spanish art | Gary J. Kirkpatrick Art and Travel Blog

Sorolla: Notes in the sand – Apuntes en la arena

(Exhibit at El Carmen Museum, Valencia, Spain)

Fisherman of Valencia, Pescadores de Valencia

April 15, 2016

Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863 – 1923) is known as a master of light and for his portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes, many in the impressionist style. Many of his paintings are housed at the Museo Sorolla in Madrid, while there are monumental works permanently exhibited at the Hispanic Society in New York. The El Carmen Museum in Valencia (http://www.consorciomuseos.gva.es/SOROLLA,-APUNTES-EN-LA-ARENA.asp) is currently exhibiting an excellent collection of Joaquin Sorolla’s paintings of Valencian beach scenes. You can see a few of the 100 works below.

He gained tremendous notice from the painting and exhibition of Sad Inheritance. This painting featured children effected by the polio epidemic circa 1900.

Children on the Beach-- Niños en la Playa — Children on the Beach– Niños en la Playa

Children on the Beach sold at auction for 3.5 million euros.

Despite his mastery of the medium and tremendous production he is little known outside Spain.

For biographical information go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joaqu%C3%ADn_Sorolla

March 28, 2016

MUVIM (Valencian Museum of Modernity and Illustration) is now exhibiting poster art, some paintings and a few old films of the era, starting in the 1920’s. Spain suffered through a civil war from 1936-39. Fatalities numbered in the 400.000 range, with another 200,000 murdered by Franco’s Falangists after the war, and atrocities by both sides during the war. Some of the art refers to this period. Other pieces advertise Valencia’s annual summer fair, Fallas (the annual carnival in March of each year) and other events.

The first one below refers to Valencia’s annual summer fair, the second to Fallas, the annual carnival that takes place in March each year; you can see the fire burning the statue (red area).

IMG_20160327_172905 — Advertising Fallas

IMG_20160327_170506

IMG_20160327_182337 — Encouraging people to open their homes to evacuees

IMG_20160327_181432 IMG_20160327_183924

Sorolla- Notes in the sand (Apuntes en la arena)

Neat Spanish Poster Art from the 1920’s (photos)IM