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Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida

Full Name:	Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida.
Birth:	1863, Valencia, Spain.
Death:	1923, Madrid, Spain.
Style:	Luminism and Spanish Impressionism.

He was born in Valencia on February 27, 1863, in a Spain that was beginning to see light and color with new eyes. His work is the purest reflection of Spanish luminism, a movement he himself elevated to its highest expression, and of impressionism, from which he adopted freshness and chromatic vibration.

Sorolla’s painting is marked by an exceptional mastery of Mediterranean light, the kind that transforms the everyday into an almost ethereal scene. In his palette, white takes on a leading role: it is not the absence of color, but a source of radiance that brings life to his figures, beaches, and family portraits.

He lived during a time of profound transformation, between the 1860s and 1920s, a period when science, society, and the arts reinvented themselves to understand a constantly changing world. In this context of modernization and uncertainty, Sorolla managed to translate the fleeting nature of light and the eternal quality of human emotion with unique sensitivity, becoming an essential renewer of Spanish art and a bridge between academic tradition and luminous modernity.

Nearly a century after the Industrial Revolution of 1790, Europe was searching for answers to the great questions posed by the new philosophies of Marx, Nietzsche, and others. Art, as a mirror of that intellectual awakening, began to explore its own identity. Thus emerged figures like Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, who paved the way for a freer, more transparent, and emotional pictorial language.

Within this climate of exploration and rupture, Sorolla brought a unique voice. His fluid brushwork, mastery of color, and instinct for capturing light led him to develop a deeply personal avant-garde style, infused with the cultural and philosophical concerns of his time. His art was not merely technical: it was a poetic affirmation of life under the Mediterranean sun.

His artistic legacy was consolidated in mythological, historical, and social scenes, within the so-called Spanish costumbrismo, where he elevated the everyday to the category of art. From his first acclaimed work, Otra Margarita (1892), to his final light-filled canvases, Sorolla maintained an honest, humanistic, and radiant gaze that continues to inspire generations.

Works by J. Sorolla y Bastida

1. Sewing the Sail

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Cosiendo la vela
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1896
Genre:	Costumbrism
Located:	Prado National Museum, Madrid.

Sewing the Sail is an oil painting by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, created in 1896. It depicts a group of men and women sewing a boat’s sail on a terrace in Valencia, bathed in Mediterranean light. The work belongs to the artist’s costumbrista period, during which he masterfully portrayed everyday life and the traditions of the Valencian coast.

2. Walk on the Beach

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Paseo a orillas del mar
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1909
Genre:	Costumbrism
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

This is one of the most iconic works by Joaquín Sorolla and a perfect synthesis of his luminous art. Painted in 1909, the scene depicts his wife Clotilde and his daughter María walking along the beach in Valencia, dressed in white garments that capture and reflect the brilliance of the Mediterranean sun. Sorolla transforms this intimate family moment into a composition of great elegance and balance, where light, color, and movement exist in perfect harmony.

3. Seville Garden Grotto

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Impressionism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1910
Subject:	Rural
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

Impressionist painting by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. The painting depicts a part of the Garden in the surroundings of the Alcazar of Seville.

4. The White Boat

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1905
Genre:	Seascapes
Located:	colección privada.

Painting White Boat by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. This masterpiece of Spanish Impressionism captures a traditional scene of the Valencian coast, in the painting two children appear in the sea, playing next to their boat.

5. Three Sails

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Las tres velas
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1903
Genre:	Costumbrism
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	manos privadas

Painting Three Sails by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. This painting marvelously displays a scene of Spanish costumbrism, specifically from the early 20th century on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. In the work, three women and a baby are walking on the beach shore, with three sailing boats crossing the sea in the background.

6. The bathing hour

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Niña entrando en el baño
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1915
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	Colección privada.

Painting of a little girl running towards the sea in Valencia, picture painted by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida.

7. The Little Sailing Boat

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	El balandrito
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1909
Genre:	Costumbrism
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

Painting titled The Little Sailing Boat, by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. It depicts a Young Boy playing with a Toy Sailboat in the sea.

8. Girls in the Sea

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Niñas en el mar
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1909
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

Work by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, belonging to the series of marine paintings made in Valencia, Spain.

9. Sea Idyll

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1908
Genre:	Costumbrism
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	Hispanic Society of America, New York

Painting Idyll at the Sea painted by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. The work shows a couple of children playing on the beach in Valencia from the mid-20th century.

