Biography of
Joaquín Sorolla

Valencia, February 27, 1863 - Cercedilla, August 10, 1923)

The term "luminism" was created in 1945 by John Baur, the director of the Whitney Museum of New York, to describe a type of United States landscape painting in the mid-twentieth century in which the study of light is especially important. Some authors have proposed the term "Sorollism" to describe their work.

From a young age, Sorolla was also interested in painting outdoors, with which he tried to capture Mediterranean light in Valencian gardens and beaches in the same way as the French impressionists. Among his preferred subjects, his dedication to Levantine landscapes and the coastal environment, always with a human presence, expresses the complete importance of light.

Sorolla's work is surprising because of its volume - there are almost three thousand paintings and over twenty thousand drawings and sketches. Although we observe the impressionist esthetic in his work, there is no doubt the study of Velázquez and Goya has an influence on his design and subjects. Sorolla demonstrates a thick blotting technique that captures the luminous vibrancy of the Mediterranean sky, open sails, sand, and especially children with damp bodies in his Valencian beach and fishing scenes.

Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida was born in Valencia, the son of Joaquín Sorolla Gascón and María Concepción Bastida Prat. He was born in a fishing neighborhood (a fact that probably influenced the painting of the several pieces he completed with this theme). A year later, his only sister, Concha Sorolla, is born. Both children are left orphans in 1865 when their parents die in a cholera epidemic. They are raised by their maternal aunt and uncle.

Sorolla's uncle is a locksmith. He tries to teach the trade to his nephew from a young age, but although Sorolla does his work, his interest is focused on drawing. At the advice of the director of the secondary school where Joaquín attended, his adoptive father enrolls Sorolla in night classes at the Escuela de Artesanos of Valencia in 1876. Two years later, with his aptitude for painting in mind, Sorolla is enrolled in the Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes of Valencia; thus begins Sorolla's training period.

In this period of formation, Sorolla already shows himself as a realist who is greatly influenced by Valencian seascape painters - Rafael Moleón among others. However, he has not yet defined his style. In 1881, Sorolla finishes his studies and meets painter Ignacio Pinazo, who, upon returning from Italy, brings a new way of treating light based on the use of blotting methods, agreeing with impressionism in the search of lighting effects. Sorolla adopts his style.

In 1884, the Provincial Council of Valencia organizes a painting competition in which Sorolla is presented with a scholarship to Rome to perfect his studies. The mandatory theme is the 1808 War of Independence. Sorolla presents The Cry of the Palleter, in which he represents the national hero, a straw seller, encouraging the people to join the uprising against Napoleon. The painting impresses the jury, which his how Sorolla obtains the scholarship. He moves to Rome at the beginning of 1885.

Sorolla travels through Italy and arrives in Paris, where he is impressed by Jules Bastien-Lepage's use of realism and social criticism. There, he also meets German artist Adolf Menzel, whose work, full of brilliant colors, can be compared with that of Salvá and Pinazo.

Returning to Italy, Sorolla acquires a long brushstroke, which would be a characteristic of his later work. An example of this is The Burial of Christ, which is presented in the National Exhibition of 1887, and for which Sorolla is criticized for paying more attention to the evening light than the sacred drama. Unfortunately, the work is not preserved. Sorolla destroyed it in a rage due to the critiques he received. There are only one small preparatory sketch and four fragments which would be recovered from the basement of the Sorolla Museum in 1979.

In September of 1888, Sorolla returns to Spain to marry Clotilde García del Castillo, daughter of photographer Antonio García.

Along with his wife Clotilde, Sorolla moves to Madrid looking for better artistic opportunities.

An important work from this period in Madrid is Another Marguerite!, which earns Sorolla the first place medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts of 1892. The work recreates a scene that the artist saw on a trip: a mother who murdered her child being taken to prison in a train car by a pair of military policemen. The drama of the scene stands out, accentuated by the expressions and gestures of the characters. Light plays a very important role in the composition. To complete this painting, Sorolla rented a third-class train car for fifteen days.

It appears to be a costumbrista painting, which is defined by the dominance of light and represents scenes of the everyday life of fishermen and farmers. This style interested the high bourgeoisie.

Social realism is also reflected in The White Slave Trade, which portrays servants sleeping in a train station.

