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SOROLLA FINDS INSPIRATION IN XABIA FOR A SPECIAL PATRON

When Joaquín Sorolla first came to Xàbia in 1896, it was to witness grape farmers in harvest as well as the marvelous raisin industry that had taken hold of Europe with its rich flavoured and nutritional snack.

He had received a commission to create two unique vertical panels to flank a door, of which the particular dimensions were to match. The theme of the paintings were to celebrate the wine industry but the composition was to be presented in a neoclassical or Greco-Roman style, as this was the fashion of the early twentieth century, especially in the bourgeoisie circles.

The patron was a wealthy Chilean, Rafael Errázuriz Urmeneta who was a politician, diplomat, businessman and grape farmer.

The patron became fascinated with Sorolla and his work while on a European trip which landed him in Madrid. He ended up commissioning Sorolla to create a variety of works from 1896 to 1905 including a family portrait.

However, in the summer of 96 Sorolla had spent his vacation at his summer res…

WHO WAS ANDRÉ LAMBERT WITHIN THE HISTORY OF JÁVEA ARTS?

For many of you that have gone around Jávea on my Jávea Walk, we pop into a palace named Casa Lambert, which was preserved as an arts school and community artist exhibition space by the family of the French-Swiss painter, André Lambert.

So, who was Lambert and why was he so involved with the cultural life of Jávea?

Report by Karla Darocas (KarlaDarocas.com)

André Lambert Jordán (1884-1967) was a watercolorist, painter, engraver and Swiss-French architect who lived a large part of his life in Javea. For Lambert, Jávea was a gold mine of interest and he made many art works about the place from historical buildings to the unique landscape.

André Lambert was born in Switzerland on March 17, 1884, where he studied architecture at the School of Advanced Technical Studies in Munich. Later he went on to study Fine Arts in the Bavarian capital and it was these studies that ended him in Paris around 1908.

André established his first studio in Montparnasse, later moving to the Ile St. Louis.

In …

JÁVEA-WALK FRIDAYS

Explore and Learn About the History of JÁVEA by visiting its most exciting and unique monuments and museum

MEETING PLACE: Central Indoor Market * The Cafe shop is at the Calle San Marco door. Beside Carniceria Mutt https://goo.gl/maps/CL6yXQMw2zM2
- Come early for your coffee.

BOOKING form below...

TIMES: 10:30 - 13:00 finish times depends on bathroom breaks :)

FEE 10 euros: includes LECTURE & WALKING ROUTE / MAP, in case you get lost or separated from group

MAX. 5 students per group MAX

END OF WALK: Get a beverage and Q & A time...
NOTE: If you enjoy ancient artifacts then you can head back to the museum after the lecture.

PARKING in the Municipal Parking Lots...

INSTRUCTOR: Karla Darocas, Hons. B.A. Fine Arts, Educator Since 1990, Spanish Arts Historian,

REVIEWS: www.KarlaDarocas.com

ABOUT THE WALK

Javea's architecture reflects three special historical periods when wealth and prosperity produced very unique sacred and civil architecture.

We will go through the town and I will s…

THE HUMANISTIC SPIRIT & WORK OF DIEGO VELÁZQUEZ

Although Diego Velázquez's primary position was one of prestigious as a court painter for Spain's Habsburg King Philip IV during the Baroque period, he is most celebrated for his revolutionary portraits and scene paintings.

His individualistic style of naturalism, a precursor to realism, favored authenticity over idealized and unrealistic representational art. This philosophy differentiated him from others of his time who stayed bound to the traditional and historical ways of depicting their subjects.

Vastly personable, and as equally interested in the common man as the praised man, he managed to create a fiercely individualistic and impressive body of work that camouflaged his underlying passion for human beings and the human experience.

He remains one of the most important artists of the Spanish Golden Age.

A FEW REVIEWS...

"Before today Velazquez was just an artist and a name. Karla brought him to life with her infectious enthusiasm, creating a passion within me to dis…

SOROLLA: The Artist, the Humanist, the Scientist

THE MASTER Joaquín Sorolla (1863 – 1923) was Spain's premiere impressionist artist.

A master painter from Valencia, Sorolla won many artistic prizes and was adored the world over. In his youth, he was idealistic and like a modern pop star, his powerful paintings served to bring a social conscious to the fine arts world and beyond.

Sorolla paintings are built upon scientific knowledge and based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations. Thus, information derived from sensory experience, interpreted through reason and logic, forms the exclusive source of all certain knowledge.

Sorolla's positivism held that valid knowledge (certitude or truth) was found only in empirical evidence and this 19th century discovery caught the imagination of entire younger generation liberating their eyes from the Church and traditional society.

Sorolla learned to take advantage of this scientific revolution and incorporate it into his colour palette.

