Elena Sorolla
Elena Sorolla García was an early 20th-century Spanish sculptor and painter. She devoted her youth to sculpture, having a brief career that she left behind to dedicate herself to her family after marrying Victoriano Lorente in 1922. Most of her works are part of private collections, with the exception of some that belong to the Sorolla Museum. She was the youngest daughter of painter Joaquín Sorolla and curator.
Career
Elena Sorolla studied at the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. From an early age she took an interest in sculpture, unlike her older siblings María and Joaquín who favored painting. Among her teachers were and Mariano Benlliure, both sculptors who belonged to her father's inner circle. Similarly, she attended the studio where her father's students worked. She produced most of her work between 1916 and 1926. She participated in several exhibitions and competitions in Spain, such as the Valencian Youth Art Exhibition in 1917, an exhibition at the Musée de l'Hotel de la Ville in Bordeaux in 1919, and the Art Exhibition of 1922 held at the – Parc de la Ciutadella in Barcelona, organized by the Municipal Exhibition Board. In 1926, together with her sister María Sorolla, she held the only joint personal exhibition at Madrid's Lyceum Club Femenino, which from 1926 to 1936 served as an association center for educated women in the city. She put aside her artistic career due to her dedication to family and changes of residence, although she did create some portraits of her children and a bust of each of them.Her favorite subjects were portraits and the female body, working in marble, bronze, and wood. Her work stands out for its technical quality, with a great fidelity of personal traits.
In the work of Joaquín Sorolla and other artists
Her father Joaquín Sorolla painted her in several of his works, such as Elena con túnica amarilla and Elena en la playa, both in 1909, and with her sister María in María y Elena en la playa in 1904. The first time her father portrayed her in a painting was in , in which her head protrudes from the sheets next to her mother.José Capuz also made a sculptural portrait of Elena in 1921, shortly before her marriage, which is exhibited at the Sorolla Museum.