PEÑALARA BY JOAQUIN SOROLLA Y BATISDA

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. 

The painter 
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.

PEÑALARA PAINTED BY JOAQUIN SOROLLA

JOAQUIN SOROLLA Y BATISDA (1863-1923)

Peñalara (2,428 m -7,966 ft)  

Spain

 In Vista del Torneo, El Pardo y la Sierra de Guadarrama, 1907, oil on canvas, 

Museo Sorolla Madrid

The Mountain

In this painting one can see a panoramic of a part of El Pardo, in the first term and in the background, the Sierra de Guadarrama and its highest peak the Peñalara, half covered by snow.

El Pardo is located in the northern suburb of Madrid, close to the Manzanares river. Part of its area is covered by a forest named Monte de El Pardo (El Pardo Mountain). The ward contains a neighbourhood called Mingorrubio.  The ward was first mentioned in 1405 and in 1950 was an autonomous municipality of the Community of Madrid. One of the most notable buildings is the Royal Palace of El Pardo, built in 1406 by the order of King Henry III of Castile. It was the first large edifice built in the area.
The Peñalara (2,428 m -7,966 ft)  is the highest peak of the Sierra de Guadarrama,  a mountain range forming the main eastern section of the Sistema Central, the system of mountain ranges along the centre of the Iberian Peninsula.  The range runs southwest—northeast, extending from the province of Ávila in the southwest, through the Community of Madrid, to the province of Segovia in the northeast. The range measures approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) in length.  The mountain range's proximity to Madrid means it can get crowded with visitors. The range is crossed by numerous roads and railway routes. It has a highly developed tourism infrastructure, coupled with provisions for various mountain sports. This poses a threat to the fragile environment and habitats of the mountains.
The others peaks of the Sierra de Guadarama range are: Bola del Mundo (2,265 m, 7,431 ft),
Cabezas de Hierro (2,383 m, 7,818 ft), Dos Hermanas (2,285 m, 7,496 ft), Flecha (2,078 m, 6,807 ft), La Maliciosa (2,227 m, 7,306 ft), La Najarra (2,108 m, 6,916 ft), El Nevero (2,209 m, 7,227 ft),
Pandasco (2,238 m, 7,342 ft), Peña del Águila (2,010 m, 6,594 ft), La Peñota (1,945 m, 6,381 ft)
Risco de los Claveles (2,387 m, 7,831 ft), Risco de los Pájaros (2,334 m, 7,657 ft), Siete Picos (2,138 m, 7,014 ft), Montón de Trigo (2,161 m, 7,089 ft), Cerro de Valdemartín (2,280 m, 7,480 ft), Monte Abantos (1,753 m, 5,751 ft) and   El Yelmo (1,717 m, 5,633 ft).
The flora of the Sierra de Guadarrama is characterized in the higher elevation Atlantic vegetation region with Juniper groves, montane grasslands, Spanish broom thickets, pine forests, and Pyrenean Oaks forests; and in the lower elevation Mediterranean vegetation region by Holm oak forests. while the pastures around the summits are fringed by juniper and Spanish broom shrubs.

The painter 
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.

 - More about Joaquin Sorolla