Henri Brugnot (Lyon, 1874 – Uzes, 1940) was a French painter and pastellist specializing in portraits and landscapes. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Lyon and later with the famous artists Fernand Cormon and Gustave Moreau in Paris. For a season he worked in the French capital until he settled in the south of France. The landscapes of his native Languedoc were his first source of inspiration. Later, his trips to England and Spain ended up setting the theme for his paintings, shown at a major exhibition in Paris in 1906.
At that time, Algiers was under the domination of the Gallic country, so many French took advantage of the strategic location of the Balearic Islands, halfway between France and its colony, to settle in Mallorca. It is in this context that the French painter Henri Brugnot’s trip to the island is situated. In fact, according to the records of the French consulate in Palma, Brugnot lived in Valldemossa between 1909 and 1910. During his stay, Brugnot established a relationship with the Majorcan painter Joan Fuster Bonnin, who was an admirer of his brushwork, as well as his use of pure and bright colors.
Brugnot was one of the many foreign artists who made Mallorca the muse for his paintings. Brugnot’s stay in Mallorca coincided with one of his most important creative moments; the fantastic representations of the landscapes of Valldemossa, Deià and other corners of the Balearic Islands are an example of this.
This oil on canvas is a beautiful image of the Majorcan coast represented with a certain “rusiñol” air. The rhythm of the work is given by the chromatic play of yellows, reds and earth colors that stand out against the blue background of the sea and the sky.
The work is included in the collection of artists from the Serra de Tramuntana located in the Municipal Museum of the Cartuja de Valldemossa.
Aina Ferrero-Horrach.