Sorolla museum (Madrid)

The Sorolla Museum is a state museum located in a small mansion on Paseo del General Martínez Campos in Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain, a site that served as the studio and home of the painter Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923) with his wife, Clotilde García del Castillo, and their three children.

The building was designed in 1911 under the direction of the architect Enrique María Repullés, who realized the painter’s wishes to create a space that would merge the work area and his home and that would also have a garden area. The house preserves the original atmosphere of many of the spaces, in addition to housing a large collection of Sorolla’s works, as well as numerous objects that he collected as a collector during his life. It is also one of the best-preserved artist’s houses in Europe. Since March 1, 1962, the building has been a National Historic-Artistic Monument.

The establishment of the space as a museum to house the painter’s works was the initiative of his own wife, Clotilde García del Castillo Clotilde García del Castillo (1865-1929), who in 1925 made a will bequeathing the works and assets in her possession to the Spanish State in order to create a place that would honour the memory of her husband. On 28 March 1931 the donation was accepted by Royal Decree and it was classified as a private charitable-educational foundation. The museum was inaugurated in 1932 and was placed under the direction of the artist’s son, Joaquín Sorolla García. When he died in 1948, he bequeathed a large number of works for the expansion of the museum’s collection, which were accepted by the State in 1951.

On 27 April 1973, the museum was incorporated into the National Museum Trust – abolished in 1985 – which led to greater professionalisation in its administration, with a curator-director belonging to the faculty of museum curators in charge of its management. Since 2009, it has been a National Museum of Spain (Museo del Prado), attached to the Ministry of Culture and Sport with exclusive management by the General Directorate of Fine Arts. Since 2003, it has enjoyed growing success with the public, so that in 2023 it had more than 345,000 visits.

Since 2022, the museum has been undertaking major renovation and expansion works, which have so far been compatible with the institution’s activity. However, the final and most extensive phase of this project will begin at the end of 2024, so the museum will close its doors on October 1, 2024 and is scheduled to reopen in early 2026.

Address: P.º del Gral. Martínez Campos, 37, Chamberí, 28010 Madrid, Spain.