Santiago Rusiñol

Galeria Manel Mayoral, Barcelona

Purchased from the above by the present owner in 1998

La última hora, Mallorca, 17 July 1919, p. 2

Manuel Marinel-Lo, Las Noticias, Barcelona, 5 March 1920, p. 1

Josep de C. Laplana, Santiago Rusiñol, el pintor, l'home, Montserrat 1995, no. 15.8.15

Josep de C. Laplana and Mercedes Palau-Ribes O'Callaghan, La pintura de Santiago Rusiñol, Catàleg sistemàtic, Barcelona 2004, vol. III, p. 142, no. 15.4.19, illustrated p. 142, ref. no. B&R 2327 clixé 1088/1

Palma de Mallorca, Botiga La Pilarica, Exposicio Rusiñol, July 1919

Barcelona, Sala Parés, Exposicio Santiago Rusiñol, 16 February 1920, (as La Coma (Mallorca)), no. 16

Painted in 1919, this luminous landscape depicts the verdant estate of Sa Coma in Valdemosa on Mallorca’s east coast, which until 1912 had belonged to Joan Miguel Sureda Veri, Marquess of Vivot, before being acquired by the Archduke Luis Salvador of Austria. Rusiñol's fascination with the gardens, and with the landscapes of Mallorca in general, dates from 1899, the year he visited the island to convalesce from ill health. Thereafter, he returned regularly, exploring every corner of its landscape and observing it with his characteristic resonant palette. He referred to Mallorca as the 'island of tranquillity', the title of his 1922 book about the island, and the oils he painted there rank among the most serene and evocative works in his œuvre.

The charismatic leader of Catalan Modernism, and one of the founders of Els Quatre Gats in Barcelona in 1897, Rusiñol travelled extensively across Europe and spent extended periods in Paris. His first show was held at Sala Parés, Barcelona in 1879, and would frequently exhibit his art there throughout his life, the present work included, in 1920.

Rusiñol's early works demonstrate the influence of the French Barbizon School, often with the inclusion of solitary figures, however the influence of the Impressionists began to appear in his paintings through his quick, expressive brushstrokes. Figures would eventually become largely absent from his later works. By the 1890s he had moved to Montmartre with his close friend and fellow artist, Ramon Casas, and they became members of the Société des Artistes Indépendants. Both were regarded as leaders of the Catalan expatriates in Paris.

After a trip to Granada in 1897, as well as further travels all over Spain, Rusiñol became the painter of Catalan gardens. He produced an extensive artistic record of the scenic gardens and natural landscapes he visited during his travels which would go onto become his most iconic works.

To acknowledge Rusiñol's achievements in Mallorca, and in recognition of the importance that he attached to the island as a source of inspiration for some of his most striking images, in 1935 the city of Palma dedicated a monument to his memory.