I have written a few times about world personalities I like, Not too many but a handful of illustrious personalities, one of them fit the mold, I am not an expert or even dare to say knowledgeble of arts in general but in my readings , and visits to his museum in Madrid I always came fascintated by the stories and the paintings, Therefore, let me do my humble tribute to Joaquin Sorolla, a master amongst the masters, As i have a post on the museum this will in my black and white series,no pictures. Hope you enjoy the post as I.
His uncle Pepe insisted that he be a locksmith, like him, but he soon sensed the powerful artistic vein of little Quimet, better known as Joaquín Sorolla, whom he took in when he was only two years old when his parents died from a cholera epidemic in Valencia ,his native city. The future master of light then went to live on Calle Juan de Austria, a walk from Calle de Mantas, where a ceramic plaque recalls that the painter came into the world at number 8. the centenary of his death is celebrated ,died August 10 ,1923, so the events, exhibitions and tributes for the Sorolla Year take place across half the planet. From Madrid to Barcelona, Paris or New York, always returning to his Valencia, to that light and that sea that so inspired one of the most prolific (and well-known living) Spanish authors of all time: he left more than 2,300 cataloged works the anniversary is an opportunity to tour the streets of Valencia through the key points of its early years, in addition to getting to know heritage buildings and historic neighborhoods. Some of these corners are the Banco de Valencia (in the current Calle del Pintor Sorolla), the Church of Santa Catalina, where he was baptized, or the School of Artisans of Valencia on Calle Avellanas, where he entered at the age of 13. At the school he would become friends with the artistic saga of the Benlliure family and the son of Antonio García Peris, a renowned photographer of the time he would marry his daughter Clotilde in the Church of San Martín. After training at the Academy of Fine Arts (now the Centro Carmen), he soon began to present his works to competitions… without success, since they did not fit with the historical and tragic profile of that time. In 1884, he achieved one at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts with his Defense of the Monteleón artillery park, set in the War of Independence and melodramatic where there are. The cry of the palleter, which earned him a coveted scholarship from the Provincial Council to study in Rome, the Erasmus of yesteryear in front of the stairs of the Silk Exchange where the painter placed the painting. Right in front is the Mercado Central, a modernist jewel and the epicenter of his childhood and youth.
To please his patron, Sorolla signed Father Jofré defending a madman (on deposit at the Palace of the Generalitat), much more conventional, locating the action in the Portal de la Valldigna in the Carmen neighborhood. Both this canvas and that of the aforementioned palleter can be seen in the Sorolla a Roma exhibition at the Palacio de la Scala, which reviews that stage in 33 pieces. The exhibition Sorolla deals with the first years before Italy. Origins of the Museum of Fine Arts, which brings together, from yesterday until June 11, 70 paintings, watercolors, drawings, photographs and documents such as Portrait of a man, Knight with a band, The slave and the dove and Nun in prayer. Organized together with the Sorolla Museum in Madrid. The Museum of Fine Arts of the city of Turia will also present, from June 29 to October 1, 46 offspring from the Masaveu Collection. It will be the moment to contemplate Playa de Valencia, Corriendo por la playa and many other scenes of bathing and working in the sea represented between 1887 and 1917, three years before the end of his career due to a stroke suffered precisely while he was painting. . Not surprisingly, the Masaveu Collection is the third internationally dedicated to Sorolla, only surpassed by his museum in Madrid and the Hispanic Society of America in New York. The latter launched him to world stardom after commissioning Visión de España, the famous set of 14 canvases 3.5 meters high and 60 meters long made by the artist after touring the entire country between 1912 and 1919.
We continue the route in the beautiful Palace of Communications (former Post Office building), which houses Del foscor a la llum. Cinc segles d’art (From darkness to light: five centuries of art), with 70 pieces from the collection of the Lladró family of Zurbarán, Berruguete, José de Rivera or, of course, Sorolla, highlighting I am the bread of the life, the impressive oil painting of almost 25 square meters that welcomes the visitor, and Valencian Labrador, a true hymn to his countrywomen. They, in feminine, are also the thread host of Las mujeres de Sorolla, which can be seen until April 26 at the La Petxina sports-cultural center. In addition, in autumn La Valencia painted in the times of Sorolla will land in the Benlliure house-museum (Calle Blanquerías, 23), where paintings of our protagonist are regularly exhibited such as Portrait of Peppino, The Beatus of the Brotherhood or Study of a Male Head . The next stop is gastronomic, since Sorolla can also be eaten. Yes, in the Vertical restaurant (Cale Luis García Berlanga, 19), where chef Jorge de Andrés offers the Tribute to the Master menu. Composed of 14 dishes (115 euros without pairing and 150 with it) inspired by works such as El concejo del roncal, La fiesta del pan or Las grupas, it connects the palate with the different Spanish regions that the artist poured onto his canvases during his career . There is the Valencia monument to Sorolla and there, in the Cabañal and the Malvarrosa beach, he located most of his famous beach landscapes such as Sewing the Sail, The Return from Fishing, Sad Inheritance or Walk on the Seashore. He created many of them in the house of his friend Vicente Blasco Ibáñez or in dels Bous (Calle Pescadores, 39). Even the Sorolla brasserie of the Las Arenas hotel, a classic on the beach of the same name, sports a portrait of him, La señora. The god of light had to die, however, far from that Valencian sea, in the mountains of Madrid, leaving for the memory the best stamp of his land, in which he rests in peace.
The Valencia tourist office on Sorolla : https://www.visitvalencia.com/en/search/content?keywords=sorolla
Do see, also, his wonderful house museum in Madrid . The Sorolla Museum located at Paseo del General Martínez Campos, no. 37
The Ministry of Culture and Sports of Spain on the Museo Sorolla of Madrid: https://www.culturaydeporte.gob.es/msorolla/inicio.html
There you go folks, another dandy personality of my dear Spain !! It is time to know and cherish and enjoy the work of Joaquin Sorolla Again, hope you enjoy the post as I.
And remember ,happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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