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| Painting by Valencian Master * Jerónimo Jacinto de Espinosa |
ALTHOUGH OUTDOOR PAINTING was already fashionable in Sorolla’s time, it was only after the turn of the century that he fully embraced it. For Sorolla, painting outdoors was both exhilarating and challenging. It demanded working quickly, often in unpredictable weather, while capturing fleeting effects of light before they disappeared. Yet it was precisely this light that became central to his art. More than just illumination, light shaped colour, atmosphere, and emotion in his paintings, making it the driving force of his artistic vision.
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)
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)
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| FRONT and BACK |
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)
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.
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)
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.
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)
