“Strolling along the Seashore”
For today, one from the painter of Spanish light..
This lovely oil on canvas painting, titled “Strolling along the Seashore”, is by the Spanish artist, Joaquín Sorolla, from 1909. Sorolla is most known for his plein air Impressionism inspired paintings portraying the Spanish people and landscapes under the bright sun. These are qualities beautifully embodied in this piece here.
In this piece, Sorolla lovingly paints his family. His wife is on the left and his daughter on the right. The two are walking along the shoreline. There is movement in this piece, seen with the slightly forward angle of his daughter as she walks, in the form of the dresses blowing in the wind, and in the rolling of the waves. This painting was meaningful to Sorolla, as he held it in his possession until his death.
The downward angle of the subjects, the absence of the horizon, and the cutting off of one of the figure’s sunhats are all part of a technique known as photographic framing, in which the painted canvas emulates a photograph.
1909 was a great year for Sorolla. He had his first solo art show in the United States and returned home triumphant. He sold many of his works and secured over 20 commissions, including a portrait of the then sitting US president, William Howard Taft.
Though landscapes were Sorolla’s passion, portraits were where the steadier income came from. To make his portraits more appealing for him to work on, Sorolla would often paint his subjects outside in the bright sunlight.
“Strolling along the Seashore” is currently in the collections of the Sorolla Museum in Madrid, Spain.
For more on Joaquín Sorolla, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
