Dos visiones del espacio marino como modernidad. Entre la poesía de Rubén Darío y la pintura de Joaquín Sorolla

Abstract

The representation of the marine space in Hispanic fin-de-siècle allows us to establish some comments to carry out a new reading of the difficult concept of modernity. The present article studies two visions of the marine space as modernity. On the one hand, the paintings by the Spaniard Joaquin Sorolla present the marine space as a locus amoenus, and as a place for enjoyment where art becomes an economic object. On the other hand, the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío intented to create an art opposed to materialism, and he gave us a vision of the ocean linked to a metaphysical meditation of existential tones. Darío was familiar with Joaquin Sorolla's paintings and he even wrote short essays on them. This particular aspect allows us to prove in a clearer way the differences in their visions about modernity and art.