The Return of Sorolla’s Vision of Spain
After an absence of three years, Sorolla’s Vision of Spain will return to exhibition on May 7, 2010, in The Hispanic Society of America, New York, following a record-breaking tour of Spain. Over the past century no other artist has been more closely associated with The Hispanic Society of America than the Valencian painter Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923). With the finest collection of works by Sorolla outside of Spain, the Hispanic Society through most of its history has been a required visit, if not a pilgrimage, for all who admire the “painter of light.”
Sorolla’s masterwork Vision of Spain, comprised of fourteen monumental oil paintings on canvas depicting the peoples and regions of Spain, has served as a highlight of the Hispanic Society’s museum since it was first exhibited in 1926. Having received the commission for the Hispanic Society in 1911 from its founder, Archer Milton Huntington, over the next eight years Sorolla traveled throughout the regions of Spain, producing hundreds of preparatory sketches before completing Vision of Spain in 1919.
During the artist’s final years, and prior to the shipment of the monumental paintings to the Hispanic Society in December 1922, a noble effort was made to arrange for the exhibition of Vision of Spain at the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid in 1921. The urgency of this endeavor was clear to everyone, not only because of the artist’s failing health, but by the common awareness that this was the only opportunity for exhibiting the paintings in Spain, since once they were installed in New York City they would never return. Ultimately it proved impossible to organize such an ambitious exhibition within the imposed time limitations.
Eight decades later this unfulfilled dream became a reality as Sorolla’s Vision of Spain triumphantly toured Spain through the generous sponsorship of the Bancaja Foundation. Over the past two years the paintings have been exhibited at the Centro Cultural Bancaja in Valencia, the Museo de Bellas Artes of Seville, the Museo Municipal of Malaga, the Museo de Bellas Artes of Bilbao, the Museo Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in Barcelona, and the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid. At each venue Sorolla’s Vision of Spain broke all attendance records, making it the most successful exhibition in Spanish history with a total of over two million visitors.
The Hispanic Society has taken the unique opportunity provided by this exhibition tour to renovate the Sorolla Gallery for the first time since Vision of Spain first went on exhibition in 1926. Renovations have included a new roof, skylights, lighting, as well as an additional entrance to the gallery. The counters that served as a barrier separating visitors from the paintings have been removed, and upon their return the monumental canvases will be hung lower in order to maximize the viewing experience of visitors.
Beginning on May 7, 2010, we encourage everyone to visit the Hispanic Society, located on Audubon Terrace at Broadway between 155th and 156th Streets, to experience like never before Sorolla’s Vision of Spain in its renewed splendor.
Sorolla Gallery Architects’ Rendering