The Sorolla Museum in Valencia will bring Joaquín Sorolla’s radiant masterpieces home, transforming the Palacio de las Comunicaciones into a cultural landmark by 2026.
The Sorolla Museum in Valencia, set to transform the Palacio de las Comunicaciones in the heart of Plaza del Ayuntamiento, will bring the luminous Mediterranean essence of Joaquín Sorolla back to his birthplace. The Sorolla Museum in Valencia will house at least 200 of the Valencian artist’s works, including some of his most iconic pieces, offering the public a vibrant reconnection with the “painter of light.”
On Thursday, a significant step was taken to make this vision a reality. The Palau de la Generalitat hosted the signing of an agreement between the Generalitat Valenciana and The Hispanic Society Museum & Library (HSM&L), formalized by President Carlos Mazón and Guillaume Kientz, the legal representative of the prestigious museum. The ceremony, attended by Valencia’s mayor, María José Català, and Sorolla’s great-granddaughter, Blanca Pons-Sorolla, was marked by heartfelt tributes to the beloved artist.
A New Home at the Palacio de las Comunicaciones
The agreement establishes the Palacio de las Comunicaciones as the exclusive European seat of The Hispanic Society of America, which holds and manages an impressive collection of artworks, antiquities, incunabula, historical documents, and photographs. This landmark deal ensures that the Sorolla Museum in Valencia will bring at least 220 of Sorolla’s works to his native city, allowing Valencians to reconnect with their celebrated artist.
The Generalitat will renovate the Palacio de las Comunicaciones, a property it owns, to accommodate the Sorolla Museum in Valencia. It will also pay The Hispanic Society an annual fee of €1,150,000 for the loan of the artworks. The selection of works, which must be validated by Blanca Pons-Sorolla, an expert on her great-grandfather’s oeuvre, will include oils, gouaches, drawings, photographs, sculptures, and personal correspondence, offering an intimate and unique portrait of Sorolla’s life, work, and influence.
Among the standout pieces to be displayed at the Sorolla Museum in Valencia is Sol de la tarde (1903), a radiant and iconic depiction of Valencian life that exemplifies Sorolla’s mastery of light and movement. “This is a cultural and political initiative, an act of emotional and artistic justice for the Valencian painter,” said President Mazón.
The Sorolla Museum in Valencia is slated to open its doors in 2026, marking the first international branch of The Hispanic Society. In addition to exhibition halls, the museum will feature a shop tied to the displays and a “Café Huntington,” named after Archer Milton Huntington, the founder of The Hispanic Society. The agreement has an initial duration of four years, with the option to extend for another four, and both parties aim to renew it for successive periods, aspiring to a minimum of 15 years.
A Multisensory Space for the Fallas
The Sorolla Museum in Valencia will also include a multisensory room dedicated to the Fallas, Valencia’s grand festival, as announced by Mayor María José Català during the signing ceremony. She explained, “This room will showcase the city’s greatest celebration, serving as a year-round reflection of the emotions experienced intensely across Valencia’s streets for 19 days. Through a 360-degree immersive experience, visitors will feel, vibrate, and be moved by a mascletà, the Ofrenda, the gunpowder, the fire, and the music.”
Català emphasized that this milestone “places Valencia among the cultural elite.” She added, “Sorolla taught us to always aim high, and today, we make a dream come true, recovering the light of Valencia that Sorolla captured and shared with the world like no one else, transforming it into universal emotion. In his famous painting Las grupas, he depicts a Valencian woman on horseback with the senyera in the background—one of the most beautiful works that represents both Valencians and the falleros. This room will unite the master of light with another essence of our city, the Fallas.”
The countdown has begun to reveal all the details of the Sorolla Museum in Valencia, with the challenge of adding a new cultural landmark to the capital of the Turia by 2026.
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