Ba Thet
Encyclopedia
Ba Thet was a Burmese painter who worked in Mandalay
, Myanmar
and who was known as an advocate of experimentation in the arts. He was an associate of Kin Maung
,
who is known commonly known in Burma as Kin Maung (Bank) to differentiate him from another painter of some renown, Kin Maung (Yangon). Kin Maung (Bank) is generally regarded as the "Father of Modernist Painting" in Burma.
were among the first Burmese painters to paint in the western style, but it must be acknowledged that other painters, such as his teachers or M.T. Hla (U Tun Hla), preceded him. He is an important painter because he encouraged individuality, creativity, experimentation and modern concepts in his art.
He remained a watercolor painter for many years, painting many Upper Burma scenes of a rote iconic character (Mandalay Palace scenes, Irrawaddy River scenes, et al) which were very much in the British Watercolor style. However, in the 1990s, unusual works by Ba Thet began to emerge in Burma that indicated he was much bored with this watercolor style and was searhing for a more adventuresome form of painting. The Mandalay painter and art dealer Myo Khin has described Ba Thet's path as one of rebellion against the "Royal Academy Style", meaning British watercolor painting.
In Ba Thet's last years, he began to paint oils and some of these works such as Novitiation Pageant and Ba Thet's Anatomy Lesson
(in which he spoofed the painting of the European anatomy lesson in a surgical theater, done by Rembrandt and others) were surprising.
Such works have made characterizing Ba Thet's oeuvre very difficult, for it is full of odd leaps and jumps. The man was a true eccentric.
) and Paw Oo Thet
.
Ba Thet's friend and painter Kin Mauhg (Bank) was interested in creating a modernist art movement in Burma and Ba Thet shared such sympathies. Thus, after Win and Paw Oo Thet
expressed interest in modernist art, Ba Thet sent the two boys to Kin Maung
(Bank) for periodic instruction in more modern concepts of painting.
Ba Thet was also the teacher of the major painter Ba Yin Galay and the highly-regarded painter Shwe Aung Thein, both of whose work took experimental turns. The watercolorist Lu Tin
was another of his pupils, and expressed deep respect for his teachings.
Mandalay
Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
and who was known as an advocate of experimentation in the arts. He was an associate of Kin Maung
Kin Maung
Kin Maung was a Burmese painter and sponsor of the arts who was influential in the art world of Mandalay, Myanmar. More importantly, however, he was the major force for the development of a modernistic movement in painting in Burma, which began in the early 1960s.In 1952, Kin Maung became a bank...
,
who is known commonly known in Burma as Kin Maung (Bank) to differentiate him from another painter of some renown, Kin Maung (Yangon). Kin Maung (Bank) is generally regarded as the "Father of Modernist Painting" in Burma.
Early Life
The early stories about Ba Thet while he was an adolescent and teenager in training to become an artist are of a legendary quality. He was regarded as something of a prodigy of the arts in Burma because he never acquired his skills through formal training, rather by "seeing and doing." In addition, he had little taste for master-apprentice relations and no sooner had he mastered an art form than he was flouting the conventions of the genre. Some of the early stories about him are undoubtedly apocryphal but there are so many of them that they do clearly indicate the unconventional and somewhat rebellious character of the man. For example, there is a story of him as an adolescent learning Traditional Burmese floral painting from a Mandalay master and being able to reproduce such designs, of a high quality, in the space of a single session. Another story tells of him when he was older and studying goldsmithing as an apprentice, casually producing gold bracelets of a high quality for a client when the master stepped out--appalling his fellow apprentices with his audacity. Another time, as a youngster, he was studying with a Mandalay jade sculptor and was able to produce a ball of jade which the master said was of a standard produced by Hong Kong jade masters.Work as a Painter
Ultimately, Ba Thet settled upon painting as his favorite art medium and studied watercolor painting informally from Maung Maung Gyi, Ba Zaw, and Saya Saung, through observation and helping his teachers. It is said that Ba Thet and Ba NyanBa Nyan
Ba Nyan was a Burmese painter who has been called the greatest name in modern painting in Myanmar. His oil paintings were quiet and academic in their style, but display occasional flashes of virtuosity in bold brushstrokes and skillful handling of the medium....
were among the first Burmese painters to paint in the western style, but it must be acknowledged that other painters, such as his teachers or M.T. Hla (U Tun Hla), preceded him. He is an important painter because he encouraged individuality, creativity, experimentation and modern concepts in his art.
He remained a watercolor painter for many years, painting many Upper Burma scenes of a rote iconic character (Mandalay Palace scenes, Irrawaddy River scenes, et al) which were very much in the British Watercolor style. However, in the 1990s, unusual works by Ba Thet began to emerge in Burma that indicated he was much bored with this watercolor style and was searhing for a more adventuresome form of painting. The Mandalay painter and art dealer Myo Khin has described Ba Thet's path as one of rebellion against the "Royal Academy Style", meaning British watercolor painting.
In Ba Thet's last years, he began to paint oils and some of these works such as Novitiation Pageant and Ba Thet's Anatomy Lesson
(in which he spoofed the painting of the European anatomy lesson in a surgical theater, done by Rembrandt and others) were surprising.
Such works have made characterizing Ba Thet's oeuvre very difficult, for it is full of odd leaps and jumps. The man was a true eccentric.
His Students
Two of Ba Thet's major students were Win Pe (not be confused with the contemporary painter in his early 60s Win Pe MyintWin Pe Myint
Win Pe Myint is a noted Burmese painter. Two of his teachers were Paw Oo Thet and Thein Han . He should not be confused with the earlier Burmese painter Win Pe of Mandalay, born in in 1936, who was a contemporary of Paw Oo Thet, and one of the early founders of modernist painting in Burma.Win Pe...
) and Paw Oo Thet
Paw Oo Thet
Paw Oo Thet was a Burmese painter, prominent in the Mandalay art scene who became one of the initiators of a modernistic art movement in Burma in the early 1960s.-Early Training:...
.
Ba Thet's friend and painter Kin Mauhg (Bank) was interested in creating a modernist art movement in Burma and Ba Thet shared such sympathies. Thus, after Win and Paw Oo Thet
Paw Oo Thet
Paw Oo Thet was a Burmese painter, prominent in the Mandalay art scene who became one of the initiators of a modernistic art movement in Burma in the early 1960s.-Early Training:...
expressed interest in modernist art, Ba Thet sent the two boys to Kin Maung
Kin Maung
Kin Maung was a Burmese painter and sponsor of the arts who was influential in the art world of Mandalay, Myanmar. More importantly, however, he was the major force for the development of a modernistic movement in painting in Burma, which began in the early 1960s.In 1952, Kin Maung became a bank...
(Bank) for periodic instruction in more modern concepts of painting.
Ba Thet was also the teacher of the major painter Ba Yin Galay and the highly-regarded painter Shwe Aung Thein, both of whose work took experimental turns. The watercolorist Lu Tin
Lu Tin
-Life:Lu Tin was born in 1930 in Monywa in northwestern Burma, son of a mason, and entered a monastery for his education. In the period immediately after World War II he lived by various jobs including knitting and weaving, masonry and tailoring. In 1950, a monk helped him to start studying under...
was another of his pupils, and expressed deep respect for his teachings.