The Man Who Mastered Light: Spanish Impressionist, Joaquin Sorolla
Spanish Impressionist, Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923)
He is one of Spain’s most accomplished painter, yet few people outside his home country have ever heard of Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, or simply Joaquin Sorolla. Born in 1863, Sorolla was only two years old when both of his parents died in a cholera epidemic. He and his younger sister were adopted by their mother’s sister and her husband who noticed that young Sorolla was exceptionally gifted in art. By his late teens, Sorolla was exhibiting his paintings at the Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid, and in 1881, when he was only eighteen, Sorolla was accepted to the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Valencia. In 1888, he married Clotilde del Castillo who became his muse and the subject of many of his pictures. A romantic at heart, Sorolla would write to her every day when travelling, often sending flowers inside the letters. His other great love was for his hometown in Valencia. Despite living in Madrid, he returned to Valencia every year, drawn to the intense light and broad horizon of the coast. He gained a reputation for beach scenes which he painted endlessly, capturing the effects of sunlight on the blazing Mediterranean Sea. Many of these pictures, often done on large canvases, were painted en plein air, as evidence by the sand embedded in the densely painted surfaces.
From 1890, Sorolla’s career was a breathless series of commissions and exhibitions, showers of honors and almost ceaseless travel. Paintings by him were exhibited in Munich, Paris, Chicago, Vienna, Venice, and as far as Argentina. By 1900, he was considered as the most famous of all living Spanish artists.
Sorolla died in June 1923 due to a stroke while painting in a garden. Three years later, he was buried like a state hero in his hometown, though he remained largely overshadowed by the art world.
Selected Works of Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida
“A Rose Bush in Sorolla’s House”, oil on canvas, 1918-19. This rose bush, covering the facade of Sorolla’s family house in Madrid, had a special significance for his family. When his father died the rosebush became ill and, after the death of Sorolla’s wife, Clotilde, it withered away. Photo: Museo Sorolla, Madrid.“Skipping Rope, La Granja”, 1907, oil on canvas. In his bright picture, Sorolla captures her daughter in motion skipping. Her movement is extended by the other girls running around the ornamental ponds in the gardens of the palace of La Granja, outside Madrid. Photo: Museo Sorolla, Madrid.“Strolling along the Seashore”, 1909. Sorolla depicts his wife and daughter strolling along Valencia’s Cabañal beach in their elegant white summer dresses. Photo: Museo Sorolla, Madrid.“Mending the Sail”, 1896, oil on canvas. This picture was painted during Sorolla’s stay in Valencia. It depicts women sewing a large white sail by the sea. Sorolla uses a palette of light, luminous colors to mimic the light of the Mediterranean sun. The quick, fluid brushstrokes give the scene a lively, spontaneous feel, typical of Impressionism. A close look at the picture reveals the precision which Sorolla captures every element of the scene, including the women’s clothes, the ropes on the boats and even the grains of sand on the beach.“Boys on the Beach”, 1908, oil on canvas. With broad brushstrokes full of brilliant colors and spontaneity, Sorolla transferred to the canvas the effects of the sun striking the wet skin of children frolicking on the beach.“My Wife and My Children”, 1897-98, oil on canvas. With bold brushstrokes, Sorolla catches a fleeting moment of motherhood and childhood. On the right is Clotilde, dressed in a brilliant white suit, her hands holding the youngest child, Elena who is tugging playfully on her older sister’s dress as her older brother looks on.
