Impressionism and the “Island of Light” – Ibiza
Set atop of the hill of Puig De Missa, in the town of Santa Eulalia, far above the city streets and Ibiza restaurants and night clubs, there is a little art museum. The museum sits next to the 400 year old church. The Barrau Museum was built in 1963, to honor the paintings of the Spanish Impressionist painter Laureano Barrau. The museum contains as many as 200 works by this great artist. Other works by Barrau hang today in museums in Spain, Paris, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janero.
Barrau was born in 1863, in Barcelona. It was there in Barcelona that he began his studies, which then took him to the city of Madrid. He began his studies in Paris at the ‘Academie des Beaux Arts’ in Paris at the age of 21. His tutor was Gerome, a very famous French painter known for his academic approach and attention to detail, but also known for his disapproval of impressionist painting. Barrau however did win the Prix de Rome just 2 years later at the age of 23. The Prix de Rome is a scholarship program available to art students and is known for its strict guidelines and process of elimination. By winning the scholarship he was able to At 28, the Salon de la National des Beaux Arts de Paris gave him the title of “Societaire”. He became known in galleries and museums around the world and his work became the synonym for great art.
The Island of Ibiza has long been known as the ‘island of light’. Light is the key element for impressionist painters. Barrau went to the island at the age of 47 and decided that he would never leave. He continued to live on the island with his wife throughout the rest of his life and produced his best work in those later years. When he died at the age of 94 his wife had the museum built to honor her husband. She gave the museum to the city of Santa Eulalia, however there is a bit of confusion today as to whether the museum and its contents belong to the city, or to the church which sits beside it on the hill.
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