The Sorolla Centenary concludes with more than 2.5 million visits to the 43 exhibitions programmed in Spain and abroad

The Minister for Culture Ernest Urtasun with the members of the plenary session of the National Commission for the centenary of Joaquín Sorolla (Pool Moncloa)

In his speech, the Minister for Culture, after thanking all the teams and institutions taking part in the celebration for their involvement, stressed that "today we know Sorolla even better, thanks to these three years of scientific and curatorial work and the social dissemination of his figure and work." He also pointed out that "from the Sorolla Museum, and with no limits to our aims, we have broadened the reception of the figure of our painter and his message of light and beauty. Our cultural heritage has also gained along the way."

Urtasun also stressed that "the expansion of the Sorolla Museum that is now underway, with the addition of a new building and the renovation work on the house-museum, is an example of the Ministry of Culture's commitment to the conservation and dissemination of cultural heritage and its desire to continue to expand Sorolla's imprint in the future and in the cultural memory of our country." The Ministry of Culture is investing 6.5 million euros in this extension and rehabilitation project, with a view to its reopening in 2026.

The director of the museum, Enrique Varela Agüí, presented the report of the centenary activities, which includes the results of the work of the people and institutions that have joined in the celebration of the event. He highlighted the contribution of up to 66 participating cultural institutions, protected by the declaration of the event by the Government of Spain as an Event of Exceptional Public Interest for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024, as well as the number of visitors who have come to the call of Sorolla: in total, around 2,500,000 people have participated in the activities, both in Spain and in countries such as Italy, the United States and Denmark.

From the Plenary of the National Commission - an interministerial collegiate body attached to the Ministry of Culture, whose creation was authorised by the Council of Ministers in January 2023 - along with the Ministry of Culture, the Sorolla Museum and the Sorolla Museum Foundation, it includes representatives of the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation; the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory; as well as the various regional and local public administrations that make it up: the Diputació de València, the Generalitat Valenciana, the Comunidad de Madrid, and the city councils of Madrid and Valencia; along with organisations such as Acción Cultural Española AC/E, Turespaña, the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando and RTVE, and experts on the artist.

The highlight, the exhibition programme

The official programme designed by the National Commission has been centred on a series of exhibitions of Sorolla's work in venues in Spain and abroad. As was pointed out at the meeting, a total of 43 temporary exhibitions have been held, making it possible to celebrate Sorolla as one of the undisputed masters of Spanish painting. More than two thousand works by the painter have been exhibited - 1,638 of them on loan from the Sorolla Museum and the Sorolla Museum Foundation - which cover his figure and his work from his origins to the end of his life.

Because of its deployment throughout Spain, the project 'Sorolla. Travelling to paint', promoted by the Sorolla Museum and the Sorolla Museum Foundation. The exhibition has retraced Sorolla's steps, taking his works to the original spaces where they were created. From San Sebastián, where the project was inaugurated, to La Coruña, Toledo, Valladolid and Mallorca, these exhibitions have highlighted the artist's 'plenairist' facet, but also his side as a chronicler of Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with painting inextricably linked to the concept of travel.

In Valencia, his native city, numerous exhibitions have been held at the Museum of Fine Arts, the Bancaja Foundation, the Benlliure Museum and other institutions in the autonomous community, with proposals that cover his early years as a painter, his relationship with Valencia, but also his years as a pensioner in Rome.

Likewise, on an international level, Sorolla's footsteps have been followed in an extensive tour that has taken exhibitions to cities such as Copenhagen, Rome or Milan, where a record 70,000 visitors were reached with the inaugural exhibition of the centenary 'Joaquín Sorolla, pittore di luce'. Sorolla has also reached territories outside Europe such as Dallas, Havana, New York, where the opening of the room devoted to the painter at the Hispanic Society is noteworthy, and Shanghai, where an exhibition of reproductions of his works has been held in an underground station in the city.

A tribute that transcends the boundaries of art

The centenary was also an opportunity to integrate Sorolla's art with other disciplines. A number of cultural and social initiatives have brought his work closer to different groups, through activities such as educational programmes in schools and hospitals, and the issue of commemorative banknotes and stamps. In addition, the music programme and audiovisual productions have extended the reach of the celebration to a wider audience with extensive media coverage.

In the academic field, more than 120 scientific meetings have been held and 42 publications have been published, contributing to the enrichment of the knowledge of his work and the dissemination of his figure. This collective effort has allowed the commemoration to be not only an act of remembrance, but also an impulse for knowledge and reflection on his work.

The commemoration has also given rise to other events such as the tribute to his death held on 10 August 2023 in Valencia and Madrid; the appointment of Sorolla as an adopted son of the city of Madrid; and the presentation to the Sorolla Museum Foundation of the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts 2023 by the Ministry of Culture.

New works enter the collection

The celebration of the Sorolla Centenary has also provided an opportunity for the growth of the Sorolla Museum's collection, which is currently being extended and refurbished. A total of 18 works (17 by Sorolla and one by Benlliure) have been acquired by the Ministry of Culture with an investment of over 2 million euros, and one more by the Sorolla Museum Foundation. These allow us to delve into the painter's early period, such as 'At the Inn' (1883), 'The Slave and the Dove. Nude' (1883) or 'Taking the Habit' (1888), which show the painter's mastery of techniques such as watercolour and gouache. Also noteworthy is the acquisition of the 'Copy of the torso of Velázquez's Christ' (1883) and the drawing 'Self-portrait' dated 1894 and dedicated to his friend Pedro Gil, thanks to contributions from the Friends of the Sorolla Museum Foundation. The private bequest of a collector who left two works by Sorolla in her will to enrich the museum's collection has also been highlighted. These new additions to the museum's collection will remain as a legacy of this centenary.

The Sorolla Museum: Closing Doors, Expanding Horizons'

As the Minister for Culture pointed out, the centenary was also an opportunity to promote the future of the Sorolla Museum under the slogan 'Sorolla Museum: closing doors, broadening horizons'. With the extension being undertaken by the Ministry of Culture, thanks to the addition of a new building, the museum will double its surface area, which will allow the creation of new spaces for visitors and internal spaces, including an assembly hall, restoration workshops and temporary exhibition halls. In addition, the rehabilitation of the house-museum will guarantee the conservation and accessibility of the artist's heritage, ensuring its presence as a cultural reference for future generations by transforming the museum into a modern and accessible institution.

The centenary in figures:

• 43 Temporary exhibitions
• 7 Other exhibition formats
• 122 Scientific or informative meetings
• 42 Publications
• 33 Centenary communication and promotion activities and initiatives
• 6 Audiovisual productions
• 66 Participating cultural institutions
• 97 Collaborating entities
• 41 Cities
• 20 Works by Sorolla added to the Sorolla Museum collection
• More than two thousand works on loan for exhibitions (1,638 loaned by the Sorolla Museum and the Sorolla Museum Foundation).
• 2,445,955 Visitors to temporary exhibitions

Non official translation