Joaquín Sorolla

 The Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923) understood like no other of his time how to encompass the light of the South in color and to capture the fleeting moment in his own special way with light-dark contrasts as well as modern color compositions. He was a passionate artist and loving family man. He often painted outdoors until he was physically exhausted, in order to depict the full beauty of nature with all its light conditions. Joy and sorrow often lay close together. Nevertheless, the profession of an artist was the only real choice for him: orphaned at the age of two, he was to become a locksmith like his foster father—but when Sorolla's drawing talent came to light, he was allowed to attend the drawing class at the School of Arts and Crafts and later the Academy of Fine Arts in Valencia. Again and again he traveled through Europe, he studied in Rome and experienced the zeitgeist of the Parisian impressionist scene. Initially, he painted socially critical everyday scenes and historical themes in muted colors, but his color palette and content brightened over time. With sun-flooded paintings he left his mark on Spanish Impressionism and impressed contemporaries such as for example Claude Monet (1840-1926). From 1911 onwards, he put all his energy into the ambitious commission of the Hispanic Society of America, which envisaged presenting Spain in 14 large-format paintings. In doing so, he placed his own artistic development behind the service of his fatherland. He painted the Vision of Spain for eight years and suffered a stroke in 1919, shortly after completion. Sorolla was one of the most important and commercially successful artists of the turn of the century.