I hate darkness - Sorolla

Joaquín Sorolla [pronounced Soroyya] (1863 – 1923) was a Spanish impressionist artist famous for his luminous large sized paintings. His typical works portray people and landscape with open beaches and turquoise waters under the bright sunlight in Valencia in Spain. He painted scenes of the lives of ordinary people and places. Monet called him “the Master of light”.

Born into a poor family and orphaned at the age of 2, his art education began at the age of 9 and blossomed with training under many artists. At 18 he traveled to Madrid to study Master artists’ paintings at the Museum. At 22, he got a grant to study painting in Rome, Italy. His exposure to modern painting was at Paris. As an artist he was focussed on creating large canvases of mythological, historical, and social themes.

His first success was achieved with Another Marguerite (1892), which won a gold medal at the National Exhibition in Madrid and the first prize at the Chicago International Exhibition, He soon rose to fame and represented the Spanish school of painting.

Sorolla painted two masterpieces in 1897 linking art and science: Portrait of Dr. Simarro at the microscope and A Research which won him the Prize of Honour. Recreating the indoor scene of a laboratory, catching the luminous atmosphere created by the artificial reddish light of a gas burner that contrasts with the afternoon light coming in from the window, these paintings are considered among the most outstanding paintings of this genre.

A turning point in Sorolla's career was the painting of Sad Inheritance (1899), done on an extremely large canvas. The subject was a depiction of crippled children bathing at the sea in Valencia, under the supervision of a monk. The polio epidemic that struck Valencia, was, for the first time in the history of painting, shown through two affected children. The painting earned Sorolla his greatest official recognition, the Grand Prix and a medal of honour in Paris, and the medal of honour in Madrid. Sorolla never returned to a theme of social consciousness.

A special exhibition of his works in Paris in 1906 was his most successful and led to his appointment as Officer of the Legion of Honour. The show included nearly 500 works. The sheer number of paintings amazed the art world and he sold well. He had a number of sell-out exhibitions.

The appearance of sunlight could be counted on to inspire him, and it was outdoors where he found his ideal portrait settings. His daughter posed for María at La Granja (1907). In My Wife and Daughters in the Garden (1910), Sorolla brought together his love of family and sunlight. He painted his family often.

He was a great success in the USA. He painted 14 murals, ranging from 12 to 14 feet in height, and 227 feet in length. This was a major commission of his career. He painted them over a period of 9 years! Sorolla painted all but one en plein air [on site], travelling to locations with models who posed in local costumes. The murals depicted the landscape and culture of the different regions in Spain. The Sorolla Room at the Hispanic Society of America opened in 2010, with the murals on permanent display.

After his death, Sorolla's widow, left his paintings and their home in Madrid to the Spanish public. iIt is now known as Museo Sorolla.

A short documentary on Sorolla was presented at the Cannes Film Festival. The Spanish National Dance Company honoured him with a ballet Sorolla based on his paintings. A high-speed train station in Valencia has been named after him.

Sorolla's work is represented in museums and private collections throughout Spain, Europe and America.