Spanish Heritage recovers two Sorollas who left the country after the Civil War

In 2009, the Prado sanctified Joaquín Sorolla with a splendid anthology that brought together a hundred works, including most of his masterpieces. With that exhibition it became clear that he is part, by his own right, of the pantheon of illustrious Spanish painters. Thirteen years later, he joins the commemoration of the centenary of his death with a tribute, focused on his portrait production, in which he achieved great mastery. And it is precisely that a portrait, that of Manuel Bartolomé Cossío, is the latest addition to the painter’s collection in the art gallery. It was purchased this year at a private sale in Paris. The owners of it, four great-granddaughters of Cossío. The Prado paid 80,000 euros for it, well below its market price. In the same sale, the Giner de los Ríos Foundation acquired for 25,000 euros, with the help of the Juan Entrecanales de Azcárate Foundation, another portrait of Sorolla, in this case of the founder of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, Francisco Giner de los Ríos. Both portraits have been restored in the Prado. They left Spain after the Civil War. The Jiménez Fraud-Cossío family took them to Oxford and, later, to Paris, where they were. Now they look together in room 60A of the museum, next to the portrait that Sorolla made of Aureliano Beruete Jr., who, being director of the Prado, created the first room dedicated to El Greco in 1920. For his part, Sorolla painted the background of Cossío’s portrait ‘The gentleman with his hand on his chest’, of the Cretan. The historian was the author of the first monograph on El Greco, which he published in 1908, the same year that he was photographed by Sorolla. The painting was not present in the great anthology of the Prado in 2009, but it was exhibited in July of this year in the exhibition ‘Sorolla en negro’, held in the artist’s museum. Three portraits of Sorolla included in the Efe exhibition Javier Barón, the Prado’s 19th century chief painter, explains that Sorolla paints Cossío as a Spanish gentleman, with dignity, elegance and sobriety. It not only pays homage to El Greco, but also to Velázquez and Goya. An earlier portrait is in the Hispanic Society of New York. José García-Velasco, president of the Board of Trustees of the Giner de los Ríos Foundation, does not hide his satisfaction at the recovery of these works: «We thought they would never return to Spain. It is very exciting that they are back home. Giner and Cossío are two of the founders of modern Spain, of tolerance. Miguel Falomir, director of the Prado, points out that “without Cossío, El Greco would not be in the Prado”. After the exhibition closes on June 18, 2023, Cossío’s portrait will hang next to ‘The Knight with his Hand on his Chest’, by El Greco. In room 60, dedicated to the presentation of collections from the 19th century, hang portraits of Sorolla that are never or rarely seen, as they are usually in warehouses or deposits outside the museum. Some have been restored for the occasion. From the warehouses, that of Jacinto Felipe Picón, son of the first vice president of the Prado Board of Trustees, has been rescued. Also, that of María de los Ángeles Beruete y Moret, Dowager Countess of Muguiro. From his deposit in the Museum of Malaga comes the portrait of Ramón Piña y Millet. Along with them, those of Rafael Altamira, painted in 1886 and which has been exhibited on some itinerary, and Jaime García Banús, Sorolla’s nephew. In room 62A, dedicated to portraits and self-portraits of 19th-century artists, there are another four painted by Sorolla, including one acquired this year, that of Martín Rico, which has been hanging for a few months. MORE INFORMATION news If Sorolla before Sorolla news No Sorolla and his “high miniature painting” open the Palau Martorell to the public news If El Prado and the Sorolla Museum add new works by the painter on the centenary of his death In Sorolla’s portrait production highlights the influence of Velázquez. He can be seen in the blacks and grays of the portraits of Cossío and Beruete. There are also references to Velázquez in two female portraits: those of María Figueroa, dressed as Menina, and the actress María Guerrero as ‘La dama boba’. In his youth, Sorolla was an assistant to the photographer Antonio García Peris. A photograph of the painter is exhibited, taken by who would be his mother-in-law. Surely that experience was worth a lot to him to paint splendid portraits of him years later. The Prado treasures 23 works by the Valencian artist (18 are portraits) and a dozen paintings usually hang in its rooms. Among them, masterpieces like ‘Boys on the beach’ and ‘They still say that fish is expensive!’. ———– As every year, on December 22 the extraordinary Christmas Lottery draw returns, which on this occasion distributes 2,500 million euros. Here you can check Christmas Lottery, if your ticket has been awarded any of the prizes and with how much money. Good luck!