TOLEDO - History & Architecture - Lecture & Slideshow on ZOOM

The History and Architecture of Toledo before the Catholic Monarchs is rich and expressive. 

Toledo was an important city center to the Celtic Carpetanian tribes until the conquest of the Romans in 193 bc. After the Germanic invasions who expelled the Romans, Toledo would become the capital and main ecclesiastical seat of the Visigothic Kingdom. 

In the year 711, Toledo was conquered by the Muslims, whose rule ended with the taking of the city in 1085 by Alfonso VI. The Middle Ages is when the Jewish community of Toledo was the most populous and rich of the Kingdom of Castile. 

They coexisted for centuries, more or less peacefully, with Muslims and Christians, until the Catholic Monarchs reformations of 1492.

 

LECTURE & SLIDESHOW

WHEN: NOVEMBER 

Thursday, 26th, @ 5pm (17:00)
or
Saturday, 28th, @ 10:00

WHERE: ZOOM 

FEE: 10 euros

BOOK NOW 

EL GRECO: Life, Art & Mystery

The History of Valencia City & its Architectural Treasures

Valencia's GOLDEN AGE & INTERNATIONAL GOTHIC Collection

EBOOK - Illustrated Essays About the Marina Alta . OMNIBUS VOL 2.

** INTRODUCTION **

The Marina Alta Region, within the province of Alicante, holds a wealth of knowledge that is rarely talked about in English tourist books. There are so many attractive and historical landmarks that one would never get to enjoy, if not told about. 

Hence, this collection of essays will bring you into the “know” and aid your exploration and enjoyment of the Marina Alta. 

As with all of my resource books, the goal is to teach you about the artistic, historical and / or architectural information in order to help your appreciation of the marvelous attractions that are before your eyes. 

Artfully Yours,
Karla Ingleton Darocas

NOTE: If you are local to my office in Benitachell, you can either pick it up or we can meet for coffee somewhere. If not, I will take your address and find out from post office how much to ship to you :)

-click to enlarge-

** TABLE OF CONTENTS **

- Teulada’s Fortified Baroque Hermitage Of San Vicente Ferrer

- The Beautiful Baroque Parish Churches Of The Marina Alta * Benimaurell * Campell * Beniarbeig * Parcent * Alcalalí

- The Royal Marsh Is Gandía’s Watery Paradise

- Discover Famous 17th Century Polychrome Busts In Gandía

- A Detailed Guide To Gandía’s Pretty & Important Palace

PRINT FORMAT - ILLUSTRATED ESSAYS ABOUT THE MARINA ALTA

The Marina Alta Region, within the province of Alicante, holds a wealth of knowledge that is rarely talked about in English tourist books. There are so many attractive and historical landmarks that one would never get to enjoy, if not told about. 

Hence, this collection of essays will bring you into the “know” and aid your exploration and enjoyment of the Marina Alta. 

As with all of my resource books, the goal is to teach you about the artistic, historical and / or architectural information in order to help your appreciation of the marvelous attractions that are before your eyes. 

Artfully Yours,
Karla Ingleton Darocas

 
CLICK COVER TO ENLARGE

- PRINT BOOK FORMAT -

A4 Size, 32 Glossy pages, Large Size Text, White Spiral Binding and Illustrated with Digital Images

- 14 euros

DETAILS & ORDER FORM

Saint Lucia: Early Christian Martyr or Valencian Fashion Model?

The Fine Arts Museum of Valencia is where you can find this gorgeous rendition of one of the most interesting virgin saints of the biblical world.

However, this Lucía de Siracusa is a Valencian Renaissance gem, displaying all of her devotion in a marvelously embroidered silk cloak.

Article by Karla Darocas (KarlaDarocas.com)

Known also as St. Lucia, she was a young Christian martyr (283-304), who is revered as a saint by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. In Spain, she is celebrated by her devotees with a festival on December 13, the longest night of the year, according to the first Julian calendar. 

This image most likely follows the medieval legend about Lucia. When she refused to marry, she was persecuted by Pascasio, a proconsul to the Roman magistrate. He ordered that she be raped to get rid of her holy devotion to God and that her beautiful eyes be gouged out. But luckily, God gifted her with new eyes, even more beautiful than those she had before.

IMPRESSIVE SAN MIGUEL STANDS PROUD AT FINE ARTS MUSEUM OF VALENCIA

The Valencia Fine Arts Museum contains some of the most important paintings in Spanish history. As soon as you walk into the main gallery, a monumental painting of San Miguel Arcángel takes your breath away.

This work of art has been in the museum's collections for a long time and has been seen by many generations of Valencians and foreigners. Because of its size, it is very compelling and captures your attention immediately. 

SOROLLA'S GREATEST CHALLENGE WAS FACING THE LIGHT OF NATURE

"When all the artists painted in the studios, he painted outdoors; when a filtered and conventional light, with the pallor of consumption, he brutally grasped the rays of the sun on the tips of his brushes and fixed them on his canvases."

