JOAQUÍN SOROLLA | Las Zorreras. Sierra de Guadarrama

Estate of the artist
Elena Sorolla Garcia (by descent from the above, her father. With her estate inscription 39 K- ES on the reverse); thence by descent to the present owner
 

London, Grafton Galleries, Exhibition of Paintings by Señor Sorolla y Bastida, 1908
Roma, Esposizione internazionale di Roma, 1911

Bernardino de Pantorba, La Vida y la Obra de Joaquín Sorolla, Madrid, 1970, p. 159, no. 827

This canvas has not been lined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher. With the exception of some clusters of fine lines of cosmetic retouching in the sky which appear to be addressing some thinness in the paint due to past cleaning, there is no other visible sign of retouching under ultra-violet light. This work is in very good condition and is ready to hang. Presented in a simple gilt frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Painted in early 1907, the present work dates from Sorolla's sojourn at La Angorilla, a country house in El Pardo, north of Madrid, where his daughter María spent much of that year recovering from illness. The landscapes from this period ultimately relate to María Convalescing in El Pardo (private collection), depicting the artist's seventeen-year-old daughter wrapped in blankets before the sierra.

Pantorba references five works of the same dimensions of the Guadarrama range (see Pantorba nos. 220-222; 1607-1608). With the re-emergence and sale in these rooms in 2016 of a further, until then unrecorded work, this brings the total to six, five of which, including the present work, were exhibited at the exhibition of Sorolla's work at the Grafton Galleries in 1908. 

The view in the present work relates closely to one of the versions now in the Meadows Museum, Texas (Pantorba no. 1607). 

We are grateful to Blanca Pons-Sorolla for her assistance in cataloguing this work, which will be included in her forthcoming Sorolla catalogue raisonné (BPS 2117).