Starting this Friday, Madrid welcomes an exhibition that dives into Joaquín Sorolla’s life through innovative means. The show blends light-focused design with a groundbreaking project that fuses virtual reality with nearly thirty of the artist’s works.
During the exhibition’s presentation this week, Blanca Pons-Sorolla, a leading expert and descendant of the painter, described the event as part of a trio of exhibitions being explored together.
Created to accompany the 100th anniversary of Sorolla’s birth, the display opens at the Royal Palace of Madrid and runs from 17 February to 30 June, with future stops planned in Valencia and Dallas, United States.
Visitors begin in a sequence of rooms where wall projections pull them into Sorolla’s biography—from his difficult beginnings to his rise as a master and the foremost Spanish impressionist painter of his era.
The audience will view about thirty of his works and finally wear a headset to enter a virtual reality journey that moves from Valencia’s beach to the artist’s Madrid studio.
Curators Blanca Pons-Sorolla and Consuelo Luca de Tena—each deeply connected to Sorolla’s legacy—selected works in which light plays a central role and which bear connections to the Royal Palace and the Spanish monarchy.
light painter
Known as the Painter of Light, Sorolla stands among a generation obsessed with light’s treatment, celebrated for capturing it at its most vivid moments—sunrise and sunset—an effect described as unique and exceptional by Consuelo Luca de Tena.
The curators highlight family portraits and scenes involving the Spanish royal family. They include his wife Clotilde and their daughter Elena, with rarely seen depictions of King Alfonso XIII and Queen María Eugenia along coastal cliffs at Jávea at sunset or within the gardens of La Granja de Segovia.
The most moving pieces, according to Blanca Pons, are those that portray his family with originality and tenderness, underscoring painting and family as Sorolla’s two great passions.
The exhibition also features numerous garden scenes, such as the Alcázar courtyard in Seville and Sorolla’s own Madrid home, now the Sorolla Museum.
The remainder of the works comprises a striking series of traditional seascapes—fishermen, boats, and shore-life—painted during Sorolla’s Valencia sojourns.
While “The Sea” is widely recognized by the public as Sorolla’s signature work, the curators emphasize that all pieces were chosen to shine like jewels within the collection, even as the sea imagery remains a core element of his fame.
Real and virtual Sorolla
“Sorolla through the light” is a pioneering experience that combines paintings with immersive technology. The project’s concept, described by Blanca Pons, suggests that technology enlarges and intensifies the sensory impact of painting, allowing viewers to engage more deeply with the works.
The technical execution came from Light Art Exhibitions. Its director, Gonzalo Saavedra Loring, explained that the original concept leaned toward a fully virtual format, but after examining similar installations—such as Frida Kahlo and Dalí experiences in Madrid—the team realized visitors still craved seeing real paintings in person.
National Heritage Director Ana de la Cueva Fernández called public-private collaboration essential to drive the project forward, noting that teamwork significantly enhances the overall experience.
[Attribution: Blanca Pons-Sorolla, Sorolla expert; Consuelo Luca de Tena, former Sorolla Museum director; Gonzalo Saavedra Loring, Light Art Exhibitions; Ana de la Cueva Fernández, National Heritage director]