Sorolla paints the piece And They Still Say Fish is Expensive! with which he gains the first place medal in the National Exhibition of 1895 and which is purchased by the Spanish State. The scene depicts a young fisherman stretched out inside a boat being helped by two workmates; one is holding him under the arms and the other is cleaning his wound with a rag. In this piece, Sorolla abandons the luminist style and adapts an academic realism while maintaining important contrasts of light and shadow. The gestures of the fishermen show great expressivity. The colors are dark and earthy, following the tradition, although Sorolla also introduces green and blue tones.

With Return from Fishing, painted at the same time as the previous work, Sorolla finds not only himself, but also the wild and constant light that he has always longed for and pursued since his beginnings in Assisi. This painting is one of Sorolla's first international successes. Being acquired by the French government, and later destined for the Luxembourg Museum, the work is awarded the Second Class Medal in the Paris Salon of 1895. With this work, Sorolla expresses his artistic ideal.

In 1895, Sorolla's youngest daughter, Elena, is born in Valencia, leading to Sorolla's interest in the theme of children, which he would make use of continuously from this point on with great success. Mother portrays Clotilde and Elena, although the painting was done in Madrid and the model was really his recently born nephew. It is a very simple but effective composition, using blue tones to depict Clotilde's fatigued face after delivery. The child, on the other hand, has pink tonality producing a radiant effect. Brightness exudes from the bed, a fluffy mass of white light outlined by a light gray wall. A small range of grays dominate the painting, but Sorolla used yellow and green tones to give the feeling of volume - a technique that is rarely used in his work, which is generally more colorful. From this moment on, representations of his family, in different life stages, will be frequent.

In this period, the involvement of Sorolla's friend Aureliano Beruete is also decisive. He suggests that Sorolla work as a portrait painter because he could have great success, and that is what happens. He enjoys great prestige and is sought after to paint portraits of public figures in the finance world, the arts, politics, and more. This phenomenon occurs in the first years of the twentieth century, which is when Sorolla's portraits come into style in Madrid.

The defining characteristic of Sorolla's portraits is the familiarity with which Sorolla presents his models, portrayed as if the viewer knew the model. Sorolla always tries to focus attention on the face, which is usually more illuminated as compared to the clothing and background. There is important line drawing at the base, but the brushstrokes are loose. Details give way to light and expressivity, as seen with the great Baroque Spanish painters - Velázquez, whom Sorolla had studied in detail, more than anyone.

In addition to the portraits requested by specific clients, those for the Hispanic Society must be added. Before ordering The Provinces of Spain, Huntington commissions Sorolla for a series of portraits of famous Spaniards for the library of the institution he had founded. This grouping, which is known as "The Iconographic Gallery of Distinguished Spaniards," is completed between 1909 and 1920 with oil paintings of Sorolla's prominent contemporaries who are connected to the academic and scientific world, some of them distinguished members of the Generation of '98.

At the same time, Sorolla becomes a cosmopolitan artist. He travels throughout Europe, meeting and striking up friendships with the great painters of the time, including the avant-garde artists.

Sorolla summers in Jávea for three years. He is a tireless worker, taking advantage of this time of rest to leave us numerous works. The following stand out among them: Cape San Antonio, Isla de Cap Martí (1905), Swimmers, Packing Raisins (1901), The Waterwheel of Jávea, Alcira Orange Trees, Rowboat in the Lagoon, etc.

Sorolla's desire not to become stuck in a single theme also leads him to travel through Spain looking for new shades of light and new distinct colors at the beach in Valencia - which he does in the following years - making sketches of a wide variety of people and landscapes.

In 1903, Sorolla paints Afternoon Sun, which, according to Sorolla, is the best of his paintings. He also paints Summer. Brightness, coloring, and power are observed in his works. The colors depict strong contrasts of yellows, ultramarine blues, and emeralds, and they create a sensation of grand reality. Sorolla depicts shadows through blue and violet tones, like the impressionists. However, he does not adopt the short brushstroke, nor does he stop blending colors on the pallet as can be seen in The White Boat.

On June 29, 1919, Sorolla sends a telegram to his family from Ayamonte telling them that he has finished the last painting. Unfortunately, Sorolla cannot travel to New York for the mounting of the panels because, on June 17, 1920, he suffers a stroke. Sorolla's illness prohibits him from delivering the work and from collecting what had been agreed upon. The Hispanic Society of America has to await the artist's death on August 10, 1923, and the resolution of what had been related in his will, before settling the contract signed in 1911. This is why the Sorolla Room wasn't inaugurated until January 16, 1926.

In the United States and Europe, courses changed, and the Valencian's paintings were left on the margins of the new style. Sorolla's work has only gained more support as recently as this century.