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| (Imagen: C. del Rosso) |
Valencia is not only beaches and oranges: it’s
got a lot to show off in terms of art. It’s not a matter of luck that it’s
Sorolla’s hometown.
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| Benlliure, J. Sorolla, 1919 (Image: C.del Rosso) |
Sorolla is not an isolated case, but is just
the summit of centuries of tradition, the so called Valencian School. I guess
it’s that marvelous light, brighter than in other places, and its people’s
aesthetical sense that make art part of daily life there. (Or is it maybe the
other way around?)
 |
| (Image: C.del Rosso) |
I walked around the Museo de Bellas Artes de
Valencia: I had already been several times and it’s worth it. I went to catch a
glimpse back of Velázquez, Juan de Juanes, Murillo, Ribera, Cano, Dutch still
lives, López Piquer… but what I really wanted to see was the new Sorolla’s Room.
Finally! How many times had we complained about those hidden, dark,
labyrinthine rooms to which our master was confined? Now he finally got what he
deserved.
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| Sorolla, Still life, 1878 |
There are 58 artworks exhibited, that go from
his beginnings as student to his artistic expertise. From the still life he
painted being 15 years old, for which Antonio García (who would be later his
father-in-law) discovered his talent and decided to help him, to his
magnificent self-portrait of 1915, in which he represents himself as the artist
that became what we wanted to become.
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| Sorolla, Seascape, 1880 |
His Seascape, which is the only surviver of his 3 initial artworks (he
destroyed the other 2), his nudes done during his stay in Italia or those
impressive portraits of his daughter María or the one with Carlos Urcola and
daughter.
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| Sorolla, Sketch for the Portrait of the Queen Victoria Eugenie, 1907 (Image: C.del Rosso) |
I was considerably
taken aback by this sketch for his painting of the queen Victoria Eugenie: we
can perfectly see there how he researches the topic to work on it later.
Furthermore, we can find him portrayed in bronze by Mariano Benlliure, the
Valencian sculptor: in bronze, but alive, present, questioning you with his
look, as he was about to paint you.
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| Sorolla, María with red blouse, 1910 |
We can finally admire Sorolla with dignity in
his hometown.
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| Sorolla, Self-portrait with suit, 1915 |
I felt like going to the IVAM (Instituto
Valenciano de Arte Moderno), but while walking on the street, I saw the advertisement
for 2 exhibitions in the Fundación Bancaja, so I changed my mind. I already
knew the IVAM too well: we’ll visit it someday on this blog.
 |
| Ribera, St.Andrew, 1630 (Image: Univ. de Valencia) |
I really liked the rooms of this Fundation: a
modern proposal, but at same time cosy and elegant. In one of the rooms we have
the exhibition of the Lladró Collection: I enjoyed it, but by then I was
already exhausted… I loved a St. Mathias
by Rubens and a superb St. Andrew by Ribera. Of course, there are
several Sorollas. And obviously Pinazo, Mongrell, Vila Prades, Juan de Juanes,
Zurbarán and El Greco can’t be left out.
In the second one, I found me in front of
engravings and sketches of Picasso related to his visits to Museo del Prado,
the Louvre, the Trocadero or Montauban’s Musée Ingres. The great master’s
artworks were his sources of inspiration, and he would go back to them once and
once again to find in them answers to his questions. I liked the general
approach: we can discover the painter’s bothering, what matters to him, what he
is looking for in Degas, in Velázquez’ Las
Meninas, in Ingres’ The Turkish Bath,
in El Greco’s The Count of Orgaz, in
Delacroix and Algier or in Rembrandt or in Raphael. But what undoubtedly caught
my attention was his preparatory sketches for The Demoiselles d’Avignon. 16 pages long, all yellow due to the
long time already passed, with the figures in different positions… but still
without cubistic faces.
In any case, three exhibitions in one single
day is not bad at all, is it? I think this time I broke my own record.
Fundación Bancaja: Picasso y el museo: until 2/28/2016
Colección Lladró. Seis siglos de pintura: until 4/3/2016
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