Sorolla’s Beach Paintings

Justin Clayton — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 05:43:02 +0000

This won’t be the only mention of Joaquín Sorolla on this blog as he is one of my favorite 19th century painters. What impresses me the most about his paintings is the way he captured the effect of sunlight on his subjects. I’ve seen few other artists who paint in this genre achieve this strong of an effect in their work. It’s as if the light is shining from within the canvas of his paintings out toward us; all that sunlight dancing around reflecting off each other. I particularly love the subtle variations in the shadow colors he used. Look at the colors in the white dresses…. they’re white but there not… they’re red and blue and green… and white.

Sun-drenched coastal scenes, women wearing large hats and long white dresses were some of his favorite subjects. He was also fond of painting children on the beach. Here’s a few…

Walk on the Beach, 1909. Joaquín Sorolla

Beach of Valencia by Morning Light, Joaquin Sorolla

The Beach at Biarritz, 1902. Joaquín Sorolla

Two Children on the Beach, Joaquin Sorolla

Photo of Joaquín Sorolla painting at the beach

Beach Paintings » Painters

Sorolla’s Beach Paintings