Sorolla, Paris and exile: Olula del Río’s Museo Ibáñez brings together the work of José Manaut until November
Until 29 November, the Museo Ibáñez in Olula del Río brings together some forty works by José Manaut, a painter trained in the shadow of Sorolla. Admission is free.
Automatic translation: this article was translated with artificial intelligence from the original in Spanish. Read the original
He trained in the shadow of Sorolla, painted the light of Valencia, drew the cafés of Paris and, after the Civil War, experienced prison and banishment. The life of José Manaut (1898-1971) fits into one exhibition, and that exhibition is in our district: until 29 November, the Museo Ibáñez in Olula del Río is devoting to him the show ‘José Manaut (1898-1971): Del impresionismo al expresionismo’ (‘From Impressionism to Expressionism’).
It is organised by the Museo Ibáñez and the Fundación de Arte Ibáñez Cosentino, and brings together some forty works: canvases, drawings, prints and even a fan, some of them on display for the first time. Most come from the Fundación Manaut. The curators are the professor of Art History Francisco Javier Pérez Rojas and the art historian David Gutiérrez Pulido.
A life in four stops
The route through the exhibition begins with academic drawing, such as that of the ‘Victoria de Samotracia’, and continues with the canvases of Valencia and El Paular, Impressionist in style. Then come the portraits and sketches from his time in Paris, and the landscapes and everyday scenes he painted between the 1930s and the 1960s. In between, the most turbulent compositions, born of war and exile.
Highlights include ‘Paisaje valenciano’ (around 1920-1923), the ‘Boceto para Orillas del Sena’ (around 1924-1925), ‘Pesadilla real’ (around 1949), an ‘Autorretrato’ from 1959 and ‘Lita con abanico’, painted in Paris in 1964.
Born in Valencia, Manaut studied at the San Carlos School of Fine Arts and at the Royal Academy of San Fernando, and was a pupil and assistant of Cecilio Pla. In the 1920s he trained in Paris. He taught at secondary schools in Ronda and Tortosa until, after the war, he was dismissed, imprisoned and spent two years banished to Durango. Back in Madrid, he taught at the Liceo Francés (French Lycée) and wrote about art, with books such as ‘Crónica del pintor Joaquín Sorolla’ (1964).
It is the third exhibition these curators have devoted to the painter, after those at the Museo de la Ciudad in Valencia (2025) and the Museo del Realismo Español Contemporáneo (MUREC) in Almería (2025-2026). And it is further proof that in Olula del Río you can see top-level art without leaving the Valley.
When and how to visit
- Where: Museo Ibáñez, Calle Museo, 7, Olula del Río.
- Until: 29 November 2026.
- Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, from 11:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 20:00; Sundays, from 11:00 to 14:00. Closed on Mondays.
- Admission: free. Guided tours must be booked at least 24 hours in advance on 950 44 10 27.
From elValle Actualidad, we’re giving you plenty of notice: the exhibition closes on 29 November.
