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In 1894, Sorolla met the Impressionist painters in Paris. Like them, he liked to work en plein air and was interested in the use of light and the impression it made. But unlike the French masters, such as Claude Monet, Sorolla was still interested in drawing, composition and movement, reflecting the veritable reality, and capturing the colour and light of his homeland with the utmost vividness. For this reason, Sorolla is said to be a naturalist and luminist rather than an impressionist.

He also met other artists in Paris, such as the great portraitists John Singer Sargent and James Whistler, with whom he shared a naturalistic and realistic approach, a keen sensitivity and the use of light brushstrokes. And, like Sorolla, Velázquez was one of their main points of reference.