The “Black Spain” of Zuloaga and the “White Spain” of Sorolla in the historical context

Abstract

Two images of Spain, “España Negra” and “España blanca” are examined in the historical context, based on the works of two painters, Ignacio Zuloaga (1870–1945), and Joaquín Sorolla (1863–1923). Two different artistic ideas about the destiny of the country reflect a search for national identity: the Being of Spain, which intensified in Spain after the “disaster” of 1898. These visions are related to the reflections of the intellectuals named Generation 98. Zuloaga presents a perception of the national image in the dilemma of what to do: “Europeanize” Spain, or leave it patriarchal, preserving traditions, genuine values, the “life against reason”. La “España blanca” appears in the paintings of the impressionist Joaquin Sorolla, whose pictures are full of light, sun, hope, and joy. His works can be linked with the thesis of Ortega-and-Gasset about the opening of Spain to the world, the need to “achieve a synthesis of life and reason”, to reconcile the “two Spains”.The dualism of impressions and ideas on Spain, both in the sense of art as well as in the historical and social sense, is the tonic in the interpretation of the way of the country and its development, which determines its image also in the present. The paintings of Zuloaga and Sorolla are read as historical texts, and reveal many signs that can be hidden in literary or philosophical works.