Indonesia Batik Painting "Sunset Panorama"- FREE POST

Batik, an Indonesian-Malay word, is a generic term used to refer to the process of dyeing fabric by making use of a resist technique; covering areas of cloth with a dye-resistant substance (usually wax) to prevent them from absorbing colours. The technique is thought to be over a thousand years old and there is historical evidence of such cloth made by this technique in the early centuries AD in Africa, the Middle East and in several places in Asia. Although there is no historical literature that can shed light on where batik was first invented, many observers believe that batik was brought to Asia by travellers from the Indian subcontinent and reached its highest artistic expression in Indonesia, particularly in Java. The art of batik later spread to the rest of the Indonesian archipelago and to Peninsular Malaysia where the popularity of the cloth led to the establishment of many batik production centres. In Indonesia, places like Yogyakarta, Solo, Cirebon and Pekalongan are well known for their exquisite batik for centuries. Today, batik has become a central means of artistic expression for many areas of Asia and is deeply integrated into the Asian culture.

Much of the popularity of batik can be due to the fact that the batik technique offers immense possibilities for artistic freedom as patterns are applied by actual drawing rather than by weaving with thread. Another factor in its popularity is the fact that it is very durable. The colors in batik are much more resistant to wear than those of printed fabrics because the cloth is completely immersed in dye and the areas not protected by the resist are allowed to absorb hues to the extent that the colors will not easily fade.

Batik making is a very time consuming process. As such, the resist technique is only used on the simplest of designs. For the more elaborate of designs, accomplished artists will paint freehand onto the cloth with wax cantings - a small thin wall spouted copper container that is connected to a short bamboo handle – just as an artist would paint with a brush. But with batik artists they must paint in the negative because the areas where they apply wax will not change colour when dyed.