On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P04649
- Author
- Sorolla y Bastida, Joaquín (Spanish)
- Title
- And They Still Say Fish are Expensive!
- Chronology
- 1894
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 151,5 cm x 204 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COMPRA
- Procedence
- Acquisition, 1895
Inside a ship, two aged fisherman
with serious, worried expressions
tend to a younger one who lies on
the deck after an accident. A
protective medal hanging from the
younger one's torso is supposed to
ward off seagoing misfortunes like
the one he has just suffered.
Various fishing implements and even
some fish are visible around the
figures.
This subject stems from the
artist's deep social concerns. The
suffering of maritime workers ties
in with other paintings Sorolla
made around 1890. Here it is
directly inspired by the view of
that subject offered by writer
Vicente Blasco Ibáñez in his novel,
Flor de Mayo.
The drawing is rigorous and
descriptive, but the tradition of
Velasquez appears in the use of
color, where ochres predominate.
The composition is unbalanced
toward one side, giving it great
depth. And some aspects, such as
the warm lighting coming from the
hatchway, foreshadow the importance
light will have in this artist's
later works.
Location on the map
