Le Mayeur Museum is a memorial museum mainly housing the
artworks and personal history of painter Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merpres
(February 9, 1880 – May 31, 1958) – a Brussels-born artist who was impressed by
the shores of Sanur and dedicated his entire life there to the two things he
loved the most: the arts and women.
Before deciding to spend his life in Bali, Le Mayeur had
already travelled around the world. Sacrificing his travels to pursue his love
of arts, he found himself enamoured of the exotic scent of frangipani and a
certain bare-breasted Legong dancer, his wife and muse, Ni Pollok.
After Le Mayeur found ‘home’ in the island and Ni Pollok,
who soon became the muse of his paintings and the rest of his life, the artist
created a range of artworks in his impressionistic 'dob' style of painting. His
technique was considered unorthodox, albeit in a brilliant way.
Le Mayeur utilized thick and rather stiff brushes to
create sharp yet fluent caresses, which were later elaborated on by Antonio
Blanco, another influential painter in Bali. Le Mayeur passed away on May 31,
1958. The loving couple left no children but the well-crafted mansion that is
the museum today, and its legacy was bequeathed to the Indonesian government.
The museum exemplifies the priceless heritage of an artist and a nation.
The main building features the former living quarters of
the couple, with classical Balinese elements, sculpted stone walls and red
terrazzo floor tiles. Carved wood dominates the furnishings, and window sills
feature motifs inspired by wayang shadow puppet characters.
There are five rooms that serve as silent witnesses to
the lives of Le Mayeur and Ni Pollok. Visitors may imagine the similar love
story brought again to life through inanimate objects, similar to the
retro-styled storytelling of the film Titanic. Walkthroughs include the
artist’s studio, reading room and study, and the bedroom as well as Ni Pollok’s
vanity corner and bathroom.
Museum Le Mayeur is easily found, located right on the
beachfront in Sanur. The compound features structures in Balinese architecture
that houses well over eighty artworks categorised into five different
collections based on the mediums that Le Mayeur used, such as hardboard,
plywood, canvas and paper. Most of the paintings in his collection feature
bare-breasted women, and not all were the results of inspiration in Bali, as he
had travelled the world prior to calling the island his home.
They married after three years of their first meeting and Le Mayeur built the house on the shoreline when Sanur was a mere quiet fishing village. One of the structures in the gardens is a meeting pavilion where Le Mayeur used to receive his guests and potential buyers of his art pieces.
Tel: +62 (0)361 286 201
www.bali-indonesia.com