The Re-Birth of Le Mayeur, Bali's Forgotten ArtistPrepared by Harold Stephens
Travel Correspondent for Thai Airways International
It’s common knowledge that once an artist has passed away often the price of his works will skyrocket. This is certainly true about the Belgian named A.J. Le Mayeur Merpres. At one time, back in the 1930's, he was the most famous and most talked about artist living on the island of Bali. People from all over the world and from all walks of life came to Bali with a single purpose in mind, to visit this noted European painter. The very first coloured photographs to be published in the National Geographic Magazine were taken of Le Mayeur and his lovely, bare-breasted Balinese models. Before long he had established a reputation for himself that soon became synonymous with the island.
After his death Le Mayeur was all but forgotten. No one was marketing him. Occasionally someone walking down the beach from the Bali Beach hotel would see the sign pointing out his small, hidden museum, which was once his home, and they may have wandered in. Those who paid the small entrance fee and had gone in would find a great surprise awaiting them. The museum had dozens of his oils and prints on permanent display. Some of the canvas ones were actually rotting on the wall.
Le Mayeur was, indeed, one of the great foreign artists who lived on Bali but why was he forgotten?
Le Mayeur didn't come directly from Europe to Bali. He had searched for several years for a quiet and peaceful place to paint. He travelled across India, which greatly fascinated him, and through much of Southeast Asia. He was one of the first painters to capture Ankor Wat on canvas and make the ruins known to the world. One critic who saw his paintings of Ankor called him "a painter of great imagination."
Le Mayeur heard about the charms of Bali and arrived on the island in 1932.
This was an era of adventure for artists from Europe and America and the East held a particular attraction. It conjured up images of exotica, of a world where the fruits of nature were bountiful and the mystery of dark skin and simple lifestyles were alluring.
It wasn't only artists who came to the island then. There were noted writers, musicians and even a few anthropologists. Writer and musician Colin McPhee was drawn to the unusual music of the gamelan; scientist Margaret Mead to the study of "primitive" people; and the painters, Walter Spies, Theo Meier and Le Mayeur, to name a few, to the intriguing subject of Balinese landscape and people.
In the small fishing village of Sanur, on the south east coast of Bali, Le Mayeur began his work. He intended to spend only a few months and return to India. The months turned into years.
More than any other subject, it was the women that attracted his attention. Having met the legong dancers, Ni Ketut Reneng and Ni Pollok, he invited them to come to Sanur as his models.
Ni Ketut Reneng still recalls the journey from her house in Denpasar to Sanur. Le Mayeur would collect both her and Ni Pollok in a horse drawn carriage. In those days the streets were quiet and the half hour that it took to reach the beach at Sanur was marked by the clip clop of their horse.
During the early morning at Le Mayeur's studio the two girls held poses while the artist painted. In the afternoon when the sun became unbearably hot, he would teach them to write, drawing letters in the sand for them to copy.
It was the beautiful Ni Pollok who Le Mayeur fell in love with and eventually married. Their wedding celebration was in Balinese style and they say half the island attended.
Le Mayeur painted during the day, every day of the week, and at night entertained travellers who came to the island. Those who dined with Le Mayeur well remember the huge Balinese feasts, the fine gamelan music and the subtle dance performances. They in turn were given the opportunity to buy his paintings, which many did.
Some older women who worked for him at the time still remember the great numbers of people who visited and the large dinners they were required to cook for them.
Le Mayeur took Ni Pollok to Singapore with him for his first overseas exhibition since he settled on Bali. The opening ceremony included Balinese legong dances, and Ni Pollok was the star. The exhibition was well received and the name Le Mayeur and his beautiful Legong Dancer wife became known the world over. Other exhibitions followed, from Singapore to Japan. Ni Pollok accompanied him wherever he went. With the money he was now making, he was able to expand his house in Sanur and vastly improve his life style.
In 1940, when the war was raging in Europe, the Le Mayeurs again returned to Singapore. He had very successful exhibitions in Kuala Lumpur and Penang. He donated all the funds he made during this period to the war efforts in Europe. After the war they returned to their home at Sanur. They had a few happy years left.
In late1957, Le Mayeur became ill and the doctors told him he didn't have long to live. With Ni Pollok at his side, he returned to Belgium, after 26 years of absence. He had been married 23 years of that time to Ni Pollok. He passed away in May, 1958. Ni Pollok was never quite able to get over his death.
In his will Le Mayeur left the land at Sanur to his wife with special instructions that upon her death, the quarters in which he and Ni Pollok lived would be bequeathed to the government to be preserved as a museum. The remaining land was to be inherited by the Ni Pollok family. But after Le Mayeur’s death he was all but forgotten and his paintings lost their appeal.
I returned to Bali and went to the museum. What a surprise. There was not an original painting in the museum. What happened? Christie’s auction house had sent their agents.
The paintings, reframed, went on sale on the auction block in Singapore and the selling prices rose from US$100 (prewar) to U$750,000.
“Le Mayeur was like a meteor that burned hot but died quickly," said art collector Suteja Neka. He was too commercial, insists Neka and he was never an actual part of the Balinese art scene. He painted for a foreign audience and he painted what they wanted to see and buy. Few art galleries display his works and he relied heavily upon Ni Pollok to carry his name. In time she became even more popular than he was. After this death his flame faded.
Then came Christie’s and the meteor once again sparked alive.
Next week we travel to China, to visit the site to the First Emperor of China and the legacy he left behind. I would like to tell readers about some special motor trips with a rent-a-car that they can make around Thailand. QUESTIONS & ANSWERSI have has several queries about the wet and dry seasons of Thailand. I am repeating a letter I sent to a reader a few months ago.
Q. Dear Mr. Stephens, we read that the wet season in Thailand is from June to November. Does that mean this is not a good time to travel? What is the wet season? Margaret Tan, Vancouver, Canada
A. Dear Margaret. That is correct, the wet season is from June to November, when warm, humid air masses flow northeastward from the Indian Ocean and move toward the large low-pressure zone over mainland Asia. This southwest monsoon brings the rainy season, which continues until the winds reverse direction in the early winter. The amount of rainfall, however, varies. Towns in the northeast, for example, receive minimal rainfall. Some feel the rainy season is the best time to visit Thailand. Rainfall is sporadic and intermittent, not continuous. Most days are crisp and clear. The downpours that arrive in the late afternoon or early evening are heavy but relatively brief. Monsoons mean the kingdom is green, vibrant, and alive: nature at its most beautiful. Rather than view brown landscapes and harvested fields, you'll gaze across brilliant green paddies to glistening mountains covered with exuberant vegetation. The rainy season also insures there will be fewer tourists, lower prices, and plentiful rooms. --HS
Harold Stephens
Bangkok
E-mail: ROH Weekly Travel (booking@inet.co.th)
Note: The article is the personal view of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the view of Thai Airways International Public Company Limited | 
