Sorolla: The Masterworks

Joaquin Sorolla was a genius painter who has been too much overlooked. He did a kind of realism on a par-- or better even-- than the canvases of the American J.S. Sargent and Anders Zorn of Sweden. Sorolla has a flawless gift for all the things I most value in fine painting: sincerity, perfect perspective, superb anatomy, great portrayal of motion, and a breathtakingly good colorist. Sorolla is very modern in that his paintings are emotional, and they suggest a story, but they are in no way "narrative": Sorolla keeps a cool observer's distance from his subject, with stunning, novel, asymmetrical Degas-like compositions, very new for that time. Sorolla interests me also because he was a Spaniard doing a kind of art that really wasn't in fashion at the time; while most European artists were delving into various cerebral "-isms", or adhering to the formal somber colors of the Academy style, Sorolla was following his own instincts... and the fullness of time show that he was marvelously correct in those instincts. He wasn't an Impressionist--- his canvases are way too fleshed out and explicit to be called that--- yet he borrowed the brilliant, fresh colors of the Impressionists, but plugged it into his own version of Realism. This book is an excellent, very high quality tome compiled by his granddaughter, Blanca Pons-Sorolla. If you are a serious student of art, you simply must get to know Sorolla, as he is just the quintessence of the best ideas of fine art. These pictures haven't aged a bit, and are as beautiful and inspiring as they day they were painted.

Sorolla was one of the greats! This book has a nice selection of his work. Really great!

A great addition to my artbook collection! Wonderful color reproductions and very well done.

Beautiful book well put together very well done, I am enjoying it very much.

My painting teacher introduced me to Sorolla with this fabulous book. I had to purchase one to be able to study this masterful painter via a beautiful book. High quality paper means that the photos are crisp and accurately represent the painter’s skills and use of color. Of course, paper can never match seeing the original but this book and paper stock are a compliment to this brilliant painter. I am particularly interested in how he uses paint to represent fabrics and draping so beautifully.

This is the fourth Sorolla monograph that I have added to my collection and it is a good book. Certainly if you are looking for an inexpensive book with a number of reproductions of his work in oil, you won't go wrong with this one. The title is a little deceptive. Sure, there are quite a few masterworks in the book but there are also a number of minor paintings and the book leaves out some paintings that I would consider to be among his masterpieces, perhaps these are in private hands and permission to include them was not available. The reproduction quality is good but not outstanding. All of the paintings are reproduced in color. Generally, the images lean to the cool, slightly washed out side. Also, I think the matte paper sucks a bit of life from the images. The painting on the glossy dust jacket has a brilliance and pop that is lacking inside the book. The text is a limited, but informative, summary of the artist's life. I enjoyed the many B&W reproductions of period photographs showing the artist at work, exhibitions, his studio and scenes from a Valencia beach, for example. There are absolutely no images of Sorolla's small oil studies (apuntes) or drawings, which I understand would not be considered masterworks, though many of them directly relate to the paintings in this book, so some could have been included. For the record, my favorite Sorolla book is "The Painter Joaquin Sorolla" by Edmund Peel. Even though I have seen many Sorolla's in the flesh it is tough to say which book has the most accurate reproductions - they are all surprisingly different. The reproductions in Peel's book, for example, are the most saturated and warm (I am almost sure that Peel's images exceed the reality of the paintings though, in this regard). They communicate summer sunshine and the paintings look more painterly and less like illustrations than in this book. Peel's book also includes a number of apuntes and has both color and black and white reproductions of every painting, so you get a better sense of the value structure of each work. In summary, this is a good Sorolla monograph at a low price. I don't know how many will be printed, but historically, Sorolla books go out of print quickly and then are very expensive to buy used, so don't delay if you think you will like it, especially if you like Sorolla and don't already own a book on him!

I first became aware of Sorolla on a trip to Barcelona, Spain. I was like “who is this guy?”. I saw some books on him in a bookstore there and liked his style do I was looking for a good book on him and his works. I looked at reviews and ordered this book. It’s s very nice coffee table art book. Very nice reproductions of his art and nice graphic design of the book. I enjoy flipping through it a lot and studying his composition.

Quality condition and value

Sorolla é um pintor espanhol que não é muito conhecido aqui no Brasil. Eu o conheci quando visitei o museu do Prado na Espanha em 2015. O quadro de Sorolla "Chicos en la playa" se destacava entre os outros quadros em exposição pela seu realismo e movimento. Foi como se estivesse diante da cena real e não diante de um quadro. A técnica era perfeita e a poesia e beleza se impunham. Depois de ver este quadro me interessei em conhecer um pouco mais da obra de Sorolla. O livro não decepcionou, traz reproduções de boa qualidade e apresenta o melhor de sua obra. Recomendo a todos que amam as artes plásticas.

Ideal para regalar en el extranjero si aprecian el arte

The photos are good quality and the colours are amazing. Love his work.

Volevo un libro su Sorolla dopo aver visto un'esposizione a Malaga. Avrei comprato il catalogo dell'esposizione, ma non avevo posto in valigia. Giunto a casa, tra vari libri questo mi è sembrato il più bello e più completo. Ho preso l'edizione ininglese perché l'ho pagata meno di quella in spagnolo.

Excelente calidad y variedad de obras