JOAQUIN SOROLLA

Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida like no other painter captured the light-flooded plein air paintings of Mediterranean beach life. He became one of the most popular and economically successful painters of the turn of the last century and influenced Spanish Impressionism like no other. Here are sailors sewing their sails, a view of the Moorish city of Avila, landscapes and castles, beautiful woodlands, but best of all are the shadows whether in the evening or escaping the heat of midday in the shadow of a boat on a beach in Valencia where the workers are eating together, sailing boats pulled by oxen onto the beach, and most exquisite pictures of his wife in billowing beautiful dresses with hats and parasol or his daughters changing after bathing. Strolling along the seashore, we have a painting of his family so close-up we can see the brushstrokes in these marvellous reproductions. There are three little tiny sisters paddling, a fisherwoman with child, a naked little boy with his toy sailing boat, and the flesh tones and wet skin particularly of children are just peachy! There are also more formal portraits particularly of his wife Clotilde and one of our favourite scenes is Cala de San Vicente, Mallorca, which captures the evening amber sunlight against the cliffs. All of Spain is captured here in this compact 240 page monograph. Colour throughout.
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