A Contagious Disease Hospital (Mallorca)
Ca. 1877. Oil on panel.Room 063A
On the right, there are several fishing boats with their sails folded up. They rest on the water and their reflections appear on the surface. Further to the left, the Artist depicts a lazaretto. The midday sun illuminates its architectural structure; whose reflection is also noticeable in the calm waters of the sea. In front, there is a small boat with a fisherman; and to the left, the masts of another boat can be seen.
These lazarettos, which are built outside the towns, often appear as isolated elements on the coast. They served as hospitals and temporary destinations for the crews of ships that arrived in Spanish ports infected with contagious diseases. There, the affected people were under compulsory quarantine as stipulated by law in the late 1870s. By this time, when Haes visited the Mallorcan coast, there were only five hospitals in Spain covering the main port areas of the Spanish coastline. By a Sanitary Provision of 1866, the lazaretto of the Balearic coast was created in Mahón (Menorca), and it is more than likely that it is the one Haes has included in this study.
Gutiérrez Márquez, Ana., Carlos de Haes en el Museo del Prado, 1826-1898 : catálogo razonado, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, 2002, p.186-187
