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Lot Essay
The present lot articulates the rich beauty of Bali that enthralled Le Mayeur upon his arrival in 1932. Having built a villa for himself and his wife at the beachfront of Sanur, his gardens became a common backdrop for the evocative and passionate portrayals of the Balinese tropics, as well as his wife and muse - Ni Pollok. Together, the pair lived in a cottage surrounded by luscious plants and white coral temples arranged by Le Mayeur himself. In his personal letters, the Belgian-born painter expounds on the inspirational function of his personal home, ‘you will understand my paintings wherever you may see them, for everything in this little paradise which I created for myself was made to be painted.’ Although many of Le Mayeur’s works are set in Bali, the painter was an extensive traveller who journeyed to other striking places such as Africa, Tahiti and India. He was a dedicated explorer of beauty and light, the perfection of which he found in the Balinese island arcadia.
With Ni Pollok as his exclusive muse, the female form is distinctive in Le Mayeur’s painting. Balinese Girls Weaving is adeptly rendered within his artful use of perspective, where the women instantly capture the eye. In particular, the figures’ triangular formation emphasizes the direction of their mutual gaze, which meets at the loom. The compositional talent of Le Mayeur is made clear in the circular arrangement of his subjects. Just as the women crowd around the loom, the lush fauna of the tropics envelops the figures. We see a radiation of beauty from the clear centre-point of the work - the social nature of weaving in Bali. From such group scenes, the image of Ni Pollock carries forth the grace and elegance of the Balinese woman. Often borrowing the poise of his muse, these figures mirror each other with their serene expressions, colourful vibrant sarongs and sun-dappled headdresses. Situating them in his gardens, they are the monumental representation of elegance in an intimate moment of weaving. This choice of subject matter lies true to the spirit of the painter-traveller, who made conscientious efforts to depict Balinese craftsmanship of decorative arts.
Typical to Le Mayeur’s post-war canvases, the present lot boasts the artist’s sensitive attention to detail and his love for the Balinese landscape. In this period, his application of paint became heavier and his subjects were rendered in smaller brushstrokes. These quick dabs of impasto paint layer over one another to construct highly intricate suggestions of flora. Such a method was key to the artist’s exquisite evocation of warm light, which bathed the falling petals and round shoulders of these Balinese women. As revealed in his letters, the Dutch painter would render such fleeting scenes in the morning or afternoon, in efforts to capture the sunlight at is strongest. With forceful and quick strokes, glimpses of green, yellows and pink are gently speckled across the canvas, showing themselves in the reflections of light.
In this period, it is apparent that Le Mayeur was concerned with creating expansive vistas, rather than highly personalised impressions of subjects which dominate most of his pre-war canvases. A prominent example such all-embracing scenes of his post-war period is Women Around a Lotus Pond. Here, the figures increase in number, retreat insize and become less focused in relation to the overall scenery. Much like in the present lot, they are framed by arching branches and strewn flowers, of which the bright colours echo on the women’s headdresses and sarongs. The figures are in this way, contextualised and adapted into the culturally and visually rich surroundings of Bali: the lotus pond, native sculptures and the beach.
Compared to paintings such as Women Around a Lotus Pond, the present lot is highly unique in its low number of figures, as well as its relatively closer depiction of the three women. Acknowledging that other post-war works depict figures that recede into the landscape, this work offers a rare balance of human intimacy and tropical vastness. The viewer’s eyes are drawn to the central figures but then quickly venture out into the bright yellow hues that permeate the surrounding lush vegetation. Although the figures present themselves in the centre, Le Mayeur’s careful selection of details establish them ultimately as harmonious parts of the environment. Revealing his tender affection towards both Ni Pollok and his garden villa, Balinese Girls Weaving is thus a beautiful testimony to the unending source of inspiration Bali was to him.
With Ni Pollok as his exclusive muse, the female form is distinctive in Le Mayeur’s painting. Balinese Girls Weaving is adeptly rendered within his artful use of perspective, where the women instantly capture the eye. In particular, the figures’ triangular formation emphasizes the direction of their mutual gaze, which meets at the loom. The compositional talent of Le Mayeur is made clear in the circular arrangement of his subjects. Just as the women crowd around the loom, the lush fauna of the tropics envelops the figures. We see a radiation of beauty from the clear centre-point of the work - the social nature of weaving in Bali. From such group scenes, the image of Ni Pollock carries forth the grace and elegance of the Balinese woman. Often borrowing the poise of his muse, these figures mirror each other with their serene expressions, colourful vibrant sarongs and sun-dappled headdresses. Situating them in his gardens, they are the monumental representation of elegance in an intimate moment of weaving. This choice of subject matter lies true to the spirit of the painter-traveller, who made conscientious efforts to depict Balinese craftsmanship of decorative arts.
Typical to Le Mayeur’s post-war canvases, the present lot boasts the artist’s sensitive attention to detail and his love for the Balinese landscape. In this period, his application of paint became heavier and his subjects were rendered in smaller brushstrokes. These quick dabs of impasto paint layer over one another to construct highly intricate suggestions of flora. Such a method was key to the artist’s exquisite evocation of warm light, which bathed the falling petals and round shoulders of these Balinese women. As revealed in his letters, the Dutch painter would render such fleeting scenes in the morning or afternoon, in efforts to capture the sunlight at is strongest. With forceful and quick strokes, glimpses of green, yellows and pink are gently speckled across the canvas, showing themselves in the reflections of light.
In this period, it is apparent that Le Mayeur was concerned with creating expansive vistas, rather than highly personalised impressions of subjects which dominate most of his pre-war canvases. A prominent example such all-embracing scenes of his post-war period is Women Around a Lotus Pond. Here, the figures increase in number, retreat insize and become less focused in relation to the overall scenery. Much like in the present lot, they are framed by arching branches and strewn flowers, of which the bright colours echo on the women’s headdresses and sarongs. The figures are in this way, contextualised and adapted into the culturally and visually rich surroundings of Bali: the lotus pond, native sculptures and the beach.
Compared to paintings such as Women Around a Lotus Pond, the present lot is highly unique in its low number of figures, as well as its relatively closer depiction of the three women. Acknowledging that other post-war works depict figures that recede into the landscape, this work offers a rare balance of human intimacy and tropical vastness. The viewer’s eyes are drawn to the central figures but then quickly venture out into the bright yellow hues that permeate the surrounding lush vegetation. Although the figures present themselves in the centre, Le Mayeur’s careful selection of details establish them ultimately as harmonious parts of the environment. Revealing his tender affection towards both Ni Pollok and his garden villa, Balinese Girls Weaving is thus a beautiful testimony to the unending source of inspiration Bali was to him.