Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (Born February 27, 1863 – Died August 10, 1923) was born Valencia, Spain and died in Cercedilla, Spain. He was a painter whose best works vividly portray the sunny seacoast of Valencia. Painting in the open air, his style was a variant of Impressionism. Bastida was orphaned at age two and was from a poor family. He displayed an early talent which was discovered by those around him, so at age 15 he was admitted to the Academy of San Carlos in Valencia. After completing his studies here, he went for further studies in Paris and Rome, and then returned to Valencia. While in Rome he developed a distinctive ability for depicting the effects of light. Initially, he painted social realist and historical works, one of which became his earliest success; the painting titled “Otra Margarita” which he did in 1892.
However, it was for his genre paintings and landscapes that he received the greatest recognition. He used heavily impastoed pigments that he combined with anecdotal and narrative themes in an Impressionist manner. He made a successful debut in the U.S. in 1909 in a one-man exhibition in New York City at the Hispanic Society. The success of this exhibition and the critical acclaim he received won him a commission to paint President Howard William. When he returned to Spain, Bastida bought a beach house on the Mediterranean shore in Valencia. For the rest of his career, the artist drew his inspiration from the glittering light on the waters by his home. His beach scenes are marked by brilliant colors, sharp contrasts of shade and light and vigorous brushstrokes.