10. After Bathing

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	After Bathing
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1915
Genre:	Costumbrism
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

The canvas After Bathing was painted in oil by Joaquín Sorolla in June 1915. It is not very common for Sorolla to use a mosaic of colors to show the simplest figures, in this case he uses much of the palette to paint the faces of the mother and son; which appear shaded by the white towel that receives the sun's rays on the top. The image is traditional, inspired by the typical family life of the Valencian coast. The painting After Bathing is currently located within the premises of the Sorolla Museum in Madrid, Spain.

11. The Fisherman

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1904
Genre:	Costumbrism
Located:	manos privadas

Painting The Fisherman by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. This work was painted in 1904 and belongs to the series of paintings set in Valencia.

12. The Fishing

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Tela
Year:	1919
Genre:	Costumbrism
Located:	Hispanic Society of America, New York

Painting The Fishing by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. It is a costumbrist scene of the town of Ayamonte in Huelva, painted in the year 1919. The work shows the fishermen working on the tuna they have just extracted from the sea. This canvas is also known by the titles: Ayamonte and Tuna Fishing.

13. The Pink Robe

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1916
Genre:	Costumbrism
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

The painting "The Pink Robe" by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida was painted in 1916, the beauty of the traditional scene is not overshadowed by the complexity of the work. Master Sorolla brilliantly executed the figures, wind, and light sources. The painter achieved one of the warmest and most joyful paintings of his career.

14. Breakwater, San Sebastian

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Rompeolas, San Sebastián
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1918
Genre:	Seascapes
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

This painting depicts a summer evening (almost night) in the Basque city where residents gather to witness the majestic natural spectacle. The stormy and cloudy sky leads the artist to select from his palette a range of tones close to green and grey.

Sorolla demonstrates an extraordinary vision, capturing the slightest details and nuances, so that the painting shows, not only the image, but the entire atmosphere of the moment.

15. The Horse’s Bath

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1909
Genre:	Costumbrism
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

Replica of the painting The Horse's Bath by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. The work depicts a Young man taking his animal out of the sea after washing it.

16. Under the Awning

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Bajo el Toldo, Playa de Zarauz
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1905
Genre:	Costumbrism
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

The work Under the Awning on the Beach at Zarauz, belongs to a series of canvases painted in the Basque Country by Joaquín Sorolla, year 1905. The artist was not given to assigning unique titles to each painting, which is why the title of this one is repeated in other works of the same series. The image is luminous, it shows a peaceful beach afternoon, with elegant, loose, and fresh garments. Typical of the Basque aristocracy of the time. The painting is currently located in the Sorolla Museum in Madrid, Spain.

17. Time for a Bathe

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	La Hora del Baño
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1909
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

This painting is part of the classic series where the artist portrayed a variety of characters in everyday situations, always around the Valencian coast.

A girl dressed in pink entering the beach, under the watchful eye of her caretaker, who is holding a baby in her arms.

Sorolla had a special predilection for painting children, and an astonishing ability and mastery in representing reflections on the wet sand, garments mixed with shadows and sunlight. This is one of the works where the most elements that the painter managed at his will combine.

18. Boats at Rest

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1915

Painting of empty boats moored on the riverbank, a work painted by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida.

19. The Siesta

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	La Siesta
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1911
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

The canvas titled The Siesta was painted by Joaquín Sorolla in the year 1911. It is considered a masterpiece of modern Impressionism. The fabric depicts four young maidens lying on the grass, one of them sitting up. The characters are elaborated based on spots, the effects of light and shadow with thick brushstrokes, just as the Impressionist masters from Holland and France had been doing. The work is part of the permanent collection of the Sorolla Museum in Madrid, Spain.

20. Skipping Rope

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Saltando a la Comba, la Granja
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1907
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

The work Skipping Rope by Joaquín Sorolla was painted in the year 1907. The canvas shows four girls playing, of which the protagonist is the artist's own daughter, ground bathed in sunlight, numerous trees, and a blooming garden in the background of the scene. It is a very dynamic customary composition, the characters are captured through diffuse brushstrokes, which accentuates the movement and cheerful character of the painting. The painting Skipping Rope is currently on display at the Sorolla Museum in Madrid, Spain.

21. Valencian Fisherwomen

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Pescadoras Valencianas
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1915
Genre:	Costumbrism
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

A daily scene from the early 20th century, set on the coast of the Spanish Levant. Where often it was the woman who had to contribute to the household economy with her work. Three female characters, weathered by experience and the sun, star in this painting, looking out to sea, with empty baskets to collect shellfish and babies in their arms.

