Friar Manuel Bayeu y Subías (8 January 1740,

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tribut ...

- c. 1809, Zaragoza) was a Spanish painter, architect and

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has ...

monk.

Biography

He came from a family of painters that included his brothers,

Francisco Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

and Ramón. What we know of his life is based almost entirely on the personal correspondence he maintained with Martín Zapater, a friend of his brother-in-law,

Francisco de Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and en ...

. He was a Carthusian monk at the monastery Nuestra Señora de las Fuentes, where he spent most of his life. He entered Las Fuentes in 1760, and took his vows in 1772. In regards to his works, it is likely that he collaborated with his brother, Francisco, as did Ramón. In 1779, certain painters in

denounced him for not paying taxes on the money he had earned from his works. He asserted that his paintings were all very small, and produced as compensation to those who had rendered some service to the monastery. The publicity worked in his favor and enabled him to receive the support of the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acad ...

and be officially recognized as an artist. His best known works are very casual, personal drawings, produced while he was at Las Fuentes, which are now in the . He also did some work in Los Monegros and Lalueza, and at the

Royal Monastery of Santa María de Sigena Royal Monastery of Santa María de Sigena ( es, Real Monasterio de Santa María de Sigena) is a convent in Villanueva de Sigena, region of Aragon, Spain. Built between 1183 and 1208, the Romanesque church was founded by Queen Sancha of Castile, ...

, as well as the santuario de la Virgen de Magallón in Leciñena. Some paintings in

Huesca Cathedral The Holy Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Lord, also known as the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Huesca,The name of Saint Mary of Huesca is widespread. See, for example, arteguias.co("The project of building the Saint Mary of Huesca cathedral w ...

and

Jaca Cathedral The Cathedral of St Peter the Apostle ( es, Catedral de San Pedro Apóstol) is a Roman Catholic church located in Jaca, in Aragon, Spain. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaca. It is the first Romanesque cathedral built in Arag ...

are attributed to him. Much of the work he did in Zaragoza has disappeared. Near the end of his life, his Superior sent him to

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

, to create a mural at the Valldemossa Charterhouse. There, he made friends with

Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos (born Gaspar Melchor de Jove y Llanos, 5 January 1744 – 27 November 1811) was a Spanish neoclassical statesman, author, philosopher and a major figure of the Age of Enlightenment in Spain. Life and influence of ...

, who had been banished to

Bellver Castle Bellver Castle ( ca, Castell de Bellver, Balearic Catalan: ; ) is a Gothic-style castle on a hill 3 km to the west of the center of Palma on the Island of Majorca, Balearic Islands, Spain. It was built in the 14th century for King James II of ...

. It is not known exactly when he died but, most likely, it was during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...

, in the Second Siege of Zaragoza.

Selected works

File:San Bruno impone el hábito a un postulante, de Manuel Bayeu (Museo de Huesca).jpg, Saint Bruno Presents the Habit to a

Postulant A postulant (from la, postulare, to ask) was originally one who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate. The use of the term is now generally restricted to those asking for admission into a Christian monastery or a religious order for the pe ...

File:San Hugo en el refectorio, de Manuel Bayeu (Museo de Huesca).jpg,

Saint Hugh Saint Hugh may refer to: * Áed mac Bricc (died 589), Saint Hugh of Rahugh * Hugh of Rouen (died 730), archbishop of Rouen and bishop of Paris and Bayeux * Hugh of Cluny (1024–1109), influential leader of monastic orders * Hugh of Châteauneuf, ...

in the Refectory File:Muerte de San Bruno, de Manuel Bayeu (Museo de Huesca).jpg, The Death of Saint Bruno

Sources

*VV.AA. ''Revista de la Comarca de Los Monegros'', 2005.

External links

"Manuel Bayeu y Subías"
'' Diccionario Biográfico Español'', Arturo Ansón Navarro (Ed.),

Real Academia de la Historia The Real Academia de la Historia (RAH, 'Royal Academy of History') is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history " ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the di ...

"Fray Manuel Bayeu"
@ ''Epdlp'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayeu, Manuel 1740 births 1800s deaths Spanish painters Carthusians Spanish monks People from Zaragoza