The Role of the Shadow Puppet Painting on the Ceilings of the Kertha Gosa Court

Abstract

This article describes the role of the painting as a media in the interior placement of a traditional court building located in Klungkung, the province of Bali, Indonesia. The Kertha Gosa Court placed a shadow puppet on the ceiling of its building. This qualitative descriptive research with a historical background serves to uncover the role of the painting in that building. The painting as a media is an appropriate way to convey moral and ethic messages that could be seen throughout the time such as the one featured in Kertha Gosa. The role of the ceilings as the upper part of the building is a concrete form to communicate and deliver universal and abstract moral teachings. Ancient cultural values in Bali cannot be separated from the living values derived from Hinduism. The placement of the shadow puppet painting is closely related with the positioning of a king as God’s representative in this world, serving the purpose of leading his subjects to do goodness so that they can reach the goal of life, which is to reach Moksha.

Keywords : Balinese architecture, Kertha Gosa and shadow puppet painting.