Seville. The Dance By Joaquin Sorolla
The painting we present today is a part of Vision of Spain, a series of 14 monumental canvases by Spanish painter Joaqun Sorolla that depict the customs, costumes, and traditions of regions of Spain. The series was commissioned by Archie Huntington for the Hispanic Society of America, New York. That was the major commission of Sorolla's career and would dominate his later years of life. Each painting celebrated the landscape and culture of its region, panoramas composed of throngs of laborers and locals. Sorolla was immensely proud of the rich culture and beautiful landscape of his nation and was delighted to work on this series of large-scale paintings that helped to promote the region's values to a wider audience. In Seville. The Dance, we find a festival atmosphere, with decorative elements hanging from the walls around this small courtyard. Classical arches are adorned with bright color as the residents below celebrate with dance. The scene is filled entirely with women, dressed in multilayered traditional clothing and flowers in their hair. A few smartly dressed men in suits can be seen to the right but this appears to be a moment for the women to enjoy this festival, a chance to dress up and dance to local music that no doubt would have been playing at the time. In the foreground is a pretty fountain that gives Sorolla the opportunity to reflect light around the painting as well as adding extra architectural interest to this intriguing piece.
