1895 - 1896 - XIX

GAM1590

Unità di misura: cm; Altezza: 45; Larghezza: 66

olio su tela

The unusual framing, which cuts across the hull horizontally, suggests that it continues beyond the bottom of the canvas and places the painter (and the viewer) inside the boat, allowing him to capture the boy up close: a technique clearly derived from Impressionist painting, which Sorolla became familiar with during his stay in Paris in the second half of the 1880s. The canvas in the Frugone Collections, dated 1895/1896 (perhaps to indicate the start and end dates of the work, or, in the later dating, the time of sale of the painting), is an example of Sorolla's painting linked to costumbrismo (i.e. “folkloric sketches”, a theme widespread in Spain, in painting and literature, throughout the 19th century) that can be defined as maritime, in which a greater detachment from the subject favours the acquisition of that international flavour that would mark the beginning of his success. The study of light becomes a fundamental element here: the shaded area in the foreground makes the brightness beyond the stern even stronger: the glare of the zenithal light is achieved with intense, almost dazzling whites in the rudder, in the slight rippling of the sea waves, and in the boats on the horizon. The sail, barely moved by the wind, closes the painting at the top, allowing the sun's rays to filter through and illuminate small areas of detail in the foreground. ‘Sonnellino in barca’ depicts a child asleep on a boat, in the shade of the sail, on the shore of the sea.