Any trip to Madrid is not complete unless you have visited the Museo Sorolla - a well furnished mansion, a fine art gallery and a painter's studio all rolled into one, and the home of Joaquin Sorolla [1863-1923]. It has Moorish gardens and fountains and the atmosphere is in total contrast to the grandeur of other museums to be found in Madrid.
 

So, who was Joaquin Sorolla? Born in Valencia, Sorolla worked in Paris and Rome before entering European and American high society. He was often labelled "the Spanish Impressionist" although he had no connections to that movement. He was passionate about Spain and his treatment of sharp light and heavy shade was highly accomplished. While he lived in Madrid between 1910 and 1923, his large paintings comprising people in sun-dappled lanscapes, became highly sought after. And as for the Museo Sorolla ... in the first room you will see the romatic side of Joaquin Sorolla, but when you enter the second room you will see jolly beach scenes which lead through to Sorolla's studio. Here, the walls are covered in canvases including several of his wife - Clotilde. His finest works can be found upstairs - a portrait of Don Antonio Garcia sitting in a rocking chair overlooking the beach, and a large painting of four women taking a siesta. Then there is Madre, a simple scene of a tired mother and her new-born child.

Photo by Bart van Poll aka bartvanpoll on Flickr

Downstairs, you will come across Sorolla's collection of antique Spanish pottery, as well as some sketches of Central Park in New York.