Fifth Avenue, New York

A work fully imbibed with modernity in both style and topic. It is interesting as it shows an “urban Sorolla” hardly seen in his large works. The painter can be seen working from the window of his room in New York in this gouache, with a view over Fifth Avenue. The quick brushstrokes on the card capture the dynamic urban life filled with automobiles. Sorolla recognised these as signs of “modern life”. The parallels with major Impressionist works are clear (Caillebotte, Pisarro...). This work is influenced by the Valencian artist’s “photographic gaze” as can be seen in the “casual moment” aspect to the scene, with no other intension than to capture a “take” of everyday life. The latter is marked by new advances seen, for example, in the height of the buildings that surely surprised the painter with new angles to approach reality.