The Reamker

Painted by Chet Chan

Reyum Institute of Arts and Culture

This book considers painted representations of characters from the Khmer version of the Ramayana, the Reamker. The book opens with an edited version and translation of the Reamker, written in the early 20th century by Thiounn, Minister of the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, to celebrate the painting of the famous Reamker murals on the Palace walls. A catalogue of more than sixty individual characters from the Reamker, painted by Chet Chan (a contemporary painter trained at the School of Fine Arts in the 1960s) follows. This catalogue of characters is accompanied by a illustrated essay discussing ways to differentiate and recognise individual characters. A final photo essay details the process through which Chet Chan makes one of his tempera and gold-leaf paintings on silk.

Price: US$45.00