Elena at Cala de San Vicente

In the summer of 1919, with the murals for the Hispanic Society completed, Sorolla went first to Valencia and then to Pollensa in Mallorca. At Cala de San Vicente he returned to his obsession with light, experimenting with different versions of this landscape with the Sierra del Cavall Bernat in the background.In this painting, the central figure seen from behind is the artist’s daughter Elena, balancing on her heels on the rocks, with her dress caught up with her right hand and her hat in her left hand. Just as in other paintings, the human figure is a pretext for exploring the artist’s real interest in the scene: the light, which here again with the backdrop of the setting sun, turns the water into mirrored golden reflections. Although the painting is probably not completely finished, a certain simplification of forms can be seen, revealing Sorolla’s tendency to a more synthetic art, based on large areas of colour.