It is a sunny day that the group of men and women use to mend the cloth of a sail. The group has come together in a courtyard with blooming flowers and charming stacco fences. The scene could be part of a family's everyday life. Fishermen working hard on the element of their livelihood. It is typical workwear worn by men and women. A long skirt, a loose blouse and a scarf around the shoulders of the women. Men with a straw hat as sunscreen. The people work concentrated on the seemingly endless amount of canvas. The viewer gets an insight into a scene that has a familiar effect and awakens memories. Things that the family brings together.

Sorolla loved to capture everyday life on the coasts of his native Valencia. The beach and the sea, his wife and children. All were recurring themes in the game between the Mediterranean light and the turquoise sea. "Sea painter" was called the Spanish Impressionist and in fact the blue sea and the fine sandy beach are never far away. Through the open courtyard door, the sea view becomes the center of the painting. The sea is a constant element in the work and accompanies the artist throughout his life. As a child, the painter himself was a member of a fishing family who could only live poorly by profession. As an artist, he could enjoy the sea and capture the special light with great familiarity.

The effect of the color play could not be impressionistic. Sorolla uses the art style of Luminism. A detailed reproduction of the motifs and preservation of the forms stand for the early form of impressionism. Important for the Spanish representatives of the art movement were the color intensity of the Spanish landscape and the setting of clear lighting effects.

The oil painting around the repair of the sails is worked in bright colors. Three colors dominate the work. Blue, green and a bright white. The white lets the scene shine and brings the glistening sunshine into the picture. Hardly any other artist has understood how to master the color white and to use it specifically for light reflexes. Light and shadow are sharply edged. The colored ones show the contours of the courtyard environment and the heat of the day is noticeable. Silent consent dominates the atmosphere. Happy conversation does not seem necessary, the group of people seems like a satisfied unit.

Sorolla was one of the lucky artists who could freely decide on their choice of subject. The Spaniard went out into the countryside and created his works in the open air. The original size of the painting is 222 cm x 300 cm and these dimensions were also created by the artist on the beach.

---

Mending the Sail, 1896 by Joaquín Sorolla. Available as an art print on canvas, photo paper, watercolor board, natural paper, or Japanese paper.
sewing · straw hat · geranium · sunshine · worker · workers · greenhouse · conservatory · interior · Museo d'Arte Moderna di Ca' Pesaro, Venice, Italy / Bridgeman Images