr. 1937
Pencil, ink and black chalk on paper, 56.6 x 45.5 cm
Literature:
Cary Venselaar, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp. Alles voor de Kunst, Volendam, 2019, p. 759 (ill.).
A big Banyan tree in Sawan, Bali, 1906
Signed with initials lower right and with location and dated lower left, Sawan, 9 aug. 1906
Pencil on paper, laid down on thin cardboard, 23 x 18.8 cm
Temple of Besakih, Karangasem, Bali circa 1907
Signed lower right
Pencil and watercolour on paper, laid down on thin cardboard, 19.8 x 25.5 cm
Literature:
Ernst Braches and J.F. Heijbroek, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp. Bouwstoffen, toegepaste grafiek en illustraties, Amsterdam 2016, p.295, 314, 336 (ill.).
Bruce W. Carpenter, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp - First European Artist in Bali, Abcoude 1997, p. 167 (ill.).
Entrance to the temple at Klungkung, Bali, 1925
With studio seal at the reverse, dated and described, bottom left
Black chalk on paper, 53 x 46.5 cm
Wobbly bridge, Tabanan, Bali, 1937
Signed with initials bottom right and dated, bottom left
Pencil and ink on paper, 22 x 26.3 cm
Statue of Vishnu Garuda, Bali, 1904
Signed with initials
Pencil and ink on paper, 21.4 x 21.3 cm
Literature:
Bruce W. Carpenter, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp. First European Artist in Bali, Abcoude 1997, p. 157
Four outrigger proa’s on the beach of Kusambe, Bali, 1937
Signed with initials, dated and described with location bottom left
Pencil and ink on paper, 29.7 x 35 cm
Four Balinese, 1910
Signed and dated bottom left
Pencil and ink on paper, 15.6 x 23 cm
Literature:
W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Zwerftochten op Bali, Amsterdam, 1910, p. 36
Stone statue in the temple at Madura, India, 1914
Signed with initials top right
Pencil on paper, 21.2 x 16.7 cm
Literature:
Ernst Braches en J.F. Heijbroek, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp,Bouwstoffen, toegepaste grafiek en illustraties, Amsterdam 2016, p. 194
Stone statue in the temple at Madura, India, 1914
Signed with initials and dated, bottom left
Pencil on paper, 25.4 x 16.7 cm
Literature:
Ernst Braches en J.F. Heijbroek, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Bouwstoffen, toegepaste grafiek en illustraties, Amsterdam 2016, p. 214
Part of the ring-wall of the Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1914
Signed with initials and dated bottom right
Black chalk on paper, 45.5 x 53 cm
Literature:
Ernst Braches en J.F. Heijbroek, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Bouwstoffen, toegepaste grafiek en illustraties, Amsterdam 2016, p. 201
Graveyard with in the background the Borobudur, 1937
Signed with initials and dated bottom left
Pencil and ink on paper, 33 x 29 cm
Literature:
Bruce W. Carpenter, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp. First European Artist in Bali, Abcoude 1997, p. 135
Premises in North Bali, 1906
Signed with initials and titled bottom left and fully signed, bottom right
Pencil and ink on paper, 10.5 x 18 cm
Literature:
- W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Zwerftochten op Bali, Amsterdam 1910, p.38.
- Bruce W. Carpenter, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, First European Artist in Bali, Abcoude 1997, p. 173
Entrance to a house in Denpasar, Bali, 1937
Signed, dated and titled bottom left
Pencil and ink on paper, 19 x 26 cm
Literature:
Ernst Braches en J.F. Heijbroek, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Bouwstoffen, toegepaste grafiek en illustraties, Amsterdam 2016, p. 38
Incoming rain, Den Pasar, Bali 1937
Signed with initials, dated and titled, bottom right
Black chalk and ink on paper, 42 x 46 cm
Literature:
Ernst Braches en J.F. Heijbroek, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Bouwstoffen, toegepaste grafiek en illustraties, Amsterdam 2016, p. 383
Market under the Banyan tree, 1937
Signed with initials and dated bottom right
Pencil and ink on paper, 28 x 34.5 cm
Literature:
Bruce W. Carpenter, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp. First European Artist in Bali, p. 138
Jung boy at Loemboeng, 1918
Signed with initials and dated, bottom right
Black chalk on paper, 25.7 x 10 cm
Literature:
W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Zwerftochten door Timor en Onderhoorigheden, Amsterdam 1925, p. 138. Ernst Braches and J.F. Heijbroek, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp. Bouwstoffen, toegepaste grafiek en illustraties, Amsterdam 2016, p. 183 and 365
Weltevreden, Kebon Sirih, & Vlucht voor de bui (Fleeing the rain)
Executed between February 20 and March 2, 1918
Double sided drawing in graphite pencil on paper
Images: c. 33 x 56 cm and 46 x 58 cm
Paper: c. 49 x 60 cm
These are the original drawings, based on which the lithographs “Vlucht voor de bui” and “Weltevreden, Kebon Sirih” were made by Nieuwenkamp in March 1918. The lithographs were part of a series depicting Java, all of them made in 1918. Seven of these lithographs were exhibited in Batavia, March 28 – April 7 1918, at the Nederlands-Indische Kunstkring in Batavia (the lithographs of the present two drawings under the numbers 7 and 2). In, Braches, E., and Heijbroek, J.F. W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, Bouwstoffen, Toegepast grafiek en illustraties, De Buitenkant 2016, one of the drawings is illustrated in colour on pg. 503 (plate 2602) and both lithographs are illustated on pg. 503 (plate 2601) and on pg. 504 (plate 2605). Also in, Hallema, A., W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp en zijn nieuwe prenten van Java, in Nederlands-Indië Oud en Nieuw, May 1920, pg. 17-32, both lithographs are illustrated.