Curated by Covadonga Blasco Veganzones
On the occasion of the opening of the new spaces of the extension, the Museo Sorolla and the Fundación Museo Sorolla present Tras la casa del artista, an exhibition that invites visitors to discover the history of Joaquín Sorolla's house from its construction to the present day.
Through paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs, plans, letters and archival documents, the route shows how the house conceived by the artist has been transformed over more than a century to become the museum we know today.
Architecture also has memory. On its walls we can still read the traces of those who lived in it and the decisions that, generation after generation, modified its spaces. Sorolla's house is an exceptional example of that living architecture.
The exhibition opens with one of the most significant transformations of the house during the painter's lifetime: the opening of the large studio window, a gesture that symbolizes the close relationship between architecture, light and artistic creation, which over time was walled up again. From this episode, the route invites visitors to discover how the house has evolved, adapting to new needs without losing the essence with which it was conceived.
From this starting point, the exhibition goes back to the origins of the project to discover how Joaquín Sorolla conceived, together with the architect Enrique María Repullés y Vargas, a house that integrated family life, artistic work and social representation. Plans, drawings, correspondence and photographs allow us to reconstruct the creative process of a house designed to live in, paint in and receive guests, in which architecture and creation were united from its origin.
The route introduces us to the new spaces of the museum's extension, designed by the studio Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, who manage to establish a respectful dialogue with the historic house, drawing inspiration from its architectural values through a contemporary language. Light once again becomes the element that articulates the architecture: a courtyard evokes the Andalusian patio, and the rooms, lit from above through skylights, reinterpret the painter's former studios.
Alongside the spaces dedicated to temporary exhibitions, the building incorporates new areas for conservation, storage, restoration, research and the dissemination of Joaquín Sorolla's work.
Tras la casa del artista shows that the Museo Sorolla has never been an unchanging museum. As with all living architecture, each intervention has added a new layer to its history. Today, the opening of this new building represents one more chapter in the museum's evolution and makes it possible to discover how the artist's house continues to transform in order to preserve and share his legacy with future generations.
© Ministerio de Cultura - Gobierno de España