Sorolla's Cow Painting - Draw Paint Academy

I was exploring master paintings when something by Joaquín Sorolla caught my eye.

Joaquín Sorolla, Las Zorreras, Sierra de Guadarrama, 1907, 1200W — Joaquín Sorolla, Las Zorreras, Sierra de Guadarrama, 1907

It’s a simple painting. It almost appears as a study, with the simplified detail and unfinished edges. But there’s a remarkable sense of realism to it, as if Sorolla was able to capture the pure essence and character of the subject, and not a detail more.

I sometimes find these simplified paintings more insightful than the grand, refined masterpieces, as they often reveal more about the master’s raw processes. The refined masterpieces tend to be so complex and intricate that it’s hard to comprehend how they even got there.

I first saw the painting as a thumbnail. It’s always a good test of a painting to look at it as a thumbnail. If it appears realistic, then the fundamentals are likely on point. That’s certainly the case here. There’s no mistaking what the painting is about.

Joaquín Sorolla, Las Zorreras, Sierra de Guadarrama, 1907, 200W

Then you zoom in and notice the simplified detail. The cow doesn’t even have eyes!

Joaquín Sorolla, Las Zorreras, Sierra de Guadarrama, 1907, Detail 2

That’s the power of getting the fundamentals right and simply putting the right colors in the right spots. It allows you to convey a significant amount of realism whilst being pretty vague on the details if you so choose. Students often have it the other way around. They focus on the tiny, intricate details, often at the expense of the big-picture shapes and colors. But the tiny details are irrelevant if the fundamentals are off.

Sorolla is also one of those artists whose work I can identify straight away. I’d say it’s due to his rich colors, luscious strokes, and raw talent. I don’t like to talk about talent much, as people often assume they don’t have it and use that as an excuse not to attempt something. But if anyone had it, Sorolla sure did. (On the topic of talent, Richard Schmid had some wise advice on page 11 of Alla Prima II: “Don’t bother about whether or not you have it. Just assume you do, and then please forget about it.”)

Here are a few other close-ups. Look at those lucious strokes and how he transitioned between areas.

Joaquín Sorolla, Las Zorreras, Sierra de Guadarrama, 1907, Detail 3

Joaquín Sorolla, Las Zorreras, Sierra de Guadarrama, 1907, Detail 1

Joaquín Sorolla, Las Zorreras, Sierra de Guadarrama, 1907, Detail 4

Anyway, enjoy the painting. If you want to dive deeper into color, you may be interested in our Color Masterclass. Only one more day left to enroll. The next cohort won’t be until mid-2026.

Happy painting!