SOROLLA'S HOUSE
March 1, 2023
I visited Joaquín Sorolla's house in Madrid, and I am still under the effects of happiness.
It was a beautiful experience—to define it with an adjective that comes close to feelings.
I was able to go with two of my closest friends, and it was amazing to notice how each one of us perceived the energy of this place in a similar way. Even having our own interpretations, the three of us felt the beauty and agreed on the harmony of these spaces regardless of the few homey pieces, since today its entire structure functions as a museum.
Throughout the whole tour we tried to define what that special feeling was while we were in each space.
To get close to his story, to see his original works, to enter what was his studio, his dining room, and the central courtyard. We could not contain our imagination as we walked through every room.
More than admiring his work and a beautiful house, it was to understand that what we saw—and felt—was the result of a kind life, one full of love and congruent with the wishes of the people who lived there.
Sorolla dedicated himself to being faithful to his coastal roots, finding himself in his works through light.
Many of his paintings convey the serenity of the sea and, in a way, joy, all thanks to his characteristic brightness technique on his canvases. In some paintings, the effect of the light becomes so real that for a moment you feel that the sun is really hiding inside the strokes.
When you learn more about his personal story and family, you become even more invested in all of that loving energy and the emotion evoked by his art.
Now imagine how being in this house feels.
Much of what we talked about was how surprised we were to feel so moved by the life of an artist.
Sadly, it is common to know that the life of an artist ends in regret, that they are usually known for their mental madness or for a personal imbalance that then leads to the creation of art as a consequence of human expression.
Suicides. Insanity. Abuse. Poverty.
Sorolla, on the other hand, floods us with a feeling of joy as we learn about his story and relate his art to a peaceful feeling.
I do not doubt that his life had difficulties, questions of existence. But it is stronger to perceive how this person decided to take his art as a positive means of living true to himself, to his vocation, and to everything that identified him and/or inspired him. Like painting your family in the daily routine of a nap in the garden during the summer, or the moment his wife and newborn daughter sleep in what looks like a bed made of clouds… the life and culture of the people of Spain, his country.
Visiting this place reminds me of the need to make everyday life beautiful, appreciating who we are and those around us.
The importance of making our spaces so impregnated with our life and what represents us that in the end there is no doubt that they are ours.
The objects, the structure, the light—these are all elements that contribute to the energy we create. And that is what truly makes another person feel the magic even days or years later.
Beyond the art and technique, this place taught me so much.
It also made me wonder what it would have been like to visit this house in its owner's days.
Even so, my current visit was so special. It reinforced the power of the emotions that can be created and felt beyond the walls of any space.
Thank you, Sorolla.
My favorite photo from that day. From the roll camera of MG.
