Locate
The painting show a family leisure moment, frequent in Sorolla’s work. He uses great expressive freedom and shows signs of late modernity.
This type of painting was conceived by Sorolla almost deliberately as private works, canvases not destined for the market but designed for his intimate surroundings.
‘The Siesta’ is an example of the painter’s mastery at full maturity. With a pronounced downward point-of-view, the work was painted during a family summer stay in San Sebastián. The four figures are the painter’s wife, his two daughters and one of their cousins. Their arrangement and undulating movement of the brushstrokes make for a dynamic scene.
The scene comes together through long brushstrokes on the grassy area, whilst the figures show charged strokes to accentuate the volume of their faces and the folds in their dresses.
Details of the work
Object
Painting
Dimensions
Height = 200 cm; Width = 201 cm
Technique
Oil
Material
Canvas
