via SPAFa Journal, 19 December 2023: This study explores the “Man on a Bicycle” relief in North Bali, created around 1904 during the Dutch colonial era, using Erwin Panofsky’s iconographic and iconological theories. The relief marks a deviation from traditional Balinese art style, reflecting Dutch political strategy to portray Bali as “harmonious” and “cultured.” The analysis suggests the relief was also intended to mitigate negative views of the colonial power during the Balinese people’s war, highlighting its role in shaping social and cultural perceptions under colonial influence.
W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp was the subject of a relief named “Man on a Bicycle” at the Madué Karang Temple in North Bali. The relief was created around 1904, when North Bali was under Dutch colonial rule. It is the first relief created that deviates from Balinese society’s traditional art style. As with other works of art, there is a message and a particular purpose for the creation of this relief. This paper provides a more in-depth study of the relief by using the iconographic and iconological theory of Erwin Panofsky as a method for analysing relief works in relation to the social and cultural context of Balinese society during the colonial period. Panofsky’s three-stage iconographic analysis of the “Man on a Bicycle” relief revealed that it was created as part of the Dutch political strategy to shape Bali’s image as a “harmonious” and “cultured” area, as well as to divert negative connotations to the colonial power regarding the Balinese people’s war.
