Ida Bagus Made - Biography

Biography

He was born in Tebasaya, Ubud, Bali in 1915. Ida Bagus Made came from a Brahman family of accomplished artists in Tampaksiring, Bali. His Father, Ida Bagus kembeng (1897–1952), was a well known painter who won the prestigious Silver Medal in 1937 at the International Colonial Art Exposition in Paris. Ida Bagus Made first learned painting and carving from his father. He later studied painting under the guidance of Rudolf Bonnet. Bonnet once wrote that Ida Bagus Made was one of the most talented artist in Bali. He was in his teens when the modernization of Balinese art began in the late 1920s, and only 21 years old when he joined the prestigious Pitamaha Artist Guild, founded in 1936 to preserve Balinese art from the threat of tourism and commercialism.

His father, Ida Bagus Kembeng had two wives: Jero Deblog and Ida Ayu Rai. Ida Bagus Made was a child from his second wife. From his marriage with Jero Deblog, Ida Bagus Kembeng had two sons: Ida Bagus Putu Wiri and Ida Bagus Made Belawa. With Ida Ayu Rai, Kembeng had a daughter, Ida Ayu Oka, and two sons: Ida Bagus Made Poleng and Ida Bagus Nyoman Raka.

Ida Bagus Made was married to Gusti Niang and had one daughter, Ida Ayu Sadri. Since Ida Bagus Made did not have a son, he adopted Ida Bagus Pudja, a son of his half brother, Ida Bagus Belawa.

He was known by the Balinese as a ritual specialist for carving sacred masks imbued with magical powers for the surrounding temples of Ubud. As a traditional painter of the Pitamaha generation, he became known worldwide for his artistic mastery.

Ida Bagus Made was a prolific painter who had a profound distrust of art dealers and collectors. He scrutinized his admirers and only a handful of collectors passed his test. The late Indonesian President Sukarno was one of such collectors that Ida Bagus Made revered. His works are well sought after and are in the collection of many museums in the world.

He died after an illness in 1999. In 2000, following the artist’s last wish, the widow of Ida Bagus Made loaned over 100 paintings from the artist’s private collection to the Puri Lukisan Museum for safekeeping.