Drawing in the Wake of Sorolla. Synaptic Landscape and Sensitive Cartographies from Lloret de Mar

Josep Eixeres Ros

doi:10.26375/disegno.18.2026.14

Authors

Josep Eixeres Ros Departament of Expresión Gráfica Arquitectónica, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5402-0195

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26375/disegno.18.2026.14

Keywords:

landscape, on-site drawing, Joaquín Sorolla, Lloret de Mar, synapse

Abstract

The landscapes that Joaquín Sorolla drew and painted in the early 20th century cannot be understood solely as visual representations of an environment, but as perceptual assemblages that continue to influence the way we view the territory. This article proposes the concept of the synaptic landscape to analyze how certain drawing practices articulate relationships between representation, memory, bodily experience and the transformation of the landscape. Drawing on Sorolla’s archive from the cove of Santa Cristina (Lloret de Mar) and a contemporary experience of on-site drawing carried out in the same location, a methodology is proposed that understands drawing not as a descriptive tool, but as a critical device capable of linking different temporal and perceptual layers. From this perspective, the landscape is conceived as an open relational network that is actualized through the act of drawing, allowing for a reinterpretation of inherited landscape imaginaries from a situated practice.

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