Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida

Joaquín Sorolla painted sunlight. His beach scenes of children running through the surf, fishermen hauling boats and women in white on the sand at Valencia are full of dazzling Mediterranean light, painted with fast, confident brushstrokes.

Born in Valencia, he studied there and in Madrid, where he copied works in the Prado, and spent four years on a grant in Italy. He became famous with social subjects such as Sad Inheritance, then turned more and more to light-filled beach scenes and portraits. For the Hispanic Society of America in New York he painted fourteen huge murals, The Provinces of Spain. His house in Madrid is now the Sorolla Museum.

Beach at Valencia and Ayamonte show his gift for glittering light on sea and sand.