
Sorolla
Spanish Master of Light
National Gallery Company Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 19. March 2019
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-1-85709-642-2 (ISBN)
Description
The bravura Impressionist works of the premier Spanish painter of a century ago, showcased and explored in detail by an international team of renowned scholars
Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923) was the leading Spanish painter of his day, world-famous when Picasso was still struggling to establish a name. This sumptuously illustrated book traces Sorolla's career at home and abroad, focusing on more than 60 canvases. These include portraits, landscapes, the bathers and seascapes for which he is most famous, and genre scenes of Spanish life.
His monumental early works established the artist's reputation as an unflinching social realist. Sending pictures strategically to major exhibitions across Europe, Sorolla depicted peasants, fishermen, and sail-makers eking out meager existences; young women forced into prostitution; and naked, disabled orphans. Rarely had Impressionist technique been turned to such provocative ends. As Sorolla found a wealthy clientele toward the turn of the century, his focus turned to sun-drenched scenes of leisure and elegant sociability: beautiful women stroll in fashionable resorts and children gambol on the seashore. Here, leading scholars offer a contemporary assessment of his career and explore Sorolla's relations with the most famous bravura painters of the day, including John Singer Sargent and the Swedish artist Anders Zorn. An illustrated chronology by Blanca Pons Sorolla, the artist's great-granddaughter, provides additional information.
Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition Schedule:
National Gallery, London
(03/18/19-07/07/19)
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
(08/10/19-11/03/19)
Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923) was the leading Spanish painter of his day, world-famous when Picasso was still struggling to establish a name. This sumptuously illustrated book traces Sorolla's career at home and abroad, focusing on more than 60 canvases. These include portraits, landscapes, the bathers and seascapes for which he is most famous, and genre scenes of Spanish life.
His monumental early works established the artist's reputation as an unflinching social realist. Sending pictures strategically to major exhibitions across Europe, Sorolla depicted peasants, fishermen, and sail-makers eking out meager existences; young women forced into prostitution; and naked, disabled orphans. Rarely had Impressionist technique been turned to such provocative ends. As Sorolla found a wealthy clientele toward the turn of the century, his focus turned to sun-drenched scenes of leisure and elegant sociability: beautiful women stroll in fashionable resorts and children gambol on the seashore. Here, leading scholars offer a contemporary assessment of his career and explore Sorolla's relations with the most famous bravura painters of the day, including John Singer Sargent and the Swedish artist Anders Zorn. An illustrated chronology by Blanca Pons Sorolla, the artist's great-granddaughter, provides additional information.
Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press
Exhibition Schedule:
National Gallery, London
(03/18/19-07/07/19)
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
(08/10/19-11/03/19)
Reviews / Votes
"This fabulous companion book showcases the artist's sumptuous paintings (pictured, above) and traces his career, from his early austere and earnest portraits to his later bold and colourful seascapes that earned him the nickname 'the Spanish Master of Light' "-Katya Edwards, Daily Mail"It provides an impressive introduction to those unfamiliar with his work by a man who in his lifetime was called 'the world's greatest living painter'"- Peter Costello, The Irish Catholic
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
200 color + b-w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 279 mm
Width: 238 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-85709-642-2 (9781857096422)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Gabriele Finaldi is director of the National Gallery, London.