JOAQUÍN SOROLLA | Chico con sombrero, Jávea (Boy with Sombrero, Jávea)

Dolores de Uriburu, Paris 1907
Galería Biosca, Madrid, 1968
Marta Fernandez de Batista, 1968
Purchased by the present owner in 2001

Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, 1906, no. 11 (as Petit pêcheur à Javea)
Madrid, Galería Biosca, Maestros del Impresionismo español, 1968

Bernardino de Pantorba, La Vida y la Obra de Joaquin Sorolla, Madrid, 1970, p. 189, no. 1584, catalogued

The canvas has not been lined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher which appears to be of the period. There is a minor scuff with small spots of paint loss in the sea to the left of the boy. However, this is only visible upon close inspection and is not distracting to the naked eye. With the exception of a small spot of retouching in the sky to the right of the boy's hat, also patched on the reverse, there is no other visible sign of retouching under ultra-violet light. This work is in good condition and is ready to hang. Presented in a decorative gilt frame. Colours are somewhat less bright in reality than in the catalogue illustration.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Sorolla was first attracted to Jávea, south of Valencia, in 1896. Captivated by the beauty of the craggy shoreline and the azure waters, he was drawn particularly to a small isolated beach below the Cape of San Antonio. Painted following his subsequent return to the cape with his young family in 1905, El chico del sombrero, Jávea belongs to a series of views, with and without figures, that he painted there that year or shortly afterwards. The present work, showing a young fisher boy, is an expression of the happiness Sorolla felt, surrounded by his own children, in a magical location.  The universality of the image should be seen in the context of broader aesthetic interests pervading contemporary art of the time. Sorolla was already familiar with the work of the Danish painter Peder Severin Krøyer, the influential voice within the community of artists working at Skagen in Denmark. Sorolla had seen at first hand at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900 Krøyer's Summer Evening on Skagen Beach, a painting that expresses many of the themes dear to Sorolla. Likewise, the critical elements to be found in Sorolla's work were also shared by Claude Monet, an artist who found great significance in, and inspiration from, particular places. 



We are grateful to Blanca Pons-Sorolla for her assistance in cataloguing this work, which will be included in her forthcoming Sorolla catalogue raisonné (BPS 1503).