Sorolla: The Masterworks

This is a beautiful book. The size, color, weight, and paper are 1st class.

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.

Probably one of the most underappreciated artists of his time.He is known throughout Europe, like we know Manet and Monet in the United States.His former home in Madrid is a museum now. My girlfriend discovered him in high school, and she took as many art courses here in California that she could - focusing on his use of the color white. Joaquin Sorolla is truly a master, vastly underappreciated.Zorn and he collaborated in master classes, teaching people how to think differently about composing a painting with deft use of the color white.

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.

Great collection put together for this book. Any admirer of Sorolla’s work will not go wrong adding this book to their coffee table. The copy is also amazing to read the long history about the artists journey!!

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!

this was a gift for a friend with whom I shared the wonderful experience of viewing the artist's home and works in Madrid. Being able to buy this book from Amazon spared me the hassle of buying it in Spain and lugging it home. It was exactly as advertised, pristinely new and in original shrink wrap. And I purchased it for half of what it was priced in spain.

Sorolla bathed the world in sunshine and captured those he loved and his Spanish surroundings with great skill and verve. I love the pure colours and brio with which he painted. Somehow he captured that most difficult of subjects - the sea. This book is beautifully produced with excellent colour images of many of his works, especially (in my view) the important and iconic sea images of his family and friends and Spanish fishermen. The reproduction is clear and high res so it is possible to see every brushstroke. An excellent production with accompanying biographical text.

Le peintre Alain Lacaze a adoré ce livre dont je lui ai fait cadeau.

Um deleite. Sorolla era realmente um mestre. Aprovadíssimo.

A superb work, by Sorolla's great-grandaughter, Blanca Pons-Sorolla. The prints are of very high quality, compared to other similar books on the same subject. The colour is vibrant and natujral, and the texture demonstrates the brushwork, particularly of whites. This is particularly demonstrated on page 97, Ayamonte, the Tuna Catch. 1919Somehow the impression of scale is obtained, the paintings are usually life size or bigger ! although the prints are relatively small.GAP

Excellent binding, paper and print quality. Good biographical notes and proper information on the pieces. Not a lot of quantity of text, but a book this size is more for viewing than reading. Perfect for inspiration and pure enjoyment. An excellent object for artists, art book aficionados and collectors.

Sorolla, il pittore di luce. Sfogliando questo magnifico libro scoprirete un vero Maestro dell'impressionismo. Ottima anche la qualità della stampa e della carta. Consigliato