A GROTESQUE NIGHT SCENE WITH MONSTERS  Batuan School, Bali, Indonesia, first half 20th century  Opaque pigments and acrylic colours on French paper by the Papeteries Canson et Montgolfier, the scene illustrating a spooky and grotesque gathering of monsters, animals and mythical beings with bulging eyes and long fangs torturing wretched villagers, signed 'Dw. Md. Kardi Batuan Bali', 54cm x 41.5cm. According to Claire Holt, Batuan paintings were often dark, crowded representations of either legendary scenes or themes from daily life. They portrayed above all fearsome nocturnal moments when grotesque spooks, freakish animal monsters and witches accosted people. Gradations of black to white ink washes were laid over most of the surface to create an atmosphere of darkness and gloom. The designs started covering the entire space from 1930s onward, which often contributed to the crowded nature of these paintings (Hildred Geertz, Images of Power: Balinese Paintings Made for Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead, University of Hawaii Press, 1994).