I really loved the little garden outside of the museum. The gallery with pictures from the Sorolla musical was also a big highlight!
It is a beautiful place with charming museum. The paintings of Sorolla are absolutely amazing. If you love impressionists this is a place to go.
Seeing an artist's work in his home really lends a feel of what his vision was. Living stylishly and beautifully is an art unto itself and he appears to have lived well. The size and shape of his countless brushes as displayed in his huge and well preserved studio was fascinating.
If you like Sorolla (maybe seen some of his paintings at the Prado) take a long walk over to Casa Sorolla, his home. Much is as he left it. It is a wonderful insight into how the painter and his family lived.
I learned about this museum and artist from TripAdvisor, and I am glad I chose to visit. His paintings are colorful impressionist visions. The museum is free on Saturdays. I certainly would place the Prado and Reina Sofia as higher priority sights if your time in Madrid is limited, but the artwork and small setting here is quite special. On a nice day, I would also use a visit as an excuse to walk along the Paseo de la Castellana.
We went here on the last day of our five day trip to Madrid and it was a great way to end what was essentially a cultural feast. Unlike the, most-visited large, museums, the Sorolla is based in,what was , the artist's home and what a beautiful home it must have been to live in. As it is, seeing the artist's work in situe, including many family portraits, helps to bring the works to life & provides a real incite into the artist himself. I was unaware of this artist prior to the visit, but I certainly recommend that a visit here is great way to spend 3 euros and to pass an hour or two. Refreshments in the house and garden would be a bonus, there're missing a trick!
I can't even remember how much we paid to get into the museum (3 euros each?) but it is great value to see this wonderful artists house and paintings in a part of Madrid you would not expect to have such a treasure. You will probably only need an hour or so in the Museum but is worth the trip.
I didn't know Sorolla's work before going to his house which is now a museum - but I defy anyone not to like it. All his work is hung around the house where he painted it. I think this is a must on any trip to Madrid and makes a change from going to the Big Three. My only critisism is that the staff are not always friendly and there is very littel in the way of refreshments or a shop
The city of Madrid offers some of the best art museums in the world. On a grand scale there are collections like the Prado,the Sophia and the Thyssen (all worth visiting without a doubt). On a smaller and more personal scale, there are little jewels like the Sorolla. If you could imagine being invited for an afternoon to the home of an artist friend, only to find that he has gone away for the weekend but left you free to wander through his home and garden, then you can imagine that a visit to this museum will be a relaxing and unique experience.The museum itself is the former home and studio of the artist. A bit away from the centre, it is still easily reachable by metro. From the street,you enter through the walled, courtyard garden which the artist had modeled on parts of the Alhambra. The garden alone is worth the trip. A tiny oasis from the heat and noise of the city, it offers a shady paradise of plants, water and sculpture. The house has much of it´s original furniture, but basically serves as a gallery for the artists´paintings. There are many lovingly rendered portraits of his family and upstairs are spectacularly beautiful paintings of the seaside (Sorolla worked many years to capture and perfect the special qualities of water in his paintings).If you enjoy Impressionism, you will really enjoy these paintings. On the ground floor entrance, there is also the artist´s collection of Spanish ceramics from different eras and in different styles -a small treasure for anyone who has an interest beyond the sometimes garish pieces you will find on many of the tourist routes.There is also a gift shop with a small but quite charming offer (I bought a flower hair ornament similar to one worn by Sorolla´s wife in one of his portraits). As a North American, if you don´t speak or understand Spanish, the staff could seem a bit rude. If you remain respectful and polite, you will find there is always a satisfactory resolution. Part way through my visit, one of the staff insisted that I return to the entrance and check my (very) small backpack in the coat room. Since this was also my purse, and the coat check had no lockers I simply began taking out my phone, wallet, passsport, and camera to carry with me. With my hands full, she finally relented and I continued with a promise to be careful.
This was an interesting excursion a little way out from the centre, but was easy to get to. As others have said, it's a nice change from the huge galleries for which Madrid is famous, and the way it is presented is lovely, with the studio set up as he would have had it, and paintings of his family adorning the walls. I confess I can take or leave Sorolla's artwork, which meant that I didn't enjoy the visit as much as I expected, but the house is a joy and well worth an hour to look round. It's cheap to visit and the surrounding small garden is pretty, and would be nice to relax in when the weather is warmer.If you like Sorolla's pictures, you'll love this.