Disfrutar
in the Alhambra

Valencian artist Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923) will return to the Alhambra this summer with his Gardens of Light, a travelling exhibition that will have three different settings: the Palazzo dei Diamanti, seat of the Gallerie d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Ferrara (Italy), the Palace of Carlos V Museum of Fine Arts, in Granada, and Madrid’s Sorolla Museum. The project will see the light this spring at the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara, where the Sorolla’s works will be exhibited for the first time in Italy.

The exhibition, commissioned by a committee of experts made up of Tomás Llorens, Blanca Pons-Sorolla, María López Fernández and Boye Llorens, aims to show Sorolla’s fascination with gardens, fortified after his trip to Andalusia and, particularly, his experiences in the Alhambra, and the impression caused on him by the Sierra Nevada with its white blanket of snow.

The exhibition retraces the encounter between Joaquín Sorolla and Andalusia – its millenarian culture, the landscapes of the Sierra Nevada, the Arab courtyards and gardens of the Alhambra, and the Alcazar of Seville all providing inspiration and material in the form of clear, lyrical visions. In these compositions, human presence is banished and flora, marble, tiles, light and colours all come to life. The artist’s brush conveys reflections on water, light filtering through and dissolving geometrical architecture, and the colourful mosaic of the southern garden.

Sorolla. Giardini di luce (Sorolla. Gardens of Light) is broken down into six sections (Earth, the Alhambra, Water, Courtyards, Gardens and the Garden of the Sorolla House), all contributing, without a doubt, to a better understanding of the work of the Valencian painter, who continued to reflect on the possibilities of his art until the very end of his life. The exhibition focuses on a crucial moment in the creative life of the painter, the years of his full maturity and, specifically, the works arising from his fascination with gardens and his meeting with Andalusia, which affected him so deeply as to make him remodel the poesy and style of his work in his later years.

Location: Palazzo dei Diamanti. Ferrara (Italy)
Dates: From 17 March 2012 to 31 May 2012
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday: 9 am – 7 pm
Call Center Ferrara Mostre and Musei, tel: (0039) 0532 24 49 49
Más información en www.palazzodiamanti.it