This work was painted by Sorolla when he was still a student at the Academy of San Carlos in Valencia, a little-known period of his life. In this early work — already attributed to Sorolla by Blanca Pons-Sorolla, and whose authorship we were able to confirm after restoring the piece at the CAEM facilities — we can see the hand of a young but promising Sorolla, with a great natural talent, at the very moment when he began to discover Velázquez’s work first-hand. The influence of this great artist, whom Sorolla deeply admired, can be seen in some details of this genuine work.
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