From 1 February to 19 June 2022, the Sorolla Museum is hosting an exhibition devoted to the paintings of children and families created by Valencian artist Joaquin Sorolla. Right from the start of his career, Sorolla often painted children, making him a consummate portrait artist.

Curated by Sonia Martinez Requena and Covadonga Pitarch Angulo, the exhibition is divided into three sections: The heart of the family, The world of childhood and The other childhood. The first deals with the family portraits Sorolla painted of his wife Clotilde, and their three children Maria, Joaquin, and Helena, who were his inexhaustible source of inspiration, as well as the cornerstone of his life. In addition, the exhibition brings together for the first time a selection of commissioned portraits of children from individual collections in this section. 

Joaquin Sorolla was a prolific impressionist, post-impressionist and luminist artist, with more than 2,200 works to his name. He was born in Valencia in 1863 and studied drawing at the School of Artisans in his hometown. In 1889, he moved to Madrid and, in a few short years, became a renowned artist. In 1894, he travelled to Paris, where he developed a pictorial style called luminism, for which he would become famous.

Sorolla was a great portrait artist and painted famous intellectuals such as Santiago Ramon y Cajal, Benito Pérez Galdos, Antonio Machado, Vicente Blasco Ibanez, Emilio Castelar and King Alfonso XIII. He died in Cercedilla (Madrid) in 1923.

Right from the start of his career, Sorolla often painted children. Sorolla, a consummate portrait artist, painted his own family on numerous occasions and was commissioned by members of the middle and upper classes who wanted him to paint, not only their own portraits, but their children as well.