Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida

JOAQUÍN SOROLLA Y BASTIDA, (Valencia, 1863 - Cercedilla, Madrid, 1923).
Artist's book "The sea of Sorolla". Copy 2235/2998
Study book and art book with 69 facsimiles and 5 folding triptychs and two plates.
Publisher: Artika, in co-publication with the Sorolla Museum Foundation.
Preserves box of measurements: 35,3 x 45,8 cm (books, x2): 35,3 x 45,8 cm (folder with plates): 41x 53 x 12,5 cm (box).
This artist's book produced between the Sorolla Foundation and the specialized publishing house Artika presents a selection of works by the Valencian artist based on the theme of the sea.
Joaquín Sorolla (Valencia, 1863 - Cercedilla, Madrid, 1923) showed his fondness for drawing and painting by attending drawing classes given by the sculptor Cayetano Capuz at the School of Artisans in the afternoons. Awarded upon finishing his preliminary studies at the Escuela Normal Superior, he entered the prestigious Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Carlos in Valencia in 1879. Also, during his visits to Madrid in 1881 and 1882, he copied paintings by Velázquez, Ribera and El Greco at the Prado Museum. Two years later he obtained a great success at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts with a history painting, which stimulated him to apply for a scholarship to study at the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. Having achieved his goal, in 1885 Sorolla left for Rome, staying in Paris for several months before arriving. In the French capital he was impressed by the paintings of the realists and the painters who worked outdoors. At the end of his years in Rome he returned to Valencia in 1889, settling in Madrid the following year. In 1892 Sorolla showed a new concern in his art, becoming interested in social problems by depicting the sad scene of "¡Otra Margarita!", awarded a first class medal at the National, and the following year at the International in Chicago. This sensitivity would remain in his work until the end of the decade, in his performances on the Valencian coast. Gradually, however, the Valencian master will abandon the themes of unhappy children that we see in "Triste herencia", which had been awarded a prize at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900 and at the National in Madrid a year later. Encouraged by the success of his resplendent images of the Mediterranean, and stimulated by his love of the light and life of its sunny beaches, he focused on these scenes in his works, more cheerful and pleasant, with which he would achieve international fame.