Background
He was born into a Dutch Huguenot-descended family who had been bakers for many generations.
He was born into a Dutch Huguenot-descended family who had been bakers for many generations.
He attended the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam.
He returned to Italy and rented a studio for some months. In Rome, he met West.O.J. Nieuwenkamp who advised him to visit, but Bonett first went to North Africa. The paintings he did on this trip were exhibited and sold sufficiently to enable him to sail to
He arrived in in 1929 where he met the German artist Walter Spies and the Dutch musicologist Jaap Kunst.
With Kunst, he made a trip to Nias, returning to in 1930.
He was invited to live in Ubud in by Cokorda Gde Raka Sukawati. Between 1929 and 1940 Bonnet stayed in Ubud.
When Spies moved to Campuhan, Bonnet took over Spies" water palace in Ubud and set up his studio. He became involved in community issues including healthcare and education.
He was also very involved in the movement, which encouraged local artists to raise their artistic standards.
After the Japanese arrived in, Bonnet remained free until 1942 when he was ordered to be sent to Sulawesi. He spent the remainder of World World War II in internment camps in Pare-Pare, Bolong and Makassar. In 1947 Bonett returned to where he built his house and studio in Campuan.
He was expelled from Indonesia in 1957 after he refused to finish a portrait of President Soekarno.
He was able to return 15 years later. Bonnet, together with Walter Spies, I Gusti Nyoman Lempad and Cokorde Gde Agung Sukawati formed the (Great Spirit, Guiding inspiration) in 1936 to select the artists whose works were found to be good enough to be sold in a number of galleries and to be included in exhibitions elsewhere in the Indies, The Netherlands and the United States.
The disintegrated after Spies was expelled, having been convicted of indecent exposure. Bonnet also left and after that the war broke out.
, "The palace of Paintings" was constructed according to Bonnet"s design to house the collection of high-quality art that Bonnet and Cokorda Gde Agung Sukawati had assembled.
Construction commenced in 1954. After his expulsion in 1957 many attempts were made to persuade him to return to He finally returned in 1972, when he helped expand the museum and organized an opening exhibition. Rudolf Bonnet died in Laren, Holland on April 18, 1978 after a long illness.