Juan Barba, artist from Madrid, died in 1982, master of gloom and tear, an artist as unknown as surprising. Part of his work has come to light in the last few months, making him rise from the ashes of the history of Art. The Augustinian Recollects and their spirituality, for many years, were one of his sources of inspiration.
The pseudonymous ‘blogger’ Gato Pardo, a few months ago, highly recommended her readers to visit an Art Exhibit in Madrid:
“I would ike to take advantage of this space and recommend an exhibit, which was organized with a minimum of my grandfather, Juan Barba’s artwork, (…) You can find oil paintings, as well as charcoal, pen, pencil and other drawings. The truth is that each of them are wonderful. So much detail, so much magic in others, so much dedication put into each one of them…
It is a pity that his work has not been recognized like with other great artists, because, truly, he deserves such recognition. He dedicated his whole life to painting, especially since art was his way of life both spiritually and financially.
(…) As I have mentioned before, if you are a lover of Art, I strongly recommend you to not miss this opportunity, you will greatly enjoy the exhibit. And I do not say it because he was my grandfather, but because he was truly an artist!!!”
There are not many more references that can be found on the internet about this artist Juan Barba (Madrid, 1915-1982). Most of them are on this same portal, where he has been mentioned on various other occasions, mainly in reference to his pictorial work on St. Nicholas of Tolentine at the crypt in Madrid.
Following is a presentation of the spiritual and artistic journey in the life of this artist from Madrid, with an analysis of some of his most important religious works, which will take us to the depths of the torn and brilliant paintings that, as his grandaughter stated, for various reasons have not yet been sufficiently recognized. Barba, creator of a very personal style, deserves a deeper review of his life and artistic career.
His pictorial work, undoubtedly, reaches his major greatness in space and quality, in the magnificent mural dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Tolentine at the crypt of of the Church of Saint Rita in Madrid and which was painted in 1959. However, the Augustinian Recollect communities of Monteagudo and Marcilla (Navarra), Valladolid, Madrid or Rome treasure many other works of notable value by the same artist.
In the first part we will see some biographical notes; in the second, we will let the artist himself speak in an interview which was published in the press in 1969; and in the third part we will get closer to some of his works.
