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PAWEENA SUTEERANGKUL: ART IN THE REIGN OF KING PRAJADHIPOK 402 pp.

KEY WORD: FINE ARTS, PAINTING, SCULPTURE, KING PRAJADHIPOK

Abstract

Works of art in the Reign of King Prajadhipok have made a remarkable point in

Thai art history that can reflect an aesthetic value of that particular period. This qualitative

research aims to collect the artworks and also analyze their historic background and

artistic style in King Prajadhipok’s reign. Under the influence of Western art, paintings and

sculptures created by Thai artists during the year 1925-1934 were studied with the

analysis from the document papers and in-depth interviews from the experts. The study

shows that

[1] the artworks found during this era include mural paintings, portrait paintings,

landscape paintings, drawings, illustrations, monuments, portrait sculptures and coins;

[2] most of the artworks during this era were mainly created to serve the royal

court, while some partially belonged to the artists themselves; the artworks in this era

under the Western art influence could be divided into 2 groups of characteristics:

traditional Thai artworks with Western influences and Western style artworks. Every art

piece imitates the realness of anatomy, perspective, coloring, light and shadow; however,

they are different in Western-influenced proportions. Mainly, the artistic style in King Rama

VII’s reign still inherited from that of King Rama VI’s reign through the characteristic of

realism and Thai royal ideal of beauty. Nevertheless, after the Siamese revolution in 1932,

the style and implication in Thai art have been shifted more to the realistic representation

of the commons.

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