Students from EAE Business School visit the Sorolla Museum and the temporary exhibition 'Sorolla and fashion'
14 de February de 2018
14 de February de 2018
With the special purpose of seeing the temporary exhibition "Sorolla and fashion", the students from the Madrid Campus had the opportunity to enjoy a guided tour around the Sorolla museum on the morning of 13th February 2018. Established at the request of the painter's widow, Clotilde, the building is the site of Sorolla's last home and workshop.
At just two years old, Soralla's parents died, victims of a cholera epidemic. Together with his sister Eugenia, he was raised by their aunt Isabel. Her husband was a locksmith who hoped that their nephew would one day become an apprentice in the same trade. However, from a very young age, JoaquĆn Sorolla announced that his vocation was painting. After this introduction to Sorolla's life, given by Susana our guide, the tour of the Museum began.
"Sorolla and fashion" is the temporary exhibition which is on show jointly at the Madrid's Sorolla Museum and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. The exhibition highlights the artist's skill when choosing clothes, dresses and accessories for his wife Clotilde, which, thanks to the artist's work, now serves as a chronicle of the fashion of the late 19th and early 20th Century.
At the start of the exhibition, we had the chance to see the dress known as the demi deuil, completely black except for a small detail in cream or white, which was used a wedding dress, together with a number of accessories from the period, such as a fan, shawl and shoe buckle. Alongside these garments, we could see the portrait of Clotilde. In the same room, there were some of the artist's masterpieces that act as a social critique in which he portrayed the everyday life of Spanish society.
However, without a doubt, Sorolla's most representative style is epitomized in his paintings of the Mediterranean Sea and the brushstrokes, with his own impressionist style, that can be seen in them. El baƱo del caballo (the Bathing Horse), Paseo a orillas del mar (Stroll along the Sea Shore), El Balandrito (The little yacht) and La bata rosa (The Pink Gown) are some of the most famous artworks that the students of EAE Business School had the opportunity to see during the tour. "However, the artist achieved success in Spain as the result of an historical painting, La Defensa del parque de artillerĆa de MonteleĆ³n (Defence of the MonteleĆ³n Artillery Depot), which portrays the Uprising of 2nd May", explained Susana, adding that, as the artist himself said, "Spain only recognizes artists that portray death".
As well as the paintings of Sorolla and the contribution from the Clothing Museum to the temporary exhibition on fashion, the Sorolla Museum is also home to an extensive collection of drawings, such as pictures of the faƧade of the building itself or its gardens, as well as a series of sculptures and pottery that date back to the end of the 15th Century right up to the start of the 20th Century.
Coming from around twenty different programs and countries, some of the students had taken part in other cultural visits, while, for others, this was their first time. This was the case of MarĆa Antonieta Gamboa, a student on the Master in Leadership and Coaching, who told us that she had decided to take advantage of this opportunity offered by the School to learn more about Madrid and Spanish culture. The same was true for Lorena, a student on the Master in Project Management, who was extremely happy with the tour. "I am interested in fashion and I really liked the temporary exhibition. In addition, I found the visit really enjoyable and emotive, very well narrated by the guide, helping us to understand Sorolla's painting and life. I hope to be able to take part in more visits organized by EAE".
Both students come from abroad. Lorena has come from Colombia to "have an international experience", while specializing in her sector. Looking to the future, she says that she would like to start her own venture, focusing in process digitization. MarĆa Antonieta is from Bolivia and says that she is really satisfied with her Master program. "It is one of the most complete Masters that I saw when I was researching options. It offered me different perspectives and a great deal of content and knowledge. Now, I am really enjoying it and it has surpassed my expectations right from the start. In the future, I would like to set up on a more independent basis as a professional coach, developing my own projects".