Laureano Barrau
Encyclopedia
Laureano Barrau was a Spanish
impressionist painter
. He began his studies in Barcelona
, his native city and afterwards in Madrid
where he studied the old Spanish Masters. at the age of 20 he went to Paris
and entered the Académie des Beaux-Arts
where he had the painter Gerome
as tutor. Two years later he won the Prix de Rome
in Barcelona which afforded him the opportunity to study the great Italian Masters for three years. When he was 28 the Salon de la Nationales des Beaux-Arts de Paris gave him the title of Societaire. He earned medals in the principal cities in Europe and today his paintings hang in museums in Spain, Paris, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Rio de Janero.
When Laureano was 47 he came to the island of Ibiza
. Enraptured by the charm and beauty of the island he resolved to make it his home. He settled with his wife in the town of Santa Eulalia del Rio
where he painted what is considered his best work full of light and colour. He remained in Santa Eulalia for the rest of his life. He died in 1957 at the age of 94 and is buried in the cemetery in Santa Eulalia.
In 1963, a museum which houses some 200 of Barrau's paintings was inaugurated by his wife on Puig da Missa in Santa Eulalia beside the 400 year old church. She then gave the museum to the village. To this day there is some dispute as to whether the museum belongs to the town or the church.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
impressionist painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. He began his studies in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, his native city and afterwards in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
where he studied the old Spanish Masters. at the age of 20 he went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and entered the Académie des Beaux-Arts
Académie des beaux-arts
The Académie des Beaux-Arts is a French learned society. It is one of the five academies of the Institut de France.It was created in 1795 as the merger of the:* Académie de peinture et de sculpture...
where he had the painter Gerome
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an artistic climax.-Life:Jean-Léon Gérôme was born...
as tutor. Two years later he won the Prix de Rome
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
in Barcelona which afforded him the opportunity to study the great Italian Masters for three years. When he was 28 the Salon de la Nationales des Beaux-Arts de Paris gave him the title of Societaire. He earned medals in the principal cities in Europe and today his paintings hang in museums in Spain, Paris, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Rio de Janero.
When Laureano was 47 he came to the island of Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
. Enraptured by the charm and beauty of the island he resolved to make it his home. He settled with his wife in the town of Santa Eulalia del Rio
Santa Eulària des Riu
Santa Eulària des Riu is a municipality on the eastern coast of Ibiza. The only river on the island flows through the town of Santa Eulària. The town was depicted, in the time before and up to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, in Elliot Paul's Life and Death of a Spanish Town...
where he painted what is considered his best work full of light and colour. He remained in Santa Eulalia for the rest of his life. He died in 1957 at the age of 94 and is buried in the cemetery in Santa Eulalia.
In 1963, a museum which houses some 200 of Barrau's paintings was inaugurated by his wife on Puig da Missa in Santa Eulalia beside the 400 year old church. She then gave the museum to the village. To this day there is some dispute as to whether the museum belongs to the town or the church.