Strauss & co - 20 May 2013, Johannesburg

196 294 Vladimir Griegorovich TRETCHIKOFF south african 1913–2006 Balinese Girl signed oil on canvas 83,5 by 64 cm R700 000–900 000 notes ‘Apparently, this painting is part of Tretchikoff’s Balinese Girls series. The sumbings (golden cones) in her ears indicate that she is a native of that island. The sitters for all the Balinese portraits were, in fact, South African. As far as I can tell, Tretchikoff never visited Bali. During WorldWar II, when he stayed in Java, all travel between the Indonesian islands was prohibited for civilians. And after the war, though he revisited Singapore, Tretchikoff did not return to Indonesia. So the Balinese beauties in Tretchikoff works are a figment of his imagination. Tretchikoff painted most of his Balinese Girls in the late 1950s, and apparently this picture was done at that time, too. You will notice that his painting technique is rather smooth here, in contrast to the raw brush strokes of his later work, after the 1960 car accident. The image is meant to be exotic and seductive – two characteristics of his most popular paintings. And it is definitely one of the better offerings in the Balinese Girl cycle.’ 1 1. Gorelik, Boris. Incredible Tretchikoff. Tafelberg, Cape Town, 2013 [ http://www.tafelberg.com/Books/14634]