Blanca Pons-Sorolla Books

A new survey of the best works by the elusive and spectacular Spanish Impressionist Joaquín Sorolla. Often compared to his contemporary, the American artist John Singer Sargent, Joaquín Sorolla (1863–1923) was a master draftsman and painter of landscapes, formal portraits, and monumental, historically themed canvases. Highly influenced by French Impressionism, the Valencian artist was a master plein-air painter known for his luminous seaside scenes of frolicking youths and for vivid depictions of Spanish rural life and its pleasures and customs. This beautifully designed and produced volume brings together one hundred of Sorolla’s major paintings, selected by his great-granddaughter Blanca Pons-Sorolla, the foremost authority on the artist. Benefiting from close proximity to the artist and his personal archives, she presents an in-depth essay that explores Sorolla’s life, work, and remarkable international legacy. With virtually all of the artist’s previous publications now out of print, this much-anticipated volume is an important addition to the literature on this great Spanish master.

A native of Valencia, Spanish Impressionist Joaquin Sorolla (1863-1923) first went to Paris in 1885 as a young artist at the age of twenty-three. He exhibited at the international salons, winning the Grand Prix at the Exposition Universelle in 1900, and in 1906, he exhibited for the first time at the Galerie Georges Petit, one of the principal galleries of the Impressionists. The exhibition was a resounding success and helped establish Sorolla's international reputation. Known for his vigorous compositions, unusual color palette, and loose, radiant brush strokes, Sorolla's sundrenched landscapes, beach scenes, and luminous portraits even impressed such contemporaries as Claude Monet. Richly illustrated and with newly researched essays by noted scholars, this important book reveals much new information about Sorolla's activities and relationships with other artists in Europe. Included are more than one hundred paintings reflecting the artist's career, from his early work in Paris in which the influence of the French Impressionists is clearly evident, to the distinctive pictures that reflect his mature and celebrated style. 0Exhibition: Kunsthalle der-Hypo Kulturstiftung, Munich, Germany (04.03-03.07.2016) / Musée des Impressionismes, Giverny, France (14.07-06.11.2016) / Museo Sorolla, Madrid, Spain (24.11.2016-19.03.2017)

Valencian master Sorolla s Impressionist paintings depict the most beautiful gardens and architecture in Spain.