I have come to the end of our trip to Spain in May. On our last day we visited the Sorolla Museum. I had read about this museum after our last trip in 2019 and put it on my wish list of things we’d like to see and do. It’s in an area of Madrid that I’m not familiar with but we figured out the metro route and that it would be about a 5 minute walk to the museum. And wow, were there tons of people on the metro! I wasn’t expecting that but it was a short enough ride that I managed somehow. It was worth it to see this lovely home and art and gardens.
As you enter the gate you are greeted with this lovely garden area filled with fountains and hedges and roses and gorgeous tile work. Everywhere you looked there was something beautiful. Take a look:
You eventually get inside the museum which was the artist’s house. And what a beautiful house!
The next gallery is a collection of the art on the main floor as well as Sorolla’s work area and tools. It was fascinating to see all of this. I love the beach scenes. I’m not sure I would have painted all the walls red, but it did make the art stand out.
Joaquín Sorolla is one of Spain’s most celebrated artists but he’s fairly unknown outside of Spain. He displayed artistic talent at a young age and exhibited his first paintings when he was in his late teens at the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid. While viewing the many portraits I got the sense of his great love for his wife and family. Indeed, I found this within an article by The National Gallery in London:
In 1888 he married Clotilde García del Castillo, who was to be his muse and the subject of many of his pictures. They settled in Madrid in 1890 and went on to have three children. They had a passionate relationship; when travelling, Sorolla would write to her every day – often sending flowers inside the letters. He wrote to her:
“All my love is focused on you. Despite my great love for our children, you are more, much more than them for so many reasons that there is no need to mention. You are my body, my life, my mind, my perpetual ideal.”
The next gallery features scenes from the house as well as more of Sorolla’s paintings. Of special note is the El Greco painting. It is said that El Greco influenced some of Sorolla’s portraits. I tried to find the name of this painting but was not successful. But in my search I was reminded how much I loved El Greco when I was a student in Madrid. It was a trip down memory lane admiring his paintings once again.
Since this is my last post from our trip, I want to say how wonderful it was! Of course not everything went as planned but, overall, it was hugely successful. From our magical first weekend in Madrid, to the exquisiteness of the Alhambra in Granada, to the pleasant weather and great experiences in Málaga, we had a fabulous time. The number one highlight for me was mother’s day when I fortuitously bumped into my señoras who I lived with all those years ago in Madrid. I was on a walk down memory lane to include the apartment building where I lived as a student. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected the two sisters, my señoras, to emerge from the building just as hubby was going to take my photo. And so, he took these two photos. In the second photo Aurora is reaching out to me and I recall that she had this look of surprise on her face and she kept staring at me as if she couldn’t believe it. I could hardly believe it myself and it took me many minutes to collect myself after they walked away. Love that serendipity!!
If you’re an art lover and you’re in Madrid looking for something different, I highly recommend the Sorolla Museum. Such a pleasant venue in a busy city. And of course I recommend a trip to Madrid just to see this lovely city. Hasta la próxima España 💜 (until the next time Spain)
And now back to sorting and tossing for our upcoming move as we’ve finally decided where we’re going to retire. I’m working on a post about that so be on the lookout for it 🤗
If you missed any of my posts from the trip, here are links to them:
Jardín Botánico Histórico La Concepción-Málaga, España
travels with toby 
Oh my, these gardens and paintings are beautiful.
They were! I didn’t want to leave!
What a wonderful way to end such a fabulous holiday. Sorolla’s museum was absolutely exquisite! Your trip was a resounding success, especially with meeting the señoras!! Thanks for sharing!
Yes indeedy. Pure magic seeing my señoras 💜 thanks for looking!