The Girls from the Port

In a number of his mature works Piñole offered an idealised and idyllic vision of themes from rural and coastal life in the region of Cantabria, expressed in a tranquil, classical mode in which the figures are elevated to the level of archetypes. This approach is also found in the work of other painters of his generation, albeit in interpretations that reflect the darker nature of their respective regions. Such artists include Aurelio Arteta, the Arrúe, Gustavo de Maeztu, the Catalan noucentista painters, Joaquim Sunyer and in some works, Xavier Nogués.

There is an oil sketch on panel for the present composition (50 x 35cm) that uses a livelier, freer type of brushstroke and reveals some differences with the final painting, the most notable being the presence of a wall behind the group of seated women on the left. The sketch was published by both Francisco Carantoña and R. Faraldo who dated it to around 1935 and 1936 respectively, which provides an approximate date for the present work in the Colección Santander.