An old and famous centre of the arts, it is known for its dancing, wood panel carving and paintings. The village of Batuan, though, is arguably where the best Balinese painting is produced in the form of Chinese ink miniatures.

Miniaturist School of Batuan is the richest "village" school of Bali. The painting of this village first bloomed in the 30's in a dark inspired fantastic style. This style continued until the late 60's with artist such as Ida Bagus Widja (1912-1991). The a few young painter started competing as to whom could make the most miniaturised works. This miniaturist school, which mostly depicts complex scenes from the Balinese mythology, soon reached an exquisite refinement. Consisting of a complex system of layered shading, these miniatures require that one lets the eye roam freely on their surface, gaze at a patterned detail - the face of a woman-visually gig into it, identify a component the women's shawl, for example and then roam again on the search of another detail. The eye should not fixed contemplate the work, it should rather "dance" on it, follow step by step the lines of identification of its drawing.

A few miniature paintings may be seen in the ARMA and Puri Lukisan museums, but the best is to visit the artist in their village.