Swimmers, Jávea

Swimmers, Javea is an oil on canvas painting by Joaquin Sorolla, it depicts two naked children swimming in the sea. The scene of the painting is the shores of Javea a small coastal town in Spain known for its beautiful seawater.

The two children are swimming towards a rock in the top left corner of the painting seems to catch a breather. The painting has vivid colors including sky blue a reflection of the skies in the clear water, emerald green which is the effect of light in water, and brown colored rock. Also, the neck of one child is red depicting the effects of the hot sun in the coastal town. Sorolla belonged to the impressionism movement. He is noted for his landscape paintings of the beaches of Valencia. He is seen to celebrate a way of life of the coastal people with numerous artworks of his subjects taking a bath, swimming, and even fishing expeditions in the sea. He emphasizes naked scenes of his subjects particularly that of children a style that seems to be immoral and yet acceptable to the viewers' eyes as it is not offensive.

Among his great influence were exhibitions of Jules Bastien Lepage and Adolf von Menzel and these two artists were known for their realistic paintings. Other related artworks of Sorolla include: Sad Inheritance a painting of a crowd of sickly and crippled children taking a bath at the sea with the supervision of a monk, Walk on the Beach is a painting of two women a tribute to his wife and eldest daughter taking a walk on the beach and Children on the Beach is a painting of three naked children lying on their bellies while at the beach playing. His life and artwork influenced dances, plays, and other artists such as Alberto Pla y Rubio and Julio Romero de Torres. His work was criticized for revealing nudity and having bright sunlight, but to him this was a representation of his native people under the bright sunlight and sunlit water. A unique style of art that made his work famous all over. Through his paintings, He is seen to shown feelings of social consciousness towards society, an enthusiast of nature, and a loving family man.