Date of Award
2007
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Visual Arts
Supervisor
Bridget Elliott
Abstract
This thesis examines Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida’s paintings of Spain at the Hispanic Society of America in New York. Commissioned by Archer Huntington, founder of the Society, these fourteen monumental canvases were Sorolla’s attempt to create an image representative of the Spanish nation. Linked to the Hispanic Society since their inception, Sorolla’s canvases of Spain exemplify the ambiguity inherent in any attempt to effect a visual representation of the nation. The commission for the Hispanic Society is explored in relation to Spanish debates on the “true” image of the nation, visual spectacles, and representations of “culture.” The study also examines the emergence of Hispanism, the founding of the Hispanic Society, and the development of Sorolla’s career in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Recommended Citation
Villar, Andres, "Espaha tipica: Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida’s "Vision of Spain” at the Hispanic Society of America" (2007). Digitized Theses. 5082.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/5082
