Sorolla. A garden to paint

Edited by Consuelo Luca de Tena

ISBN: 978-84-946034-9-5

Year: 2017

Pages: 184

Illustrations: 150

Binding: in paperback

Size: 22 x 24 cm

Published by: Madrid, "La Caixa" Foundation and El Viso Editions

Like other painters of his time, Sorolla was fascinated by gardens, especially the Andalusian gardens of the Alhambra in Granada and the Alcázar in Seville. His long visits to these historic gardens allowed him to learn the distinctive features of Hispano-Muslim gardening; traits he would later apply to his own garden, built at his home in Madrid around 1911. Filled with decorative elements specially imported from Andalusia, such as fountains, tiles, statues, and columns, Sorolla's garden is of great importance as it represents the beginning—on a small scale—of the Neo-Spanish style.

This catalogue presents the exhibition held at CaixaForum Seville from July to October 2017 and subsequently at the Bancaja Foundation in Valencia. It explores Sorolla's work as a "painter-gardener," the creator of his own garden as a space for enjoyment but, above all, for pictorial creation. The exhibition brings together approximately 176 works, including sketches, drawings, oil paintings, sculptures, tiles, and photographs, tracing a journey from his early works on Andalusian gardens to those depicting his own garden.