Why isn't Joaquin Sorolla there?

If they ask you to list the major Spanish painters, the names are almost always the same: Velazquez, Goya, Picasso, Dalì, Mirò.

Twenty years before Picasso, however, Joaquin Sorolla was born in February 1863.

Why isn't Sorolla between Goya and Picasso?

His solid academic preparation, combined with the study of new techniques such as luminism and impressionism, allowed him to paint easily with rare mastery. The light of his paintings is unique, as is the precision of the details and visual effects.

He was fast and prolific, so much so that he painted more than 3000 works.

Did it only deal with academic subjects?

Far from it. In addition to the themes dear to Impressionism, Sorolla had the courage to paint rough situations, such as children crippled by parental illness ("The sad inheritance) and social and work themes.

Didn't the audience like it?

His technique enchanted the public because he was aware of his enormous technical talent, and also he knew how to make some details truly spectacular.

Did he paint small pictures that were not appreciated by art dealers?

One of his famous compositions "The provinces of Spain" measuring 3 meters by 70 (not a mistake: seventy meters) now exhibited in the USA at the Hispanic Society, and he was able to paint huge pictures even in plein air.

I have asked myself many questions, but no answer justifies why the extraordinary painter Joaquin Sorolla does not enjoy the same fame as his Spanish colleagues.

Andrea Giuseppe Fadini