Museu de Mallorca: Images of an Island

Picture the history of Mallorca as a graphic novel. Yet not drawn by one illustrator but told in paintings and sculptures by artists of the respective time. Exhibited in a splendid Gothic palace in the Calatrava district of Palma. Pass a large cobbled patio with a row of perfectly rounded sandstone arches and climb the wide staircase to the planta noble. Even the first impression of the Museu de Mallorca is magnificent. The Mallorca Museum houses almost eight centuries of island history. And it is home to Palma’s patron saint Sant Sebastià.

Back to the Middle Ages

The first floor takes you all the way back to the early 13th century. To the conquest of Mallorca and the political, social and economic development that followed. Flanked by short text panels, the exhibits tell about oppression and uprisings, of epidemics and famines, and of the omnipresent influence of the church.

The Renaissance

Behind a heavy coffered door you’ll find a panorama of Palma with an armada in the bay, painted by Miquel Bestard in 1630. Beyond the city wall there is only countryside with countless wind mills.

To Modern Times

An impressive figurehead hanging from the ceiling of the upper floor points the way to modern secular times. To early Modernisme and avant-garde. When artists began to capture popular motifs of the island.

From the dunes of Arenal, Port de Pollença as a small fishing village or blossoming almond and orange trees in the Tramuntana in a naturalistic style. To a painting of the Torrent de Paris in wild colors that remind of expressionist works.

Do You See the Light?

The main protagonist of all paintings, though, is the Mediterranean light. It highlights the historical developments and illuminates how perspectives and interpretations have changed over time. And still remains the light that we love about Mallorca.

Traveling to Paint

The most famous painter to have captured the Mallorcan light in his works is undoubtedly Joaquín Sorolla. Some of the paintings are part of the permanent exhibition in the artist’s former home in Madrid. There is currently a unique opportunity to see twelve of his pictures in a historical context at the Museu de Mallorca.