- Vicente Blasco Ibáñez

Sorolla's intimate friend and inspiration, Vicente Blasco, expressed his opinion on the work of Sorolla in a brief extract from a newspaper that was announcing Sorolla's death. Blasco believed that his friend was one of the brave ones because Sorolla painting outside, as often as the weather would permit. It was the hardest route to take, considering that studio painting was an environment where all elements, especially the light source, could be controlled. 

Even though open air painting was popular in Sorolla's era, he really didn't become fully addicted until after the turn of the century. 

Why was painting outside so exciting and risky for Sorolla?  But also, why was light so important in general terms?

Article by Karla Darocas, Hons. B.A. (KarlaDarocas.com)

Sorolla: INTO THE LIGHT of Impressionism & Luminism

DATE: TBA

TIME: 17:00 H - Madrid Time

WHERE: Zoom 

FEE: 10 euros
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NOTE; Once your fee has been paid, you will be sent your ZOOM Password to the Lecture. 

LECTURE - Joaquín Sorolla: THE NAKED TRUTH of Academicism, Social Realism & Costumbrismo

** REVIEWS **

"I thoroughly enjoyed the lecture. The detail and amount of information you covered was enormous. 

As you know I am a Sorolla fan and have painted many of his works, but do enjoy the early paintings. They have a different style and show what a talented painter he was. 

I look forward to your next lecture."

- Best wishes, James, Javea

"Fascinating lecture by Karla. I almost felt like an insider to the paintings presented, most of which I had not seen before.  I became fascinated with the "Costumbrista" era of Sorolla's Spanish paintings.  I absolutely loved them.  I appreciate the way Karla presents the information. Her knowledge gives you a wonderful perspective and you are grasping for more.  I feel fortunate I ran across Karla on the internet, because living in Valencia, I didn't have the opportunity to "attend" her classroom sessions until the Pandemic, when she started on Zoom.  In situations like this I always go back to my favorite Haiku:

Barn's burnt down --

now, I can see the moon.

- Mizuta Masahide

Muchas gracias Karla, can't wait for the next one."

-Mimi Carrera, Valencia city

"Karla's lecture are so full of the historical context of Spain. I enjoyed the  Costumbrista style masterpieces of Sorolla. His academic work was beautiful too and when you keep in mind of his young age when he was painting these works, amazing! The historical philosophies of Spain and Europe at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century comes to life in the absolute master works of the great and unique Sorolla. He formed a unique style with inspirations from master painters from Velazquez to the modern era of Monet."

-Trudi van Dorp, Benitachell

"Another fascinating lecture from Karla on Sorolla's work. It was fascinating to learn about the need to produce popular regional paintings to make money while developing his professional reputation through social realism paintings. As Karla talked us through the paintings, I learned about the links between the sciences and arts in the period. As the world adjusted to the discoveries of Darwin, artists began to focus on naturalism. Sorolla walked a tightrope between this new world and the traditions shown in his costumbrismo works. Another fascinating talk leaving us with much to reflect on."

- Denise Bayes, Barcelona

** INTRODUCTION TO THE LECTURE **

In this lecture, we will explore Sorolla's early journey throughout his educational phase where he was committed to academicism. This style of true-to-life, narrative, realist painting was the "official" or "approved" style of European art since the 1600's. It was dominated by conventions combined with a fixed set of aesthetics. Above all, paintings needed to contain a suitably moral message.

After perfecting religious and historical narrative paintings, he decided to reflect on the harshness of life and the most vulnerable lower classes, encapsulated in an emerging genre that was named social realism. 

This was a bold choice for Sorolla, especially at the beginning of his career. While other artists were in the pursuit of classical beauty and legendary stories to enhance their vocations, Sorolla went towards expressing the ugly injustices that were on the rise due to the industrial revolution. These sad and often disturbing visions were based on his real life observations.

He won several awards with his social realism paintings. These prizes elevated his fame and profile in the art world, but at home he found himself creating genre paintings in the Valencian regional style of costumbrismo. He chose themes that were popular to where he lived and hence easy to sell to generate needed revenue to support his wife and three children. 

ART HISTORY TERMS

Social realism: pictorial interpretation focused on the most dramatic circumstances of the lesser classes related to Baroque’s artistic realism and historical arguments, that is, narrative content, considered necessary in the 19th and 20th centuries and prized in the salon system.

Costumbrismo  - pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, related both to Baroque’s artistic realism and to Romanticism’s charm. 

TRIBUTE LECTURE TO CLOTILDE - Joaquín Sorolla's Cornerstone

EBOOK - CLOTILDE * Sorolla’s Cornerstone - Tribute to the Life of a Woman with Vision & Grace

Too often, famous men are thrust into the spotlight as if their projection was by magic! More often than not, there was a powerful, proud and determined woman behind that man, who was making the engine run and keeping the tank full in order to get her man to the finish line. Such was the case with the Valencian painter, Joaquín Sorolla. 

Yes, indeed he was the talented costumbrista and luminist who invented his own unique style and painted like a madman, but it was his wife, mother of his children and business partner Clotilde García del Castillo who was the mastermind, compass and key holder.

Through letters, photographs and paintings, Clotilde’s personality shines. Her commitment to her family, social and business roles are laid bare to all who wish to consume them as I have. 

Karla xx

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