Sorolla’s Alhambra brings light and colour to Italy

From today onwards, the light and colour of Alhambra and Andalusia infuse the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara, Italy, with the inauguration of Gardens of Light, an exhibition of paintings by Valencian artist Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923), on show in Italy for the first time. The exhibition consists of some 50 works inspired on the Arab courtyards and gardens of Andalusia and the impression caused on the artist when he visited the region. Next summer, the exhibition will travel to the Palace of Carlos V Museum of Fine Arts, in Granada, before moving on to Madrid’s Sorolla Museum.

Spanish and Italian cultural figures and representatives from the three institutions involved in the project attended the inauguration: Maria Luisa Pacelli, director of Gallerie d´Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Ferrara (Italia) at the Palazzo dei Diamanti; María del Mar Villafranca, director general of Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife, and Consuelo Luca de Tena, Sorolla Museum director. The event was very well received by public and critics.

The exhibition, commissioned by a committee of experts made up of Tomás Llorens, Blanca Pons-Sorolla, María López Fernández and Boye Llorens, retraces the encounter between Joaquín Sorolla and Andalusia and its millenarian culture and the artist’s discovery of Arab courtyards and gardens of the Alcazar of Seville and, especially, the Alhambra standing out against the white background of the Sierra Nevada. His fascination with Islamic gardens affected him so deeply as to make him remodel the poesy and style of his work in his later years.

Gardens of Light has been organised by Ferrara Arte, together with Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife and Sorolla Museum. The exhibition is broken down into six sections (Earth, the Alhambra, Water, Courtyards, Gardens and the Garden of the Sorolla House). The focus is on a crucial moment in the creative life of the painter, the years of his full maturity and, specifically, on these compositions, in which architectural designs, flora, marble, tiles, light and colours all come to life. The artist’s brush conveys reflections on water, light filtering through and dissolving geometrical architecture, and the colourful mosaic of the southern garden.

Location: Palazzo dei Diamanti. Ferrara (Italy)
Dates: From 17 March 2012 to 17 June 2012
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday: 9 am – 7 pm
Call Center Ferrara Mostre and Musei, tel: (0039) 0532 24 49 49
Más información en www.palazzodiamanti.it