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| Painting by Valencian Master * Jerónimo Jacinto de Espinosa |
Although outdoor painting was very popular in Sorolla's day, it was only after the turn of the century that he really became addicted to it. Why was painting outdoors so exciting and risky for Sorolla? But also, why was light so important in general? Do you want to understand more?
Article by Karla Darocas, Hons. B.A. (KarlaDarocas.com) (C) SpainLifestyle.com.
The Valencia Fine Arts Museum houses some of the most important paintings in Spanish history. As soon as you enter the main gallery, a monumental painting by 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 captivating and immediately grabs your attention. Let us take a closer look...
Article by Karla Darocas, Hons. B. A. Fine Arts (KarlaDarocas.com)
Fifty extraordinary original works by Sorolla, many of them masterpieces, from one of Spain's most important private collections, the María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Foundation, descendants of a powerful industrial family, will be exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Valencia from 29 June to 1 October 2023 to celebrate the centenary of his death.
* Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas, Hons. B.A. (KarlaDarocas.com)
Finally, an annual State Museum Card provides unlimited access to fabulous art museums across the country.
Spain stands out for its impressive cultural heritage. Spanish art lovers can take a closer look at their favourite works and enjoy visiting the best museums again and again.
* Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas (KarlaDarocas.com)
The International Gothic aesthetic became a highly decorative and recognisable style that dominated Europe in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
* Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas, Hons. B.A. (KarlaDarocas.com)
Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) was one of the great geniuses of painting. He was a master of the Spanish Baroque style, heir to Tenebrism and an inspiration to the Impressionists.
The Sevillian created between 120 and 130 paintings, of which Las Meninas is the best known worldwide. The majority of his works are in the secular or profane Baroque style, with incredible portraits and mythological works.
* Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas for SpainLifestyle.com / (c) KarlaDarocas.com
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| FRONT and BACK |
The collection of paintings, which has been considered a jewel of the Lladró family for years, will no longer be hidden from the eyes of the public!
I was delighted to hear that the descendants of the Lladró family, who have become famous and wealthy through their brand of luxury porcelain produced in their own factory in Tabernes Blanques since 1958, have donated their entire collection of paintings and artefacts to the city of Valencia.
In 1980, Juan Lladró began investing in art with his brothers José and Vicente. He did this on the advice of Alfonso Emilio Pérez Sánchez, the director of the Prado Museum between 1983 and 1991. His idea from the beginning was to make the artwork in the headquarters of the porcelain figurine company in Tavernes Blanques accessible to the public. And there it remained until the company was sold to an investment fund in 2017 and the art collection was moved to Madrid, where it is stored.
** Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas, Hons. B.A. Fine Arts (KarlaDarocas.com)
I saw this etching of the fortress church of San Bartolomé on Facebook and no one was talking about it, so I grabbed it. At first, I thought it belonged to the Parisian artist Andre Lambert, who settled in Jávea around 1920 and made his paradise on the Costa Blanca a meeting place for international figures from the world of art and culture. His ashes have been part of the Portichol pine forests since his death in 1967
I looked at his etchings again, but this one did not belong to him. So after a lot of research on Google, I do not know who it belongs to.
** Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas (KarlaDarocas.com)
GREETINGS ALL,
That's it for the autumn term of classes. I ended the season on a Neoclassical note.
FACT * It makes a big difference when you know what you are looking at. I live for teaching people and giving them historical and artistic knowledge. Smile.
From January 2023, I will be teaching again in my classroom the Romantic genre.
I think I will drop the Zoom classes because I only had one paying Zoom customer and with only that one, it's hard to pay for the Zoom platform. I am sorry, but what can I do? So I will just teach in my classroom.
Romanticism is a very big chapter in Spanish history. It has a lot to do with Spain coming of age as a constitutional government and the second woman monarch, albeit short-lived. It also has a lot to do with Spain finding its way back into the world of art after Paris had taken over and dominated the artistic world. Spain wanted to return to the map of art, so to speak, and did so through Romanticism.
I begin with the Northern Romanticism, which was accompanied by great academic works of art in Madrid and Barcelona.
I have written a book about the most famous of these academic romantic paintings and the historical stories that inspired them. It's called PRIDE & PASSION AT THE PRADO, and it's a guide to the seven most famous historical romantic stories in Spain and the artists who immortalised them.
Then I will look at the more personal, fun and friendly romantic easel paintings that were created in southern Spain. The largest collection is in Málaga at the Carmen Thyssen Museum, which only opened in 2011
So for those studying with me next season, it's going to be a wild ride through the era of Spanish Romanticism, capped off with a great field trip to Málaga, so we can see this collection of incredible paintings up close.
We will also spend a day at the Museum of Malaga, which is the fifth-largest museum in Spain. It is actually two museums in one. On the one hand, there is the Department of Archaeology on the second floor and the Department of Fine Arts on the first floor.
I will also tell you about the beginnings of Picasso's works so that we can also visit his museum in Málaga.
*End*
* CLICK HERE *
Querol in his workshop - 1892
To achieve great things before the age of 50, you need a very positive attitude and the belief that you can achieve everything you set out to do.
Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas (KarlaDarocas.com)
This was the case with the neoclassical sculptor Agustín Querol y Subirats (Tortosa, 1860-Madrid, 1909), who achieved amazing success before he died at the age of 49.
Madrid's most iconic buildings and landmarks date from the neoclassical era.
