Page 20 - G19C Maastricht Catalog

Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida

BEACH AT VALENCIA (PLAYA DE VALENCIA)

Valencia, with its sunny beaches, provided constant inspiration for
Sorolla throughout his career. He delighted in depicting the local
fishermen, often accompanied by hefty oxen, hauling in their boats
after a day’s catch. As Sorolla himself proclaimed, “Valencia and its
beaches have absorbed my entire existence.” (C. Brinton, “Sorolla
at the Hispanic Society,” The International Studio 37, no. 145
(March 1909), pp. iii, xii).

If Valencia provided the setting for Sorolla’s subjects, it equally
inspired him to perfect his plein air technique, thereby crowning him
as one of the greatest modern masters in evoking the everchanging
light and color of his natural surroundings, especially the seashore.
The present work, painted on El Cabañal beach in Valencia in late
summer 1910, is representative of Sorolla’s best plein air paintings.
Larger than most of his oil sketches, the subject is defined by a
virtuoso handling of the paint and a vibrant palette. With very few
brushstrokes, Sorolla has perfectly rendered the billowing sails of
the boats and the bustling activity of the fishermen. Sorolla’s oil
sketches were so highly valued that a large selection was always
included in major international exhibitions of his more conventional
easel paintings. “Every color note was a little talisman that magically
encapsulated the essence of its painter’s talent.” (Blanca Pons-
Sorolla and Mark A. Roglan, ed., Sorolla and America, exh. cat.,
Madrid, 2013, p. 221).

Exhibited in 1911 at Sorolla’s second American retrospective held
at the Art Institute of Chicago, Playa de Valencia was purchased by
American businessman and entrepreneur, Frederick Forrest Peabody
of Santa Barbara, California.

22