Book Review: Sorolla – Master of Light, by Gabriele Finaldi et al
The catalogue from a more recent exhibition, dating from 2019. This is a more heavyweight book and the writing definitely carries an intellectual air. The journey of the artist’s career is interesting, with early success coming from a series of social-realist paintings that were in vogue at the end of the nineteenth century. Though subjects such as Another Marguerite! are sombre and disturbing, there are equally effective works with a more neutral tone. Mother and Young Fisherman are quite original examples among more conventional portraits; Burgos Cathedral in Snow and The Cypress of the Sultana, Generalife are among several landscapes. There are some studies for Vision of Spain, as the originals stayed in place. Some of the photographs of Sorolla at work, and of his family life, provide an interesting human background. Sewing the Sail is still probably an overall favourite. I can recommend the Museo Sorolla for inclusion on an itinerary for visitors to Madrid, when future opportunities arise.
Burgos Cathedral in Snow
The Garden of the Sultana, Generalife
Sewing the Sail (1896)
First and Second Law (of Thermodynamics) 
