Sorolla: Spanish Master of Light
Sun drenched exhibition at the National Gallery of work by the Spanish artist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. Although there were more somber works in this show the ones which are most striking and have stuck with me are those filled with sunshine and a sense of light. I particularly loved a room of paintings from the seaside where you could almost feel the heat. There was one of boys lying on the edge of the sea and I loved the way the light bounced off their skin and how their limbs were slightly submerged in the sand. I also got a sense of family from him. The first room included a self-portrait he painted to leave with his wife when he was away which I found very touching. I liked a picture of his daughter in a Fortuny dress and one of his wife based on the Rokeby Venus which he had seen in situ at Rokeby Hall as well as in the National Gallery. This wasn’t the only nod to Velázquez. There was a take on Las Meninas in a picture of a fellow artist sketching his wife ...