Joaquín Sorolla
Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida was a Spanish painter famous of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes. His works I love most, however, are completely different—inspired by the French Impressionists he painted the people and landscape under the bright sunlight of Spain and sunlit water. Today's painting is a good example. Painted in the summer of 1915 in Valencia it shows a woman with a naked child in her arms wrapped in a white cloth. This scene with its simple subject matter allows Sorolla to devote all his attention to the formal execution of the painting. The theme of emerging from the water and use of white fabrics to experiment with color and light are often seen in the artist’s work. He made many different versions, encouraged by their success with his clients but also because of the visual interest the subject offered, with some areas of dazzling light and others where the light is filtered through the fabric, the glittering reflections on water and wet skin and the spectacular color effects on white, where Sorolla’s eye discovered blues, yellows, greens, and purples.
Have a calm Friday everyone, full of such sun!
P.S. The best beach paintings by Sorolla will instantly take you to the Mediterranean Coast!
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