Attraction
Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary
A village-owned forest of about ten hectares at the southern end of central Ubud, home to more than a thousand long-tailed macaques and three 14th-century temples.
Museum Puri Lukisan
Ubud's oldest art museum, opened in 1956 to continue the work of the Pitamaha artists' cooperative, with four galleries of Balinese painting and woodcarving.
At a glance
- Type
- Art museum
- Area
- Central Ubud, Ubud, Indonesia
- Official site
- museumpurilukisan.com
Good to know
- Four gallery buildings
- Museum café
- Gardens
Why we recommend it
Museum Puri Lukisan, the Palace of Paintings, is the oldest art museum in Ubud and the one most closely tied to the town's artistic history. Its roots lie in the Pitamaha artists' cooperative, founded in 1936 by Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati, the prince of Ubud, his brother Tjokorda Gde Raka Sukawati, and the foreign painters Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet, with the aim of preserving and developing Balinese art. After the war the Ratna Wartha Foundation was set up in 1953 to continue that work, and the first stone of the museum was laid by Prime Minister Ali Sastroamidjojo in January 1954. It opened in 1956.
The collection is spread across four buildings in a garden setting. The North Building holds the Pitamaha Gallery, with modern traditional Balinese paintings from 1930 to 1945, and the museum's collection of drawings by I Gusti Nyoman Lempad. The West Building houses the estate collection of the painter Ida Bagus Made. The East Building is devoted to wayang-style paintings, the narrative style based on shadow puppet figures, and the South Building tells the history of the museum and hosts temporary exhibitions and new acquisitions.
The museum is a good place to see the differences between the island's painting schools, including the Sanur, Batuan, Ubud, Young Artists and Keliki styles, and to see woodcarving as well as painting. Look out for the elongated wooden figures of the sculptor Ida Bagus Nyana and for Anak Agung Gde Sobrat's painting of a Balinese market, regarded as one of the museum's masterpieces.
The museum is also tied to the town's royal history. Its founder Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati died in 1978, the same year as Lempad and Rudolf Bonnet, and the three were honoured with a royal cremation. A café and open hall were added in 2011, and the gardens with their ponds and pavilions make a calm break from the main road outside.
Allow about an hour to see all four buildings. The museum is in central Ubud, only a couple of hundred metres from Pura Taman Saraswati, so it fits easily into a walk around the town centre. Visitors with a deeper interest in Balinese art can continue to the Neka Art Museum in Sanggingan or ARMA in Pengosekan.
Museum Puri Lukisan FAQs
When did Museum Puri Lukisan open?
The museum opened in 1956; its first stone was laid in January 1954.
What was Pitamaha?
An artists' cooperative founded in 1936 by the Ubud royal family with Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet to preserve and develop Balinese art.
What is in the four buildings?
Pre-war Pitamaha paintings and Lempad drawings, the Ida Bagus Made collection, wayang-style paintings, and a gallery of museum history and temporary exhibitions.
Which painting schools are represented?
The Sanur, Batuan, Ubud, Young Artists and Keliki schools, along with woodcarving.
Is there a café?
Yes, a museum café was added in 2011.
How long should I allow?
About an hour to see all four buildings.
Where is it?
In central Ubud, a couple of hundred metres from Pura Taman Saraswati.