During the course of his lifetime Joaquín Sorolla painted nearly 2,000 very small-format oils on card or panel. He generally termed them apuntes [observations] although on occasions he called them manchas de color [patches of paint] or notas de color [colour notes].This format allowed him for a rapid capturing of ideas or impressions of things observed, expressed as independent works that went beyond a mere sketch.Initially considered intimate, unfinished works, small studies of this type were soon appreciated for their creative freedom and as the starting point for potential new compositions. They began to be exhibited and valued as expressions of an artist’s most personal and original facet.