A few nights ago on a walk, I stopped to admire an organic-style New England shingled cottage with curvy living room beams that would look at home on the bow of a ship. Peering in, I was struck by a painting with dramatically lit billowing sails.
Seeing those sails brought me back to a sunny Sunday in Balboa Park in San Diego. My mom (who’s an impressionist artist) brought me to see the Sorolla exhibit. When I first started writing this, I thought this exhibit was just a few years ago. When I looked up when the “Sorolla and America” show was on view, I was shocked to see it was 2014.
And ten years later in the dark of night, the essence of his work still viscerally affected me.
Sorolla’s art is distinctive in its warm & often high-key tones, usually seascapes depicting women, children at play, or workers & sailors. A short bio – Joaquín Sorolla was a Spanish painter, born in Valencia in 1863. He started exhibiting paintings in his late teens, and at 21 his first large history painting was acquired by the Spanish government. By 1900, he could be considered as the most famous of all living Spanish artists. (Source)
What struck me at the exhibition is these gorgeous billowing sails. You look at one of his pieces and you can feel the gusts of wind, how the sail strains under its weight.
His mastery of light is just incredible. And the joy! He captures the shimmer of sunlight on water with a translucence that feels both real and ephemeral.
An example here:
The White Boat, 1905 Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (Spanish, 1863–1923), Oil on canvas. 21 1/8 x 59 in. (105 x 150 cm). Cristina H. Noble. Photo: Personal Archive, Blanca Pons-Sorolla, Madrid
At the exhibit, his piece The White Boat (1905) took my breath away. The joy & mischievous energy of two boys playing on a summer’s day – and standing close to the brushstrokes was amazing. One of the things I love about impressionist paintings is how the dimensions of the paintings change depending on how far away from the piece you are. I think there’s a little bit of Phthalo Blue in the water – one of my favorite colors (could be totally wrong on that though).
A little excerpt on Phthalo Blue:
I also love how he depicts cows. Cows!!!!! Oxen??
The painting I saw in my neighbor’s house featured many of the elements suggestive of a Sorolla – warm tones, the familiar sails, cows. And if you’re curious about what an original Sorolla would cost, according to a 2015 San Diego Union Tribune piece, the San Diego Museum of art acquired “With Zurbarán’s “St. Francis in Prayer in a Grotto,” donated by Conrad Prebys and Debbie Turner, “By the Seashore, Valencia,” is one of two masterworks the museum has obtained this year in celebration of the 2015 Balboa Park Centennial. Each of the paintings, purchased in Spain, cost approximately $1.71 million and significantly enhance the museum’s already well-regarded Spanish holdings.”
When I saw the piece, I was filled with a sense of surprise and wonder how his work transcended 10 years from my original viewing and context to fill me with joy and remind me of my mom (who I very promptly texted). And beyond that, it really opened up this wonderful mystery of “Does my neighbor have a Sorolla?” and then a real want to go look at some beautiful art with my mom. I wonder where it will go from here…