In this class we will study and analyse the royal neoclassical architectural style and the buildings and monuments that can still be seen in Spain's capital today.
The woman in this 1836 portrait is a Madrid aristocrat, Señora Delicado de Imaz. This woman is of an age and affluence where she is not interested in being painted as an object of desire, but as a woman of elevated society and enlightenment. She is a woman for whom wealth and power are more important than beauty and frivolity.
* Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas, Hons. B. A. (KarlaDarocas.com)
DAY ONE
Under the last Spanish October skies of 2022, I and three of my students went to Madrid. Our goal was to spend Halloween in the national capital and explore all the works of Francisco Goya, who had been the topic of the month in my class. The legendary Prado Museum has the largest collection of Goya's works and I wanted my students to discover them all. But we had many other exciting experiences ahead of us!
I picked up my last student in Ondara, and we hit the motorway. Four and a half hours later, including a coffee break, we were at our hotel. We went to our rooms and put away our equipment. We refreshed ourselves with a snack in our rooms. One student had brought a kettle, so she could drink tea, which she did
We went down to the lobby and reception called our taxi. By 3.30pm we were at the Prado. I had the most delicious coffee in the museum cafeteria, and we went in search of Goya.
We did find him waiting for us at the ticket office.
* Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas. Hons. B. A. (KarlaDarocas.com)
In this lecture we explore a genre of visual art that Goya spearheaded. While others were painting beautiful pictures, Goya was breaking the boundaries of established art aesthetics. The paintings in this lecture were not commissioned works, but self-created, so Goya had the freedom to realise his ideas
* Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas. Hons. B. A. (KarlaDarocas.com)
DOGS OF LEISURE
After the war between Spain and the First French Empire, which began in 1808 with the invasion of Napoleonic troops and ended in 1814 with the return of Fernando VII to Spain and absolute power, Spain was destined to shake up its social structures with the emergence of diversified social classifications.
There were still the noble families with land titles and wealth, and of course the peasants who owned nothing, but now there was a newly emerged stratum in Spanish society based on the wealth created by trade, manufactures, modern agriculture, retail, professions such as doctors and lawyers, and even arts and crafts. These self-employed people and family businesses formed a social class based on materialism and the pursuit of respectability called the bourgeoisie.
The bourgeoisie was now the class of people who wanted companion dogs to demonstrate their ability to spend their leisure time, and so the miniature dog breeds made a big comeback. Small dogs were now a symbol of success, a happy family life and a home because they had a good income.
Since Halloween and the Day of the Dead are very close to each other, who better to take up the theme of witches' flight than Francisco Goya. Traditionally, witches were believed to use a broom to move through the air and assist the coven in places far from their usual haunts.
The women accused of witchcraft were women who took care of the home: wives, midwives, servants, etc. And what do these people have in common? A broom! It stands to reason that the broom was a representation of women and thus became the witches' tool.
Goya, who knew the aspects of witchcraft well, captured the moment when an old witch initiates a young woman into these practises. But he also knew that it was not the broom that gave the witches their flying abilities.
* Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas. Hons. B. A. (KarlaDarocas.com)
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746 - 1828) paintings, drawings and engravings reflected contemporary historical upheavals. He supported the new enlightened and educated spirit of the times by opposing arranged marriages. At that time, the function of marriage was merely a means to promote the economic or social success of the family and ignored the pain that people suffered.
** Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas. Hons. B. A. (KarlaDarocas.com)
The Bancaja Foundation exhibition of 86 paintings by Sorolla dedicated to childhood was wonderful. The exhibition rooms were spacious, and the walls were painted a muted grey so that the unique Mediterranean colours he used in his painting really stood out.
* Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas. Hons. B. A. (KarlaDarocas.com)
The Bath at La Granja, 1907
In the summer of 1907, Joaquín Sorolla painted in the gardens of La Granja de San Ildefonso, an idyllic setting he had briefly encountered the previous autumn when he went to paint the portrait of King Alfonso XIII. He found the gardens very beautiful to work in. On this summer trip, he enjoyed the company of his family and painted for long days for pleasure and in the fresh air, in a natural setting that invited experimentation.
* Report by Karla Ingleton Darocas. Hons. B. A. (KarlaDarocas.com)
This LECTURE by Karla Darocas will prepare you to DISCOVER, ENJOY & APPRECIATE the works of Joaquín Sorolla featuring children.
Greetings SpainLifestylers,
One more newsletter before I jump into the fray!!
Greetings SpainLifestylers,
What a hot summer. Wow. The hottest since records began, according to the weather services in the news
I managed to see two fabulous exhibitions at our wonderful Fine Arts Museum in Valencia, along with a few of my favourite art-loving women.
ABOUT
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599 - 1660) was one of Spain's most intelligent and talented painters in Spanish history.
This TALK will compare two paintings by Diego Velázquez in order to discover the secrets behind his evolution and genius.
1 - one of his first paintings, Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (1618), from his early years as a student in Seville. T
2 - Las Meninas or The Family of Felipe IV (1656), considered a masterpiece and the crowning achievement of his genius, painted at the end of his career.
Greeting SpainLifestylers,
It's been a busy summer already. I have organised a couple of fantastic art exhibitions, the highlights of which I will tell you about. I have also finished another great book for your educational pleasure.
THIS LECTURE will introduce you to Antoni Gaudi in his LATER YEARS. We will study the following works; Park Güell with Gaudi residence, Casa Batlló & Casa Milà
