Sorolla portrait unseen for 100 years leads Bonhams European art saleJanuary 29, 2016 - 18:03 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A painting by one of Spain’s leading artists, Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, not seen in public for more than 100 years, leads Bonhams 19th Century European, Victorian and British Impressionist Art sale in London on Wednesday 2 March. Entitled Un Hebreo, the work is estimated at £300,000-500,000, Art Daily reports. Bonhams Director of 19th Century Paintings, Peter Rees, said, “The appearance at auction of Un Hebreo is a major event. It had previously been known only through black and white photographs. Sorolla is mainly associated with shimmering sea and beach scenes, but he was also a highly accomplished painter of portraits. Sometimes these were formal commissions but more often he preferred a freer rein, as in Un Hebreo. This moving picture, on an unusual subject for Sorolla, was painted in 1898 during an exceptionally creative period for the artist in which he completed a number of key works. It shares the ease and spontaneity of many of his well-known single figure portraits.” By 1898, Sorolla was an established artist, with his work regularly exhibited across Europe. For the opening and closing months of that year he worked at his studio in Madrid. He spent June, however, painting in the coastal town of Jávea in Alicante, completing two important landscapes, The Small Cove, Jávea and The Carob Tree, before joining his family in Valencia. He worked there for the rest of the summer, finishing Eating on the Boat - one of his major works. In Un Hebreo, Sorolla chose a landscape composition, not a common format in the tradition of Spanish portraiture but one that he used to great effect in many of his portraits. The artist’s technique shows the influence of the Baroque painter Jusepe de Ribera with the flesh tones of the subject set against darkened backdrop to offer a sharp contrast. Born in Valencia. His early training included a close study of Velazquez’s works in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. Sorolla also studied in Rome and Paris where he was influenced by the Naturalistic style of Jules Bastien-Lepage and Adolf von Menzel. Later in his career, Sorolla visited America, and in 1911 he began work on his most ambitious undertaking, a series of 14 huge murals entitled Visions of Spain which adorn the Sorolla room at the Hispanic Society of America. Photo: Bonhams Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. |