Pons-Sorolla, he managed this feat without the help
of studio assistants. She says, “Sorolla was prolific
because what he liked most in life was to paint and
be with his family while he painted. He painted and
drew from morning to night.”
Sorolla’s appeal remains strong because, says
Roglán, it is “art that is so refreshing and so wonderful
that it looks like it was painted yesterday.” Pons-
Sorolla adds, “The most important part of this
exhibition is to show the quality of the works of
Sorolla, his success in the United States, and to find
that his painting remains topical despite the passage of
time.” She added that this exhibition “revealed once
again that Sorolla’s success was due to the quality of
his work, and especially his ability to represent light.”
The exhibition will take over most of the
Meadows’s second floor and will be arranged
thematically. Installation will be a vast undertaking
considering that 30-40 individuals and institutions
from around the world are loaning their works. As
several pieces have been conserved in anticipation of
this exhibition, one gallery will be devoted to these
efforts. The lone gallery that will not have Sorolla’s
work will be hung salon style, as was in vogue during
his lifetime, with a large portion of the permanent
collection installed floor to ceiling.
In addition to being the largest Sorolla exhibition
since 1911, it will also be a tremendous addition to
Sorolla scholarship. The accompanying 320-page
catalog will include, for the first time, a complete
list of all the works exhibited, created and sold in
America during Sorolla’s lifetime. This includes work
that has yet to be rediscovered. Pons-Sorolla hopes
to locate more work as a result of this exhibition and
publication. Edited by Pons-Sorolla and Roglán, it
will include essays by leading scholars from the U.S.,
Canada, and Spain. Additionally, there will be an
international symposium at the Museum on February
8 that will feature Pons-Sorolla; Marcus Burke, Senior
Curator at The Hispanic Society of America; Alisa
Luxenberg, Professor of 18th- and 19th-Century
European Art at the University of Georgia; and
Lucía Martínez Valverde, Conservator at the Prado
Museum.
The exhibition is timely as it celebrates the 150th
anniversary of Sorolla’s birth. After its stay at the
Meadows, it will travel to The San Diego Museum
of Art and conclude at the Fundación MAPFRE
in Madrid. “Sorolla has always had the popular
vote,” says Roglán. When the Prado held its Sorolla
exhibition in 2009, it was the most popular exhibition
in two decades. Now, over 100 years after his success
in New York, Sorolla is once again poised to take
America by storm. P
