Le Mayeur Museum (Museum Le Mayeur)

The Le Mayeur Museum occupies the former beachfront home of the Belgian impressionist painter Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès on Jl. Hang Tuah in Sanur, in the Denpasar Selatan district of Bali, Indonesia. Le Mayeur, born in 1880, arrived in Bali in 1932 and settled at Sanur, where he painted Balinese women, dancers and village scenes in a colourful impressionist style. In 1935 he married Ni Nyoman Pollok, a local legong dancer who was his principal model, and the two lived in the house until his death in 1958. After his death the property was given over to become a museum, and Ni Pollok continued to live there until her own death in 1985. The house itself is part of the exhibit. It is built in a traditional Balinese compound style, with carved wooden doors and window frames, decorative reliefs and pavilions that Le Mayeur designed or had decorated to suit his taste. The collection consists of roughly eighty of his paintings, many of them depicting Ni Pollok and other dancers on the beach and in the garden, along with some of his sketches, personal items and furniture. The display is arranged in a loosely thematic way through the rooms, without a formal chronological route, and labelling is limited. The beachfront setting means that the buildings are exposed to salt air, humidity and sun, and conservation has been a continuing concern. Some paintings and woodwork show signs of age, and the museum has had repairs and maintenance over time under provincial management. Foreign adults pay roughly IDR 100,000, though the price may change. The museum is a short walk from Sanur beach and nearby sites such as the Blanjong Pillar. Photography rules may apply, and modest and respectful behaviour is expected.