Blanco Renaissance Museum

Dedicated to the life and work of Don Antonio Blanco, this complex in Bali is a mansion turned art gallery. In 2004, the building also became a bird sanctuary after it gained legal permission from the government to act as a conservation area.

The Bali myna, also known as Rothschild’s mynah, Bali starling, or Bali mynah is a critically endangered bird with fewer than 100 adults existing in the wild. The sanctuary has helped increase the species’ population with a government-approved breeding program.

Blanco lived and worked in his magical hilltop home until his death in 1999.

The museum has a collection of more than 300 works from the artist. There is also an exhibition called the Erotic Room, which displays a large collection of paintings featuring the elegance of the male and female bodies. However, to enter this chamber visitors must be older than 17. There is also a painting studio inside that was often used by Blanco.

The stone arch over the top of the stairs, the Kori Agung, is actually a giant signature of Blanco. It was created by folding the paper vertically while the paint was wet and doubling the signature.

There is a little cafe inside as well, a nice place to sit after taking in the artwork. There is also a fountain in the garden designed to resemble waves in the ocean.