JOAQUIN SOROLLA Y BATISDA (1863-1923)
Peñalara (2,428 m - 7 966 ft)
Spain
In Tormenta sobre Penalara Segovia, oil on canvas
The mountain
Peñalara (2,428 m - 7 966 ft) is the highest mountain peak, straddling the provinces of Madrid and Segovia, in the mountain range of Guadarrama, a subsection of Spain's larger Sistema Central mountain chain which lies at the center and divides the Iberian Peninsula. A possible origin for the name Peñalara is, Pen or Ben (as in Ben Nevis, mountain in Scotland) and Allah (ancient name for the Moon ) and Ra (ancient name for the Sun). It is The mountain of the Moon and the Sun. Consequently, it is one of the most emblematic and important peaks of the Guadarramas.
The eastern section of the mountain lies in the municipality of Rascafría in the province of Madrid, belonging to the Valle of Lozoya, and its western section is located in the Valle of Valsaín in the province of Segovia. The peak's summit is a designated natural park known as the Parque Natural de Peñalara, which features several small lakes and some steep escarpments.
The outline of Peñalara is rounded, displaying few underhangs. The hillsides of this mountain are covered with different types of vegetation, depending on the elevation.
Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida was a Spanish painter. Sorolla excelled in the painting of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes. His most typical works are characterized by a dexterous representation of the people and landscape under the sunlight of his native land.
Sorolla's influence on some other Spanish painters, such as Alberto Pla y Rubio and Julio Romero de Torres, was so noted that they are described as "sorollista."
After his death, Sorolla's widow, Clotilde Garcia del Castillo, left many of his paintings to the Spanish public. The paintings eventually formed the collection that is now known as the Museo Sorolla, which was the artist's house in Madrid. The museum opened in 1932.
Sorolla's work is represented in museums throughout Spain, Europe, America, and in many private collections in Europe and America. In 1933, J. Paul Getty purchased ten Impressionist beach scenes made by Sorolla, several of which are now housed in the J. Paul Getty Museum.
In 2007 many of his works were exhibited at the Petit Palais in Paris, alongside those of John Singer Sargent, a contemporary who painted in a similarly impressionist-influenced manner. In 2009, there was a special exhibition of his works at the Prado in Madrid, and in 2010, the exhibition visited the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba, Brazil.