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'Sorolla. Vision of Spain'. That is the name of the exhibition currently showing at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) in Barcelona. The exhibition comprises panels painted by the Valencian artist Joaquim Sorolla Bastida (1863-1923) for the Hispanic Society of America.

First and foremost, it should be said that 'Sorolla. Vision of Spain' has already been described as the exhibition of the year on account of the vast number of people that have visited it: 900,000 counting visitors in Valencia, Seville, Malaga and Bilbao. Many more are expected to attend the exhibition judging by the long queues that were forming outside the MNAC last weekend.

In 1911, the erudite New York art patron Archer Milton Huntington commissioned Joaquim Sorolla to decorate the library at the Hispanic Society of America, New York (USA), an institution founded by Milton Huntington a number of years earlier, in 1904.

The result of the commission was a set of 14 huge panels painted in oil in which Sorolla reflected the geographic diversity of the Spanish state. The artist took eight years to complete the collection during which time he travelled continuously to different locations throughout the Peninsula, all the time taking notes and painting what he saw.

These 14 pieces that are part of the exhibition are completed by some 50 drawings that help visitors understand the creative process embarked on by Sorolla.

'Sorolla. Vision of Spain' is organised by Bancaixa in collaboration with the MNAC, where the exhibition can be seen free of charge until 3 May.