Joaquin Sorolla- Master of Light and Art Genius!

"The water was such a fine blue! And the vibration of the light was crazy. I have witnessed the return of fishing: the beautiful sails, the groups of fishermen, the lights of a thousand colours reflecting in the sea... they gave me a time that was difficult to forget."

Joaquin Sorolla in a letter to his wife Clotide in 1907

Born in Valencia in 1863, Joaquin Sorolla i Bastida was the son of Concepción Bastida and Joaquin Sorolla, who both succumbed to cholera in 1865, leaving him an orphan. Sorolla began painting at a very young age and was soon discovered to have extraordinary talent. His education began in Valencia and continued, at 18, in Madrid. He completed his obligatory, military service and at 22 years of age, he continued his studies in art, in Rome and then paris.

After marrying Clotilde in 1888 he began exhibiting all over the world. His first great success was “Otra Margarita” (another Marguerite) in 1892.

For this he won several prestigious awards and began a meteoric rise to notoriety and fame in the world of fine art. Sorolla was fascinated and inspired by light and water as well as the people and culture of his home. He excelled in painting sea and landscapes, but he also painted portraits and he was commissioned to paint “monumental works of social and historical themes”. Most of his most revered artwork is of the sea and coastline that he loved in Spain.

Barcas en la playa- Boats on the beach.

Paseo de las orillas del mar- A walk on the beach.

Pescadoras Valencianas- Valencian Fisherwomen.

In 1920, at the age of 57, Joaquin Sorolla i Bastida suffered a stroke, from which he never recovered and he died in 1923. His legacy was an extensive portfolio of unparalleled art work. He was a huge influence on subsequent, impressionist artists who were known as "Sorollistas".

In 2012, Sorolla´s “Valencian Fishermen”, sold at auction at Sotheby´s for 5,951,697 USD.

Sorolla´s works are now known to be “outstanding paintings of this genre”. Very famous and revered in his home province of Valencia,  where they named the new High Speed Railway station after him, and appreciated by lovers of fine art all over the world!