Sorolla was a precocious draftsman and, at the age of fifteen, enrolled in the Academy of San Carlos in Valencia. Later he also studied in Rome and Paris. He then settled in Valencia, and during the 1890s developed the high-keyed painterly style for which he is famous. This style resulted from a variety of influences, including Impressionism and the work of Adolph Menzel (1815–1905) and Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848–1884). The seacoast town of Jávea, south of Valencia, provided Sorolla with the subjects for many of his paintings. Some of the most popular were scenes of children swimming. These works allowed him ample opportunity to demonstrate his facility for the rendering of light and movement. By the early years of the twentieth century, Sorolla had achieved an international reputation. The Museum acquired the present painting in 1909, and between 1911 and 1920 Sorolla completed a series of fourteen mural panels for the Hispanic Society of America, New York.

Open full-size image