Horse Museum Analysis

At the beginning of the museum visit, in the garden, we learned about the life of Sorolla, and the history of the museum. Before this visit, I did not know anything about Sorolla, and as discussed, not many people know him outside of Spain. During the visit, I learned about Sorolla’s life, artwork, and home. Sorolla began his life growing up in the coastal city of Valencia, raised by a well off family. As a child, he was very successful at art, and he was sent to Rome for classical training. After his Neoclassism training, he moved to Madrid, and his style of art began to take shape. Throughout his career, he produced many commissions and he became a very wealthy man. Also, he married the love of his life and had three children. In the end,

In the first room, we saw extremely large paintings. One of the paintings that stood out was the picture called Horse Bath. The picture had many interesting qualities; however, the most prominent was its size. The painting is six foot wide by six foot tall, and it commands the viewer’s attention. Next, the figure portrayed in the picture is unique because it is an ordinary person, a hallmark of impressionism. In class, we learned that impressionism was not a style but a movement, and that the one defining element is an impression of a moment and how the artist perceives it. In Horse Bath, the combination of the size and figures produces an intriguing painting. Lastly, when studying this painting, the viewer notices the technical difficulty of the work. The size, perspective, and shadows are all perfectly captured in the picture. The next room we entered contained walls filled with paintings. In the room, we discussed how Sorolla painted many coastal scenes. This influence came from his childhood spent in Valencia. Valencia is a city that is located on the Mediterranean Sea, and it produced a picturesque backdrop for

As discussed, Sorolla painted many portraits, and therefore, he made many commissions. Near the end of his life, he was very wealthy, so he designed a home to be built. Sorolla designed the building and the gardens out front, which were inspired by the gardens at the Alhambra. Inside, the home was spectacular. Every room had extremely tall ceilings, and in his work studio, the ceiling had panels that could control the amount of light that was allowed in. The studio also contained many souvenirs that Sorolla collected, and a signed picture of the Kings of Spain. After the studio, we entered the main living space of the house with a dining room and living room. Both spaces were decorated beautifully with white marble and intricate tile work. The last part of the home that I found interesting were the two Tiffany chandeliers that Sorolla owned. We learned that Sorolla had spent time in New York City, and he befriended a member of the Tiffany family, so the gifted him with two chandeliers. For myself, it was extremely interesting to see and learn about Sorolla’s home because it was designed by him, and it was where he spent a majority of his time. Overall, Sorolla painted beautiful, picturesque, intricate, portraits and beach landscapes. At the beginning, I shared how I did not know who Sollora was; however, after seeing his incredible paintings, he is now considered one of my favorite