Le Mayeur Museum a fitting homage to Belgian-born master

Le Mayeur Museum a fitting homage to Belgian-born master

By Alpha Savitri

SANUR, Bali (JP): The famous Le Mayeur Museum, located in the
Sanur Beach resort area of Bali, every day displays to the public
paintings by world-famous painter Jean Le Mayeur de Merpres, as
well as personal effects that he left behind.

Born into French nobility in Bruxelles on Feb.9, 1880, Le
Mayeur was, in his time, one of the world's famous painters who
eloquently reflected the exoticism of Bali island, also known as
Paradise on Earth, and its pretty girls on canvas.

Le Mayeur skillfully and artistically recorded chatting or
dancing Balinese girls, generally bare-chested, without giving
the impression of vulgarity.

In five exhibition halls the museum displays 88 paintings by
Le Mayeur, 22 of which are on gunny sacks while the rest are on
canvas, cardboard, plywood and paper.

Le Mayeur used gunny sacks for his paintings when Indonesia
was occupied by Japan and canvas was too difficult to find. He
seemed to be able to make do with whatever came his way. It was
on gunny sacks that, during these difficult times, he poured
forth his fiery passion for painting.

As a romantic person, Le Mayeur fell deeply in love with Bali,
also dubbed the Isle of Deities. He first got acquainted with
this island through the films he saw while still in Europe. In
1932 he disembarked at Bali's port of Singaraja in North Bali.
From Singaraja he went straight to Denpasar, where he rented a
house at Banjar Kelandis.

Actually, he planned to stay in Bali for only eight months.
His infatuation with the natural beauty of Bali and, especially,
with Ni Pollok, a beautiful local dancer who became his model,
however, made him decide to settle on this island.

So in 1935, Le Mayeur, who had seen many a beautiful place the
world over, married Ni Pollok. After the marriage, she purchased
a plot of land measuring 3,200 square meters somewhere in the
Sanur Beach area. It was here that he wanted to build his house.
Le Mayeur, also a technical school graduate, designed the house
by himself and opted for the traditional Balinese architectural
style.

In constructing the house, Le Mayeur was assisted by the
famous sculptor, Ida Bagus Made Mas. Progress was made little by
little and it was not until 20 years had elapsed since he
purchased the land was construction of the house completed. The
building, dominated by teak wood, is resplendent with highly
graceful and beautiful Balinese engravings.

The hard teak wood in the entire house - windows, doors,
cupboards, tables or chairs - has all been engraved, which is a
very difficult job indeed. It took six months, for example, to
engrave the octagonal table and eight very simple chairs.

Yet, Le Mayeur, who had a host of dreams for the house that he
would occupy with his beloved Ni Pollok, was not in the least
deterred by difficulty. It was he himself who arranged the
positioning of the statues within and without the house. It was
also he who arranged the trees, the flowers and the entirely
traditional Balinese interior.

The house also has a small pond covered with lotuses, flowers
sacred to Hindu believers.

Thanks to this house, Le Mayeur became very close with the
community in Sanur. Locals used to call him "Mr Mayor", "mayor"
being the local pronunciation of the French sound "mayeur", or
"Mr Belgi" with "Belgi" being the local reference to Belgium.
Even today many of the locals call Le Mayeur Museum as the Museum
of "Mr Belgi".

In 1967, Bahder Djohan, then minister of education, teaching
and culture, visited Le Mayeur's house. He not only admired the
paintings but expressed deep concern about how the paintings
would fare in future, especially considering that Le Mayeur and
Ni Pollok were childless.

The minister suggested that the house be turned into a museum
displaying Le Mayeur's paintings. Le Mayeur agreed and was even
resolved to work harder to ensure that the house would really
qualify as an art museum.

This artist died of an illness in May 1958. Ni Pollok died on
July 21, 1985. Today, their house and its contents - paintings,
equipment and furniture -- are under the local administration's
management. It is open every day except Saturday.

When you visit this museum, you will not only savor Le
Mayeur's excellent paintings, but also the engraved house, its
interior decoration, its furniture (tables, cupboards, chairs)
and a Le Mayeur - Ni Pollok gamelan set.

Then you may find it interesting to look at a delightfully-
shaped pond which Le Mayeur built next to the museum building.
The pond sees peaceful proliferation of fish and lotuses, and is
home to a bust of Le Mayeur made by I Made Panti.

Ni Pollok had this bust made after the death of her husband.
She loved her him deeply and would gaze at the bust when she was
overwhelmed by longing for her dead husband. She would give
offerings -- flowers and food -- to the bust twice a day.

On the lower part of the bust Pollok inscribed: In Loving
Memory of AJ Le Mayeur De Merpres. Born on February 9, 1880, in
Bruxelles (Belgium). Arrived in Bali 1932. Died in peace n March
31, 1958, in Bruxelles (Belgium).

It is really a shame that his paintings, as the most precious
legacy of Le Mayeur, are mostly in a miserable condition. The
colors in many of the paintings have faded. The coastal air of
Sanur, unfortunately, seems unfavorable to Le Mayeur's most
important legacy.