Laureano Barrau Buñol (1863,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

–1957,

Santa Eulària des Riu Santa Eulària des Riu (, es, Santa Eulalia del Río) is a coastal town on the south eastern seaboard of the Spanish island of Ibiza. The town is located on the designated road PM 810."579 Regional Map, Spain, Islas Baleares." Pub:Michelin Ed ...

) was a Spanish

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Education

Barrau began his education in

, his native city. Later, he studied in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, finding the Spanish old masters. At 20, Barrau went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and enrolled at the

Académie des Beaux-Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

where Gerome was his tutor. Two years later, Barrau won the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in Barcelona. This afforded him the opportunity to study the great Italian masters for three years.

Career

When he was 28, Barrau was given the title of ''Societaire'' (Member) of the Salon de la Nationales des Beaux-Arts de Paris. 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 Janeiro. At age 47, Barrau moved to picturesque

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

. He settled with his wife in the town of Santa Eulalia del Rio, where he painted what is considered his best work.

End of life

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.

Legacy

Réalisation cover for French magazin
Figaro Illustré August 1897
In 1963, Barrau's wife opened a museum which houses approximately two hundred of his paintings. It is located at Puig da Missa on Santa Eulalia beside the 400-year-old church. The museum was later donated to the village but its ownership is debated. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrau, Laureano 19th-century Spanish painters 19th-century Spanish male artists Spanish male painters 20th-century Spanish painters 20th-century Spanish male artists Spanish Impressionist painters 1863 births 1957 deaths People from Ibiza