Clotilde on the Beach

In this canvas Sorolla blends the portrait with painting en plein air, a formula which he applied preferably to his family. Members of the family and friends were the artist’s preferred models as he was at ease with them in a genre which was not his favourite; and painting outdoors satisfied him even more.Outside the bounds of his studio the play of light was multiplied and the portrait enriched with its subtleties: here the evening light with the lengthening shadows mirrored in the water provides the backlight for the figure of Clotilde, casting unexpected tones of mauve, blue and green on her dress, and filtered through the sunshade, surrounds her face with a soft halo.