22. Under the awning zarauz

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Bajo el toldo, playa de Zarautz
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1910
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

Painting of women dressed in white watching the sea under an awning on the beach of Zarautz, Basque Country. Painted by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida.

23. After Bathing

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1908
Genre:	Seascapes
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	propietario particular.

Painting titled "After the Bath", painted by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida in the year 1908. This painting depicts a Valencian youth wrapping a maiden after her bath in the sea. The attire of both is traditional of the city of Valencia at the beginning of the last century.

24. Capturing the moment

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Instantánea
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1906
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

"Capturing the moment", an impressionist painting by the Spanish Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. The work depicts a woman dressed in white reading a book in front of the sea. The brushstrokes, colors, and landscapes belong to the unique pictorial style created by the artist.

25. Children Looking for Shellfish

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Niños Buscando Mariscos
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1919
Genre:	Costumbrism
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	Santander Bank Collection, Madrid

The work painted during the last phase of the artist.

The theme of the painting is recurrent in the painter's work, in fact it was the main subject he developed throughout his career: children playing, bathing, and posing on the beach. The jovial and innocent character of the work becomes even stronger under the contrasts of light, ochre nuances, and brightness in all elements: rocks, children, and water.

26. Two Sisters

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1909
Genre:	Seascapes
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	Art Institute of Chicago

The painting "Two Sisters" by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, belongs to the series of customary works that the painter carried out in his native land: Valencia. In it, little girls can be seen on the Mediterranean coast, with the sun and typical white dress of the place.

Clotilde and Elena on the Rocks, Sorolla

27. Clotilde and Elena on the Rocks

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1905
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	Private collection

Painting Clotilde and Elena on the Rocks, a work in which the Valencian painter portrays his wife and daughter walking on the rocks at the beach. Artist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida.

28. Research

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Una Investigación
Type:	Quadro
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1897
Genre:	Costumbrism
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

The painting Research was painted by Joaquín Sorolla in the year 1897. The realistic work shows the study of the neurologist Luis Simarro, who, while manipulating one of his experiments, catches the attention of his five assistants. The dispersion of light is fascinating; only the table on which all characters fix their gaze receives direct light. From there, various levels of indirect light and shadows develop. The work Research is currently located in the Sorolla Museum in Madrid, Spain.

29. White Slave Trade

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Trata de blancas
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1894
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

This realistic canvas depicts five young women huddled around the madame (dressed in black), in the cramped space of a train compartment. Both the theme and the execution of the work are not common in Sorolla. The realistic brushstroke with a luminist touch, painting realities of the era, is part of a style classified by experts as "social realism".

30. After Bathing

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Después del Baño
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1909
Genre:	Costumbrism
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

The painting "After Bathing, Valencia", was made by master Sorolla in the year 1909. As he would with many of his works, he was inspired by the typical coastal life of the inhabitants of Valencia at the beginning of the 20th century. The composition is complex and the light effects are notable. The customary scene shows two girls in the shade of a wooden parapet, where they dry and dress after a bath in the sea. The two main characters are surrounded by: two children playing in the sun, on the edge of the beach; bathers in the distance; an awning with shadow and light; the sand with various nuances and the chair with wet clothes in a corner. The painting After Bathing, Valencia is currently in the galleries of the Museo Sorolla in Madrid, Spain.

31. María on the Beach at Biarritz

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	María en la Playa de Biarritz o Contraluz
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1906
Genre:	Seascapes
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

This painting is an outdoor portrait with the particularity that the main figure is backlit. The vibrant whites of the sea foam open a beam of light that hits María (the painter's daughter) from behind. The overall effect is overwhelming, while the strength of color falls on the background, the main figure appears almost floating in the foreground.

32. The Garden

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Type:	Painting
Style:	Impressionism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1907
Genre:	Period scene
Located:	Sorolla museum, Madrid.

The painting "The Garden", a work of Spanish Impressionism, depicts a woman against a landscape background. Painted by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida in 1907.

33. Boys on the Beach

Author:	Joaquín Sorolla
Original Title:	Niños en la playa
Type:	Painting
Style:	Luminism
Medium	Oil
Support:	Canvas
Year:	1910
Genre:	Costumbrism
Subject:	Valencia Beach
Located:	Prado National Museum, Madrid.

Painting Boys on the Beach painted in 1910 by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. Currently, the work belongs to the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.

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