.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
'Cette fois j'allait vivre exclusivement pour mon art et que rien ne pourrait m'en distraire' (This time I shall live exclusively for my art and nothing shall distract me).
The French-speaking, Belgian-born artist made this promise before his departure from Europe in 1932 where he was born and raised, educated and worked as an artist for most of his life. By the age of 52 when he made his second visit to Bali, Le Mayeur was very much a seasoned traveller who had left his foot-prints in the lands of North Africa, India and most European countries.
True to the spirit of an impressionist and a painter-traveller, the routine of the artist's life had been punctuated with frequent sojourns in foreign lands. These endeavours elucidate the artist's constant and dedicated pursuit of sunlight and inspiration. Bali was to become a rich stimulant for Le Mayeur, and he devoted himself to the task of depicting his immediate surrounding: the Balinese people, the luxuriant flora, the beach and the sea, all bathed in exuberant sunlight.
What fascinated the artist most was the exotic culture which Le Mayeur felt, was superbly manifested in the graceful movements of the Legong dancers. When he engaged Ni Pollok to be his regular model for one rupiah a day, neither of them realised then that they had henceforth begun an everlasting and special relationship, first between artist and favourite model, and eventually as partners in life.
It was also a beginning whereupon the artist embarked on the creation of a series of oeuvres with Balinese subjects. These Balinese works would proved to be commercially successful in the artist's solo exhibitions held in Singapore and eventually earned Le Mayeur a unique place in the group of Indo-European artists which stands as a distinct category in the Southeast Asian Pictures auction.
Dance, music, sunlight embellishing the tropical vegetation, from these subjects of the oeuvres of the artist, it is evident that Bali has become an overwhelming inspiration for him. "Except for a few journeys in the Far East, I never left the island. Why should I? Sir, I am an impressionist. There are three things in life that I love. Beauty, sunlight and silence. Now could you tell me where to find these in a more perfect state than in Bali? "
These words of the artist proved to be prophetic as he never left the island till the very end of his life and only returning home to Belgium to seek medical treatment. The artist passed away in1958, leaving a volume of works which testify his life-long pursuit of the sunlight.
The French-speaking, Belgian-born artist made this promise before his departure from Europe in 1932 where he was born and raised, educated and worked as an artist for most of his life. By the age of 52 when he made his second visit to Bali, Le Mayeur was very much a seasoned traveller who had left his foot-prints in the lands of North Africa, India and most European countries.
True to the spirit of an impressionist and a painter-traveller, the routine of the artist's life had been punctuated with frequent sojourns in foreign lands. These endeavours elucidate the artist's constant and dedicated pursuit of sunlight and inspiration. Bali was to become a rich stimulant for Le Mayeur, and he devoted himself to the task of depicting his immediate surrounding: the Balinese people, the luxuriant flora, the beach and the sea, all bathed in exuberant sunlight.
What fascinated the artist most was the exotic culture which Le Mayeur felt, was superbly manifested in the graceful movements of the Legong dancers. When he engaged Ni Pollok to be his regular model for one rupiah a day, neither of them realised then that they had henceforth begun an everlasting and special relationship, first between artist and favourite model, and eventually as partners in life.
It was also a beginning whereupon the artist embarked on the creation of a series of oeuvres with Balinese subjects. These Balinese works would proved to be commercially successful in the artist's solo exhibitions held in Singapore and eventually earned Le Mayeur a unique place in the group of Indo-European artists which stands as a distinct category in the Southeast Asian Pictures auction.
Dance, music, sunlight embellishing the tropical vegetation, from these subjects of the oeuvres of the artist, it is evident that Bali has become an overwhelming inspiration for him. "Except for a few journeys in the Far East, I never left the island. Why should I? Sir, I am an impressionist. There are three things in life that I love. Beauty, sunlight and silence. Now could you tell me where to find these in a more perfect state than in Bali? "
These words of the artist proved to be prophetic as he never left the island till the very end of his life and only returning home to Belgium to seek medical treatment. The artist passed away in1958, leaving a volume of works which testify his life-long pursuit of the sunlight.