The Year of Sorolla: a tribute to the painter of light, on the 100th anniversary of his death

2023 marks a century since the death of Joaquín Sorolla. The Year of Sorolla will pay tribute to the painter of light and ARTIKA joins in the initiative to remember one of our most personal and influential artists.

The Spanish Government has declared the Year of Sorolla a “Special Event of Public Interest”. The initiative has received the support of Madrid’s Sorolla Museum, which is featuring an exhibition called “Sorolla. Origins”, a deeper look into how a young Valencian painter became an internationally renowned artist.

The transcendence of this occasion is rooted in the fact that it brings together art from little-known private collections. The exhibition offers a journey through 93 works, including paintings, watercolours and drawings, showcasing iconic paintings such as El grito del Palleter (The Cry of the Palleter). The exhibition will be open until March 19, 2023.

El Grito de Palleter, 1884. Oil on canvas, 152 x 202 cm. Valencia Provincial Council.

At ARTIKA we are privileged to have two exclusive editions, now sold out, that pay tribute to the master of light: El mar de Sorolla (Sorolla’s Sea) and Los paisajes de Sorolla (Sorolla’s Landscapes). These art books reveal a little-known facet of the artist: the drawings that helped him to develop his precise brushwork and the spontaneous perspective that characterises his work.

These two art books showcase the sketches of nature that forged his enormous expressive freedom. Sorolla discovered that he had to get out of the studio and use nature as a model in his notebooks if he wanted to create realistic scenes. This is why the painter would wander along roads, watch the waves, visit towns and villages and study the colour of traditional dress – it was only through these first-hand impressions that he felt he could capture his idea on canvas.

The MUBAG in Alicante is also participating in this tribute with the inauguration of a large exhibition that can be visited until June 25, which includes works contributed by the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia, including Fiesta Valenciana (Valencian Festival).

Retrato de Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1911. Oil on canvas, 150.5 × 225.5. Hispanic America, New York.

The Year of Sorolla will acquire an international reach with the participation of the Hispanic Society of America. This contribution will include paintings that the institution has in New York, including Saliendo del baño (Leaving the Bath), Niños en la playa (Children on the Beach) and Retrato de Louis Comfort Tiffany (Portrait of Louis Comfort Tiffany). By the end of 2023, the city of Dallas will join the tribute with its “Sorolla in American Collections” exhibition.

Niños en la playa, 1910. Oil on canvas, 118 x 185 cm. Prado Museum, Madrid.

Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923) was an artist who connected with the public from the start. His exhibition at the Hispanic Society (New York, 1909) was an unprecedented success. There are two elements that transcend time in his paintings: light and emotion. Today, his paintings continue to fascinate us thanks to the artist’s skill at capturing fleeting moments and showcasing the Mediterranean landscape that touched his soul.  

Playa de Valencia para el Mañana luz, 1908. Oil on canvas, 76 x 105.6 cm. Hispanic America, New York.