Valencia brings together seven Sorolla exhibits in 2023

2023 is the Year of Sorolla, and to celebrate the centenary of the death of he who is probably its most illustrious painter, Valencia is hosting all kinds of events throughout its museums and exhibition venues.

This is truly a unique opportunity, because never before have so many works or so many activities about Sorolla been organized in the same city. From exhibits with works from different collections from all his eras, to immersive digital experiences.

1. All the Sorollas from the Masaveu collection in Valencia in the Museum of Fine Arts 

You can also enjoy in the Museum of Fine Arts the Masaveu Collection, the most important collection of Sorolla works in the world behind the Sorolla Museum in Madrid and the Hispanic Society of America, in New York.
This private collection, amassed by Pedro Masaveu Peterson, contains 46 paintings by Joaquín Sorolla that provide insight into the pictorial evolution of the Valencian painter. It will be on display from June 29 to October 1, 2023. 

2. "Sorolla in black" in Bancaja 

After visiting Madrid, “Sorolla in black” is coming in May to the Bancaja Foundation in Valencia, expanded with 40 additional works.
In total, a hundred pieces will be displayed, including paintings by the artist exhibited for the first time to the public, paintings where blacks and grays abound in the works of an artist known for his paintings of light and color.

3. Immersive exhibit in the Valencia Marina

Starting June 15, the La Base building in the Valencia Marina will host “Sorolla, a new dimension”, the first immersive and interactive exhibit of the painter and his work.
In 90-minute sessions, virtual reality and other audiovisual techniques will let visitors experience the painter’s work, as well as his life and the historical, social and cultural context of his time.

4. “Sorolla through light” in Bancaja 

In October, after a stop in Madrid, "Sorolla through light" will come to the Bancaja Foundation, 24 original works where the artist’s favorite themes coexist for the first time with digital recreations in a sensory room and a virtual reality room, with audiovisual resources to make the visitor’s experience more intense.

5. The Sorollas from the Lladró family collection 

Until June 11, 2023, the Palacio de las Comunicaciones - the former Post Office building in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento - is displaying for free “From darkness to light”, an exhibit of works belonging to the Lladró family collection.
71 paintings and 2 sculptures, most notably the Sorolla paintings “I am the bread of life” and “Labradora valenciana”.
Also represented are other historical painters such as Juan de Juanes, José de Ribera, Francisco Zurbarán, José Benlliure and Ignacio Pinazo, many of them Valencians. A whole cast of great Spanish artists to celebrate Master Sorolla.

6. The origins of Sorolla in the Museum of Fine Arts 

The Museum of Fine Arts welcomes a selection of the painter’s works from 1878 to 1884: "Sorolla. Origins”, from March 30 to June 11, 2023.
This exhibit, produced in collaboration with the Sorolla Museum in Madrid, brings together oil and watercolor paintings, as well as drawings, photographs and documents of what may be the artist’s least known but most genuine stage.
70 works from the Valencian painter’s early days, loaned by various public institutions and private collections. 

7. “Sorolla to Rome”: the works of the artist’s formative period 

Every weekend and holiday until June 18, the Salón del Respecte of the Palau de Scala in Plaza Manises in Valencia is showing 33 pieces from young Joaquín Sorolla’s training stage in Italy. Admission is free.
"Sorolla to Rome. The artist and the stipend from the Valencia Council (1884-1889)" portrays the early days of the Valencian painter’s relationship with light and color, a phase he was able to enjoy thanks to a grant from the Valencia Council.