Museum Le Mayeur

Top choice in Sanur


Artist Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merpres (1880–1958) arrived in Bali in 1932, and married the beautiful Legong dancer Ni Polok three years later, when she was just 15. They lived in this compound back when Sanur was still a quiet fishing village. After the artist’s death, Ni Polok lived in the house until she died in 1985. Despite security (some of Le Mayeur's paintings have sold for US$150,000) and conservation problems, almost 90 of Le Mayeur's paintings are displayed.

The house is an interesting example of Balinese-style architecture – notice the beautifully carved window shutters that recount the story of Rama and Sita from the Ramayana. The museum has a naturalistic Balinese interior of woven fibres. Some of Le Mayeur’s early works are impressionist paintings from his travels in Africa, India, the Mediterranean and the South Pacific. Paintings from his early period in Bali are romantic depictions of daily life and beautiful Balinese women – often Ni Polok. The works from the 1950s are in much better condition, displaying the vibrant colours that later became popular with young Balinese artists. Look for the haunting black-and-white photos of Ni Polok.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sanur attractions

1. Grand Bali Beach Hotel

0.16 MILES

Built in the Sukarno-era, this vast hotel is now slowly fading away. Local leaders, properly horrified at its outsized bulk, imposed the famous rule that…

2. Turtle Tanks

0.68 MILES

An engaging display about Bali's endangered sea turtles that usually includes some young hatchlings.

3. Small Temple

1.11 MILES

Amid the tourist bustle, this little shrine is shaded by huge trees.

4. Taman Festival Bali

1.2 MILES

One of the more unusual Bali attractions, Taman Festival Bali is an abandoned theme park about a 20-minute drive north of Sanur. Some say that the 8…

5. Beachfront Walk

1.51 MILES

Sanur’s beachfront walk was the first in Bali and has been delighting locals and visitors alike from day one. More than 4km long, it curves past resorts,…

6. Bali Orchid Garden

1.84 MILES

Orchids thrive in Bali's warm weather and rich volcanic soil. At this garden you can see thousands of orchids in a variety of settings. It's 3km north of…

7. Sanur Beach

1.88 MILES

Sanur Beach curves in a southwesterly direction and stretches for more than 5km. It is mostly clean and overall quite serene – much like the town itself…

8. Fishing Boats

2.02 MILES

Just south of the old Hyatt is a long area where multihued fishing boats are pulled ashore and repaired under the trees.

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "indonesia/bali/sanur/attractions/museum-le-mayeur/a/poi-sig/482406/356557",
      "destination": "Sanur",
      "continent": "Asia",
      "country": "Indonesia",
      "city": "Sanur",
      "position": "superzone"
    }