The unknown guru to Bali's master painters

The unknown guru to Bali's master painters

Nyoman Wijaya, Historian, Udayana University, Denpasar, Bali

Yap Seng Teng or Yap Sin Tin was just an ordinary immigrant
from China who arrived in Bali in the early 1930s.

For some Balinese artists, especially those who lived in
Denpasar, he was a prominent figure in developing local painting
styles.

I Gusti Made Deblog, one of Bali's influential painters,
openly admitted that the Chinese man was his real guru.

Deblog, who was born in Denpasar in 1906, was a member of the
Pita Maha arts society, which was established by Rudolf Bonet.
Yet, he always acknowledged Yap's significant role in shaping his
artistic career. The Chinese painter taught him to master the
Chinese brush painting style using Chinese ink.

Deblog managed to cleverly combine this with traditional
Balinese painting. Compared to other painting masters in Bali --
such as Mangkumura, I Gusti Ketut Kobot, I Gusti Made Baret, Ida
Bagus Made and Anak Agung Gde Sobrat -- Deblog's works have a
very characteristic style. This was the result of his combination
of Chinese and Balinese styles.

But few people knew who Yap really was. There were no credible
sources or documentation on the Chinese man. There was only a
small clue written on the back of an old picture, which was
translated by Wirya Subrata in June 2000.

The writing stated that Yap originally came from Taiwan and
arrived in Bali through Benoa harbor.

He had two brothers named Yap Ing Sou and Yap Ing Kiu and an
in-law Ban Sing. He also brought with him four nieces and nephews
namely Yap Ing Hui, Yap Ling Ling, Yap Sun Ing and Yap Hung Ling.
They lived on Sin el Lou Street in Chi Lung city, Taiwan.

Upon his arrival in Denpasar, Yap stayed in Jeroan Grenceng
(now Jl. Sutomo and adjacent to Denpasar's Chinatown on Jl. Gajah
Mada). He rented a plot of land from a aristocratic family of
Banjar Panti. He later built a decent house on that land, which
was strategically located between Denpasar and Tabanan.

Yap lived among the local people. His artistic talent and
skills in Chinese medicine helped him to mix and communicate with
the locals. Unlike other Chinese immigrants who were mostly
traders, Yap was modest and maintained a low profile. He received
numerous orders to paint portraits of several members of
aristocratic families as well as commoners.

Yap's painting skill became renowned all over the city. Some
of his works portrayed noted figures including Anak Agung Ayu
Ketut Ribek and Anak Agung Alit Ketut Deg of Jero Kuta Palace.
The family's descendants now collect these masterpieces.

It is interesting to examine Yap's paintings. First, he would
draw the objects on a piece of paper using a precise scale.
Usually, he used a 1:10 scale. Yap later used a magnifying glass
to examine the objects to ensure that he had drawn proper and
precise lines.

He later brushed the objects with Chinese ink. The ink was in
the form of a hard block. To use it, Yap would scrub the block in
a water-filled ceramic jar.

He frequently experimented with the ink's color. If he wanted
to use pitch black, he would mix the ink with charcoal of pig's
bones and other materials. He used a pen or a brush to color his
paintings.

Although Yap had already mastered the Chinese painting style
using ink, he had to improve his skills in drawing the human
anatomy.

I Gusti Agung Adi, one of his foster sons, remembers that Yap
learned to draw the parts of the human face by sketching them
meticulously, starting from the eyes, nose, eyebrows, cheeks and
lips.

"He wouldn't move to other organs before he mastered drawing
the human face," Agung Adi recalled.

After his (second) marriage to Anak Agung Rai Rsi, an
aristocrat, Yap continued to befriend local artists. One of the
artists was Rai Regug from Peguyangan village, west of Denpasar.

According to his wife, Yap generously helped Rai Regug to
complete one of his paintings. Regug registered this work in a
painting competition to challenge other influential artists, one
of whom was Deblog, who later became Yap's best friend.

Regug won the competition, while Deblog came second.

Regug's winning painting was awkward. It depicted the famous
legend of Calon Arang which the Balinese people are so familiar
with.

In each Calon Arang painting, there are strict rules which
must be followed by any artist. Any painting of the Calon Arang
legend must comprise of five basic elements of rangda (a symbol
of black power): matah gede (a symbol of Calon Arang before
practicing black magic), sysya (Calon Arang's followers), Pandung
(prime minister of Kediri kingdom) who was ordered to kill Calon
Arang, and leak-leakan (a manifestation of black magic power
practiced by Calon Arang's people).

Instead of drawing leak-leakan, Regug added this part with a
dragon-like figure painted in Chinese style. It was believed that
this part was done by Yap. Ngurah Bagus, a professor of
literature from Udayana University, now possesses this painting.

Deblog got sweet revenge by winning a second competition in
1942. This time, both artists works were obviously influenced by
Yap's style.

Despite his strong influence on both painters, Yap's magnetism
was also apparent in young, local painters' works including Made
Tjawi and many other painters whose works are still hung in many
houses, museums and art galleries in the city.

It could be concluded that Yap had a very important influence
on painters' current styles in Bali. But only a limited number of
artists and locals acknowledge it.