Sorolla (Art) and Chick Corea Trilogy (Jazz)

Sunday March 8 was cloudy and quite cool (for us anyway).  A high of only 15C.  
Happy International Women's Day!  Still so much to be done for women's rights.

Poster in Madrid for International Women's Day

We decided to head to the Museo Sorolla, a small museum about a 20 minute walk north of the apartment. The Museum is dedicated to the work of Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla.   On the way there, we ran into a woman inviting us to enter a Pop Up craft market with works designed by architects.  It was being held at the College of Architects building.

Sign for Pop up

Courtyard of college

There were a number of artisans with some very unique jewellery.  I made two purchases (Alano has already bought two pieces of jewellery in Córdoba and Madrid).

I got a pair of the white free-form earrings

The designer with  digital jewels

We then saw a woman with some very unique jewellery with coloured elastics enclosed in metal. I got a simple black necklace similar to the one the artist was wearing.

She also had other interesting pieces

The Museo Sorolla was originally the artist's house and was converted into a museum after the death of his widow, who left many of his paintings to Spain.  It was established as a museum in 1932 and designated as a World Heritage Site in 1962.   The principal rooms continue to be furnished as they were during the artist's life, including Sorolla's large, well-lit studio, where the walls are filled with his canvases.  The upstairs rooms, which were once the bedrooms, are used as a gallery for temporary exhibits.

Sorolla (1863-1923) was born in Valencia, studied painting in Rome and also had a long sojourn in Paris in 1885 before returning to Valencia.  In 1888, he married Clotilde Garcīa del Castillo (1865-1929), whom he had met in 1879, while working in her father's studio.  In 1890, they moved to Madrid and had three children by 1895.  During his lifetime, Sorolla received numerous awards and was incredibly productive.  He had a very successful exhibit at The Hispanic Society of America in New York in 1909.  Later he painted a series of 14 murals which are still installed at the Hispanic Society building (we'll have to visit the next time we are in NYC).

Sorolla suffered a stoke in 1920 wile painting a portrait in his garden.  He was paralysed and died three years later in 1923.  His style is similar to John Singer Sargent, a contemporary who painted in a similarly impressionist-influenced manner.  Sorolla's luminous work earned him the title of "Master of Light".

Signage

Signage for temporary exhibit- Sorolla: Master Strokes

Entrance to the museum and its gardens

Beautiful Andalucian-style garden

Tiles to the entrance to the exhibit

Another garden scene

Bust of Joaquín Sorolla

The museum was a real gem.  Full of his paintings and other objects from his life.  There were lots of drawings and paintings of his family members.  The paintings only had the tiles in Spanish.  I have tried to translate most of them.

Self-Portrait, 1919 (writing says A mi Clotilde/su Joaquīn)

Clotilde con traje de noche, 1910

My children, 1904

An Investigation, 1897

Trata de Blancas, 1894-- Sorolla painted a number of pictures with social and historical themes.
This was about the white slave trade.

La Siesta, 1911

Valencian fisherwomen, 1915

María dressed in white, 1903-05 (one of his daughters)

The Skipping Rope, La Granja, 1907.  Elena, his youngest daughter is pictured mid-air.  The picture is composed almost like a snapshot.

Mother, 1900 is a tribute to Clotilde for the birth of their youngest daughter Elena.

Corner of one of the rooms--- original furniture along with the paintings

Under the Awning, on the Beach at Zarautz, 1910 pictures the entire Sorella family.

Joaquín Sorolla García Seated, 1917. The young  Joaquín (Sorolla's son) had studied in England and is painted "as a dandy, posing in a modern sportsman's coat".

Sorolla's large study

Stroll along the Seashore, 1909.  This is one of the painter's most representative pieces.  It features the figures of his wife and daughter who walk "dressed in Sorolla's famous white".  

Paintbrushes and other objects and paintings from the study.

Clotilde Sitting on a Sofa, 1910.  Painted in the Salon of Sorolla's House.

Joaquín, 1911.  The young Joaquín Sorolla Garcia was 19 in 1911, the same year he moved to London to study.

Tapestry in one alcove

Clotilde with a Hat, 1910

Another corner of the house- paintings, furniture and tiles

Photograph of Clotilde García del Castillo.  A portrait of the artist's wife dressed in her own Valencian dress.  The photograph was taken by her father, the photographer Antonio García Perís (1841-1918).

We then went upstairs to see the temporary exhibit of Sorolla's drawings.

Poster for exhibit

Couple getting ready to go out, 1911

Group of framed pictures of Clotilde-(1888-1990). Sorolla created eight framed groups with a total of 57 drawings.  The exact composition of only three of the groups are known.  Two were shown in the exhibit.

