Boats at Rest, Sorolla

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.