The sea was often the protagonist…

EL PRADO CELEBRATES ITS BICENTENNIAL 1819-2019

200 years ago from November 2018, El Prado opened its doors to the public to marvel at 311 paintings form the Royal Collection.

It was not called the National Museum El Prado at that time and it had a long way to go until it became Spain's master art gallery. El Prado has grown and evolved over the years along with Spain and its people for whom it shares its art and historical events. The ups and downs of Spains' turbulent times as well as the calm of its peace filled time can be admired in each room of this massive gallery.

You will walk the halls where great artists have also strolled finding inspiration in the artworks that hang on the walls.

A PLACE OF MEMORY

This is the name of a very special exhibition that will run until the 3rd of October, 2019 that involves an artistic journey through its collection, showing its evolution over time and reflecting on the role that the art gallery has had in its different stages.

History and art go hand in hand as the show is articulate…

THE ARCHITECTURAL AND SPIRITUAL GROWTH OF MEDIEVAL XÀBIA

Historically, settlers of many diverse cultures have populated and enjoyed this exclusive spot. The name could very well come from the Arabic "Xibìa", which means "abundant".

Xàbia or Jávea is a Valencian coastal town in the Marina Alta region (Alicante). It has always been a privileged and strategic Mediterranean location enticing ancient Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Christians.

REPORT BY: Karla Darocas, Hons. B.A. Fine Arts (www.KarlaDarocas.com)
MEDIEVAL FORTIFIED PARISH CHURCH
Today, the most impressive structure of this town is the parish church of San Bartolomé.

It is a royal treasure, a Valencian Gothic / Isabelline gem combining exquisite aesthetics with military defensive features like a watch tower, roof top parapet and "murder holes".

For centuries Xàbia was a coastal settlement that fell victim to many threats, attacks and incursions arriving by the Mediterranean sea. In order to combat these assaults and to protect its people, Xàbia developed a def…

FINE ARTS TRIP MADRID 2016

Thank you from my heart to Karla Ingleton Darocas for organising an unforgettable few days of visiting art galleries in Madrid. Sorolla House, the Spanish masters at the Prado, the Thyssen museum with a fantastic Renoir exhibition, the Queen Sofía for mind-blowing Dalí and Picasso and the exquisite romantics and costumes of the period at Queen Isabel II House...

A stroll through Retiro Park and a blissful 10 minutes listening to an audio art installation in the glass house, the sights, sounds and architecture of this great city, joyful dinners, cake and coffee morning teas, and hot chocolate and churros at the famous Choclatería San Gines.

Travelling at 300+ kmph on the high speed train was a thrill. Enjoyed every minute of all of this and grateful to Karla for organising it all and especially her fantastic in-depth knowledge of the paintings, the painters and the juicy gossip about the characters of the time, just fascinating and enlightening. XXXXX

- Kathleen Misson

* * * * * *

…

PRESENTATION: Medieval Valencian Gothic Architecture * Sacred and Civil

Valencian Gothic architecture is an artistic style with its own characteristics. It can only be called Gothic by convention and chronology because it didn't develop with the same constructive techniques nor participate in the same aesthetic assumptions.

It was developed during the 14th century and reached its maturity and maximum expression in the 15th century. It occurred in the Kingdom of Valencia, held by the crown of Aragon, born out of conquered Muslim territory.

After the conquest, the Valenician kingdom was left out of political problems of the Crown and hence flourished in agriculture, craftsmanship and trade commercialism aided by its easy access to the Mediterranean and an expert submissive Moorish workforce.

Throughout the fifteenth century, urban and rural growth was supported by influential people determined to promote their wealth with sacred and civil grandeur. King Alfonso V and the family of Rodrigo de Borja, then Pope Alejandro VI, were eager to advance the Valen…

XÁBIA , JOSÉ ANTONIO BOLUFER AND HIS SHIP MYSTERY

This is a story about a small village, a large wharf, a visionary business man and his fleet and a tiny treat of dried fruit.

The Xábia wharf was finished in 1879 and all of the small fishing boats and transport barges that would normally be stranded on the beach could now properly anchor. The large size of the wharf allowed for the berthing of a variety of boats, many of them owned by the main merchants of Xábia.

Pailebot PEPE TONO. From the book Xabia Marinera. Graphic Memory
REPORT BY: Karla Darocas, Hons. B.A. Fine Arts (www.KarlaDarocas.com)

On any given day, the ships that moored in Xábia were Feluccas, a traditional Mediterranean wooden sailing boat; Jabeques, a triangular sailboat, with which one could also sail by rowing; Schooners, a type of sailing vessel with fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts; and Pailebotes, a type of sailing vessel that has had various uses: merchant , fishing or recreational yacht.

The ability to load and unload directly from land with greater spe…

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ALL IMAGES AND TEXT ON THIS SITE ARE THE PROPERTY OF MRS. KARLA DAROCAS * 2014