Sorolla spent the summer of 1907 with his family at La Granje de San Ildefonso, the location chosen for his early individual portraits of the Spanish King and Queen.  He painted them outdoors but first studied the poses in drawings the same size as the canvases.

Drawing of Queen Victoria Eugenia 1907

Drawing of King Alfonso XIII, 1907

Sorolla developed a cordial friendship with the King based on their shared aspiration to make Spanish culture internationally known.  In this context, the King was influential in Sorolla's acceptance of the commission for the decoration of the library of the Hispanic Society of America with the fourteen panels known as the Vision of Spain.  Sorolla worked on the project intensely for eight years.  It was completed in 1919.

Sorolla did a number of beautiful gouaches on paper during his second visit to New York in 1911.

Marathon, New York, 1911. (excuse the reflection)

Fifth Avenue, 1911

Central Park, New York, 1911

Café Scene, New York- black crayon on roll-made paper, 1911

The artist and his wife with their children c. 1901 (Anonymous)

Clotilde García del Castillo, 1886 (taken by her father)

We were a bit rushed seeing the exhibit as many of the smaller museums in Spain close on Sundays at 3:00 p.m.   We took a few more pictures of the beautiful gardens as we were leaving.

Back courtyard seen through a window

Front courtyard

Alano on a tiled seat in the courtyard

The neighbourhood where the museum is located did not have a lot of restaurants.  We decided to have some sushi at Sushita Café which was packed just after 3:00 p.m.  We had to wander for around 20 minutes before a table became available.

Sushita Café

We shared some duck fried rice and some pieces of sushi.  Due to the availability of fresh fish, we have seen a number of sushi restaurants in our travels so far.

We had earlier decided not to return to the apartment prior to going to see the Chick Corea Trilogy (Chick Corea, piano, Christian McBride (one of our all-time favourite bass players) and Brian Blade, drums) at the Auditorio Nacional de Müsica/Sale Sinfónia, which was another 25 minute walk further north.

We had a few more hours to wander before the concert, and it was a residential neighbourhood with large buildings and houses.  Luckily we spotted Religion, a specialty coffee shop, that was actually on a list of good coffee houses in Madrid.  The owner was a lovely woman.  She said the coffee shop had been open for two years and that after checking out coffee in London and Berlin, she decided on a coffee from Bulgaria (Dabov)!  Very good coffee.

Outside of Religion- we had our coffee inside, as it was quite cool 

Alano under the Coffee is my God Neon sign

It was still too early and the concert building didn't open until 7:15 p.m. for the 8:00 p.m. concert.

We stopped at Lobbo across the street from the Auditorium for a drink prior to the concert.  Clearly a lot of folks were doing the same.

There were two small buildings across from each other which were part of the bar-- very nice place for a drink

Outside of the National Auditorium of Music

Side view

The National Auditoriam of Music is a complex of concert venues, inaugurated in 1988.  It has a symphonic hall, where the Chick Corea Trilogy played and a chamber music hall.  The Symphonic Hall seats 2,324.  It was almost a sold out concert!!

Common areas and lobby

We got our seats early- there is also a pipe organ in the Hall-- wood ceilings and excellent acoustics

Filling up -- amazing- over 2000 people out for a jazz concert

The band- Chick Corea at the piano, Christian McBride (bass); Brian Blade (drums)-- (iPhone pics don't work well at a distance)

The Trilogy

Taking their bows

As an encore, they brought out a Spanish guitarist and wonderful flautist

What an evening!  Alano and I both agree that it was one of the best jazz concerts we have been to. The band has played together for at least six years (they all have other commitments as well).  Their Trilogy 1 CD won a Grammy in 2014 and Trilogy 2 was issued in 2019.  We are listening to Trilogy 2 on Apple Music as I am writing this blog.  Highly, highly recommended.

The Trilogy is on tour in Europe right now and are playing some new tunes.   One of our favourites was Fingerprints, Corea's response to Wayne Shorter's Footprints.  The encore with the Spanish guitarist and flautist was superb.  A lot of wonderful improvisation.  The band played until 10:45 p.m.

We took the Metro back to the apartment.  A bit of an adventure.  One has to buy a Metro card and then add rides.  It can be shared by two people.  A woman working at the Metro helped us with the machine.  However, it swallowed our five euro note and she then had us fill out a form to get the money back, while she was on the phone seeking direction.  We eventually got our card and paid for the two rides and went back to the apartment.

A late but great night out in Madrid.