Joaquín Sorolla – Light in Motion is the first-ever solo exhibition in the Nordic region devoted to the work of the Spanish artist Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923).

Featuring one of Spain’s most important painters from the period between the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century, it marks both the 100th anniversary of the artist’s death and the state visit of the Spanish royal family to Denmark in November 2023.

The Glyptotek has only shown the works of Sorolla on one previous occasion. In 1897, for the inauguration of his museum, Carl Jacobsen mounted Den Internationale Kunstudstilling (The International Art Exhibition). This exhibition featured Sorolla’s painting Nap on the Boat (1895). Joaquín Sorolla – Light in Motion features key works from the collection of the Museo Sorolla in Madrid. Visitors can look forward to paintings of gardens, landscapes and beach scenes, and portraits.

The works are shown in dialogue with five works by five contemporary Spanish artists of different generations. In their respective practices, the artists consider Sorolla’s oeuvre on various planes, including his use of techniques, themes, and motifs. The five Spanish contemporary artists are: Soledad Sevilla, Miquel Barceló, Juan Uslé, Miki Leal and Belén Rodríguez.

About Joaquín Sorolla

Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923) was a past master when it came to capturing the sun’s rays and reflections on the surface of water, creating vibrant paintings with an abundance of motion. Attracted by the light and endless horizon along the coast, Sorolla often depicted beach scenes, though he also painted landscapes. Sometimes his work has been associated to Impressionism, because of his interest in light, but Sorolla is also a Naturalist, in the way he aims to represent nature with the least possible distortion.

Sorolla is also famous for his ability to capture contemporary activity in his depictions of everyday life. He was also an extremely talented portraitist, painting people from all social strata: from fishermen to prominent figures, aristocrats and royals – not to mention members of his own family.

In the context of Denmark, Sorolla’s work has much in common with the work of the Skagen Painters: in particularly, that of Peder Severin Krøyer. Sorolla and Krøyer were contemporaries, and Sorolla is often referred to colloquially as ‘the Spanish Krøyer’. This is not only due to the artists’ common interest in plein air painting, but also because they both created atmospheric, lucent paintings, capturing nature, people’s lives and scenes of everyday life: working fishermen, young women walking on the beach, shaded gardens and the constant changes of the sea.

About the exhibition

The exhibition Joaquín Sorolla – Light in Motion was developed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation in collaboration with Museo Sorolla. The exhibition is hosted by Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek on the centenary of Sorolla’s death. The exhibition is curated by Enrique Juncosa.

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Cover photo: Joaquín Sorolla, Clotilde bajo el toldo, Biarritz, (Clotilde beneath the awning, Biarritz), 1906, Madrid, Museo Sorolla.