This catalogue is published to accompany an exhibition at Queen Sofía Spanish Institute that analyzes the rich history of Spain's regional clothing styles through the monumental paintings of Valencian artist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923). Celebrated as a painter of light and hailed as a 'modern of the
moderns' by famed collector Duncan Phillips, Sorolla was one of the most successful artists of his time, lauded for his Manet-esque depictions of Spanish festivals and costume. Here, for the first time, Sorolla's colorful, sunlit paintings are shown side by side with the types of costumes they portray.