Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Sorolla and His Contemporaries

In 1890, Joaquín Sorolla went to Paris, exhibiting Sad Inheritance, Sea Wind, and four other paintings at the Exposition Universelle. 

Joaquín Sorolla, Paseo a orillas del mar (Walk on the Beach)

His work made a big impression on the jury, which responded with universal enthusiasm. It was a triumph for Sorolla and for Spain. José León Pagano later said "Whoever was present would never forget it."


Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923), ¡Triste herencia! (Sad Inheritance)

There, Sorolla met many of the leading realist/impressionists painters, including John Singer Sargent, Giovanni Boldini, Peder Krøyer and Anders Zorn, with whom he had already developed a close friendship.

Giovanni Boldini, a dazzling technician himself, was fascinated by "the superb mastery of this devil of a Spaniard."

Albert Besnard commented: "There is no doubt, we are in front of a great master." 

Claude Monet said: "Above all, he is joyful in light."

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From Joaquin Sorolla by Blanca Pons Sorolla

Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923) on Wikipedia

5 comments:

  1. Sorolla was such a master with white, a color that vexes me still even after 30 years of piddling with paint. I'd love to see a solid post from James Gurney about white paint.

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  2. Any thoughts on the different shadow colors on the boy's bodies? The boys on the left appear shaded in a brownish color as if reflected light from the sand is producing this color. The boy on the right has a light-blue shadow which feels more natural. Perhaps the shadows on the left-most boys isn't a shadow at all but sand on their bodies. It's an incongruity I can't quite wrap my head around.

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  3. Hi James, the first one is "Walk on the Beach" or "Paseo a orillas del mar".
    I never get tired of Sorolla!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi James, the first one is "Walk on the Beach" or "Paseo a orillas del mar".
    I never get tired of Sorolla!

    ReplyDelete

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