Joaquin Sorolla is the brightest artist in Spain

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The second half of the 19th century - the heyday of a new direction in painting - impressionism. Innovative artists managed to catch and depict on their canvases the play of light and its shades - and all this to the delight of the public, which enthusiastically accepted the "sunny" and "airy" paintings. All the young picturesque beau monde of that time flocked to Paris. Among others, aspiring Spanish artist Joaquín Sorolla. It was in the city on the Seine that he was struck by impressionism and found his own style: light, cheerful, marine, while traditionally in Spain, painters preferred academicism and a dark palette.

The beginning of the creative path

Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida was born in Valencia on February 27, 1863. He had a hard time very early on. When the boy was two years old, his mother and father died of cholera. The kid and his sister were taken to be brought up in the aunt's family. Joaquin's uncle was a carpenter, and the boy was supposed to follow in his footsteps. However, the school noted the talent for drawing and began to develop it. Praise to the uncle who supported his nephew's abilities and gave him a box of paints for graduation. Joaquin was 16 at the time, andhe went to improve his talent at the Higher School of Fine Arts in Valencia, and after another 2 years - to Madrid, where he comprehends the work of his Spanish predecessors. He studies, actively participates in competitions and writes the first paintings to order in order to gain financial independence. Sorollier was not yet twenty years old when he met his future patron, photographer and philanthropist Antonio Garcia Peris. The benefactor's daughter Clotilde later became Joaquin's wife.

Soon national recognition comes to the artist. In 1883, his painting "The Nun's Prayer" received a gold medal at an exhibition in Valencia. A year later, in Madrid, the huge battle canvas “Defense of the artillery battery of Monteleon” was celebrated in Madrid and awarded Sorolla with a grant for a trip to Italy. But not Rome will become a place of creative self-determination of the artist, but the capital of France. In Paris, Joaquin gets acquainted with impressionism, almost as young as he is, and realizes that he has found his way in painting.

Impressionism and success

The heyday of the Spaniard's creativity was accompanied by happiness in family life. During the first 6 years of marriage, Joaquin and Clotilde had three children. An important theme of Joaquin Sorolla's paintings is family and children. They are also my favorite models. An example of one of these canvases is “My Family” (1901), on which the author captured both his loved ones and his reflection in the mirror.

The first major success on the world level comes to Sorolla in 1892. At exhibitions in Madrid and Chicago, his painting "The Other Margarita" is encouragedmedals. The public and critics enthusiastically accept the following works of the artist: Laundresses, Return from Fishing (1895). Museums immediately acquire his paintings, and this is also a sign of higher recognition.

In 1900, at the World Exhibition in Paris, a whole exposition of the works of Joaquin Sorolla is held, and the author is awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor, chosen as a member of the famous art academies of the world.

In the next decade, Sorolla holds grandiose exhibitions of his paintings in different countries. For example, in 1906 in Paris, he collected 500 paintings. And in 1909, in New York, out of more than 300 exhibited paintings, 195 were sold - this was an unprecedented success. The Spaniard is ordered to paint his portraits by the President of the United States and famous tycoons.

Along with fame, money comes to an artist. Joaquín Sorolla is building a beautiful house in Madrid that now houses a museum.

The paintings of the Spaniard are very revealing examples of impressionism, meanwhile having a bright author's style. The heroes of the canvases are ordinary people, often women and children, against the backdrop of Spanish sea and sand landscapes. Filled with light, painted with an airy brushstroke, showing the beauty of the world - it's not for nothing that the general public likes them so much. We can say that the world took a fresh look at Spain thanks to the work of Sorolla.

Heavy load of creativity

Since 1911, the artist, commissioned by the American philanthropist Huntington, began to paint a series of paintings “View of Spain”. From Sorolla it was required to write 14 canvases of huge sizes with a total area of about240 m2 to decorate the walls of the Spanish Society in the USA. The painter has been working tirelessly for 8 years, traveling a lot around his homeland in search of plots and heroes.

Incessant creative work without rest exhausted Sorolla. The disease overtook him in the garden of his own house, right at work. In 1920, the artist suffered an apoplexy and paralysis, so for the last 3 years of his life he could no longer write. Sorolla died at the age of 60.

The legacy of Joaquin Sorolla

The artist left behind an extremely large number of works - more than 2000. A significant part of his paintings was transferred to the Spanish Republic. Some of them can be seen today in the house-museum of Joaquín Sorolla in Madrid.

The public still loves the Spaniard's paintings: exhibitions of his works attract half a million visitors. The artist’s work was continued by his children: one of the daughters was engaged in painting, the other in sculpture, and the son led the Sorolla Museum in Madrid until the end of his days.