Joaquín Sorolla

Hello! My name is Joaquín Sorolla, and I was a painter. I was born on February 27th, 1863, in a sunny city called Valencia in Spain, right by the sea. I loved the bright sunlight and the sparkly water more than anything. Ever since I was a little boy, my favorite thing to do was draw and paint all the wonderful things I saw around me. My parents passed away when I was very little, so I grew up with my kind aunt and uncle, who always encouraged my love for art.

When I grew up, I became a full-time artist! I loved to paint my family, especially my wife, Clotilde, and our children. My other favorite thing to paint was the beach. I would set up my easel right on the sand to capture children splashing in the waves and fishermen pulling in their boats. I wanted my paintings to feel warm and happy, so I used bright, cheerful colors to show how the sunlight danced on everything. Because I loved painting the sun so much, people started calling me the 'Painter of Light.' In the year 1900, one of my paintings won a very important award in Paris, and soon, people all over the world knew my name.

One day, in 1911, a man from America gave me a very special and very big job. He asked me to paint huge pictures that showed all the different parts of my country, Spain. It was a giant adventure! For many years, I traveled all over Spain, from the green hills in the north to the sunny fields in the south. I painted people in their colorful festival clothes, farmers working in the fields, and fishermen by the sea. This collection of paintings is called 'Vision of Spain,' and you can still see it in a museum in New York City.

I spent so many happy years painting. In 1920, I became ill and could no longer hold my brushes. I lived to be 60 years old, and my life was filled with color and sunshine. Today, my home in Madrid, Spain, is a museum where you can see my paintings and even the brushes I used. People all over the world visit museums to see my art. I hope that when they look at my paintings, they can feel the warm sun on their faces and the joy I felt while capturing the beauty of my world.