Portraying disease: Sorolla's Sad Legacy.

In 1899, the Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla represented, in a large canvas, a group of children probably with sequels of poliomyelitis bathing at Valencia's beach. The title of this painting was Sad Legacy. This work contributed to the international diffusion of Sorolla's artistic creation. We briefly report some facts regarding the painter and his work referring to those portraits of children and especially of sick children.