Albert Ferrer Orts and Juan B. Tormos Capilla analyze the construction of Joaquín Sorolla's figure and the cultural, patrimonial and economic decisions adopted by the latter figure

The new publications display at the Faculty of Geography and History of the Universitat de València now features Contra Sorolla. Ús i abús d’un mite, a new book by Albert Ferrer Orts and Juan Bautista Tormos Capilla. The volume offers a critical reading of the public, institutional and political projection of the Valencian painter Joaquín Sorolla.

Published by Companyia Austrohongaresa de Vapors, the book was released on 15 September 2026. It comprises 120 pages, is written in Valencian and has the ISBN 978-84-125972-6-4. The foreword was written by the journalist Vicent Garcia Devís.

The use and misuse of a cultural icon

Contra Sorolla brings together texts published by the authors in recent years, alongside several previously unpublished contributions, examining how Joaquín Sorolla’s image has been used in public discourse, cultural promotion and the organisation of major temporary exhibitions.

The book takes as its starting point Sorolla’s prominent position in the Valencian cultural imagination and in institutional promotion strategies. From this perspective, the authors critically examine initiatives intended to display in Valencia works by the painter that are normally held outside the Valencian territory, as well as the financial, logistical and heritage-related costs that such projects may entail.

According to the argument developed in the book, Sorolla has become a recurring cultural reference for different governments and public authorities. The authors analyse how his image has been associated with announcements, commemorations and high-profile exhibition projects, and argue that their aims, outcomes and use of public funds should be rigorously assessed.

An artistic legacy divided between Madrid and New York

One of the book’s central issues is the current location of Joaquín Sorolla’s artistic legacy. The painter and his family decided that a substantial part of his work and artistic possessions should remain in the hands of the Spanish State and be linked to the museum dedicated to him in Madrid.

Another essential part of his artistic production, particularly the works commissioned by the Hispanic Society of America, is held in New York. This geographical dispersal means that organising major temporary exhibitions in Valencia requires loans, specialist transport, insurance and other technical arrangements. The book examines this situation as a means of opening a debate about the limits, priorities and sustainability of large-scale cultural projects devoted to the painter.

The publication is therefore neither a new general biography of Sorolla nor a conventional study of his paintings. Instead, it focuses primarily on the painter’s contemporary reception, the transformation of his image into a cultural symbol, and the ways in which institutions manage, communicate and fund this legacy.

Sorolla, Ricardo Causarás and Valencian artistic memory

The volume also considers Ricardo Causarás, a Valencian sculptor associated with Sorolla who produced a sculpture of the painter. The subsequent history of this work enables the authors to reflect on the conservation, recognition and visibility of Valencian artistic heritage.

The inclusion of this case broadens the debate developed in the book. Alongside the international and institutional prominence of major figures, there are artists, artworks and heritage objects that have received more limited public attention. This contrast makes it possible to examine how cultural hierarchies are constructed and which factors shape the subsequent remembrance of artists.

Art history, heritage and cultural policy

Albert Ferrer Orts is an art historian at the Universitat de València whose research has focused primarily on the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. His academic career also includes work in public engagement and artistic, political and social criticism. Juan Bautista Tormos Capilla has focused his research on ethnomusicology, sculpture and Valencian religious imagery from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The combination of these profiles makes it possible to approach the Sorolla phenomenon from the perspectives of art history, heritage management, cultural reception and public debate. The result is a deliberately critical work that invites readers to reconsider not only the painter himself, but also the decisions made around major artistic and cultural icons.

Available in the new publications display

The book is now on display in the new publications cabinet in the entrance hall of the Faculty of Geography and History. This initiative raises the profile of publications by Faculty staff and enables the university community to discover new academic, scientific and cultural contributions associated with the Faculty.

Further information: Contra Sorolla on the publisher’s website.