Joaquín Sorolla

Impressionist painter Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923) became Spain's master of light through his luminous beach scenes and portraits. Born in Valencia, orphaned at two during a cholera epidemic, he studied at the local Academy before traveling to Rome and Paris, where Monet's work inspired his approach to natural light. Returning to Spain, he developed a distinctive style capturing Mediterranean brilliance.

Sorolla painted outdoors, rendering sunlight on water, skin, and white fabric with virtuoso brushwork. His beach scenes showing children playing in surf or fishermen hauling nets combine social observation with pure visual pleasure. Monet called him "a master of light." International exhibitions brought commissions including a portrait of President William Howard Taft. The Hispanic Society of America commissioned monumental murals depicting Spanish regions, which occupied his final years. His Madrid home is now the Museo Sorolla, preserving his studio and significant paintings. The J. Paul Getty Museum holds beach scenes, and the Hispanic Society displays his murals.