| Greco, El (1541-1614),
Spanish Mannerist painter, whose work, with that of Francisco de Goya and
Diego Velázquez, represents the acme of Spanish art. El Greco (meaning
"The Greek") was born in Candia, now Iráklion, Crete (then a possession
of the Republic of Venice), in 1541 and was named Domenikos Theotokopoulos.
Details of his early life and training are sketchy, but he probably first
studied painting in his native city. Although no works from his first years
survive, they were probably painted in the late Byzantine style popular
in Crete at the time (see Byzantine Art and Architecture). Reminiscences
of this style are seen in his later work. He was an erudite man, whose
taste for classical and contemporaneous literature seems to have developed
in his youth.
Early Work in Venice and Rome
About 1566, El Greco went to Venice, where he remained until 1570. He
was employed in the workshop of Titian and was also strongly influenced
by Tintoretto, both masters of the High Renaissance (see Renaissance Art
and Architecture). Such early Venetian paintings as his Christ Healing
the Blind Man (1566?-1567?, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden) demonstrate his
assimilation of Titianesque color and of Tintoretto's figural compositions
and use of deep spatial recesses. Further Italian inspiration came during
the years El Greco spent in Rome, from 1570 to 1576. The sculptural qualities
of the work of Italian artist Michelangelo inspired him, as is evident
in his Pietà (1570?-1572?, Philadelphia Museum of Art) and Purification
of the Temple (1570?-1575?, Minneapolis Institute of Arts). A study of
Roman architecture also reinforced the stability of his compositions, which
often include views of Roman Renaissance buildings. Move to Spain In Rome
he met several Spaniards associated with the church in Toledo, who may
have persuaded him to come to Spain. In 1576 he left Italy and, after a
brief sojourn in Malta, arrived in Toledo in the spring of 1577. He quickly
began work on his first Spanish commission, producing for the Church of
Santo Domingo el Antiguo the sumptuous Assumption of the Virgin (1577,
Art Institute of Chicago), a painting that marks a turning point in his
art. Although compositionally based on Titian's Assumption (1516-1518)
in Santa Maria dei Frari in Venice, the colors and spatial relationships
are less Italianate. A move toward nonnormative colors, groupings, and
figural proportions became more marked in El Greco's art with each successive
phase.
El Greco was anxious to be given the commission to fresco the walls
of the newly built royal monastery-palace of El Escorial near Madrid, completed
in 1582. He submitted several paintings to King Philip II for approval
but was denied the commission. One of these, The Triumph of the Holy League
(1578?-1579?, versions in El Escorial and in the National Gallery, London),
proves his ability to combine complex political iconography with medieval
motifs. El Greco also worked for Toledo Cathedral: The Disrobing of Christ
(1577-1579) for the sacristy presents a splendid image of Christ in a rich
red garment, closely surrounded by his captors.The work caused the first
of several lawsuits brought by the artist against his patrons, who objected
to its high price.
Emergence As a Spanish Master
In 1586 El Greco painted one of his greatest masterpieces, The Burial
of Count Orgaz, for the Church of Santo Tomé in Toledo. This work,
still in place, portrays a 14th-century Toledan nobleman laid in his grave
(in actuality situated just below the painting) by Saints Stephen and Augustine.
Above, the count's soul rises to a heaven densely populated with angels,
saints, and contemporary political figures. The Burial also manifests El
Greco's typical elongation of figures and a horror vacui (dread of unfilled
spaces), features of his art that became more pronounced in later years.
These characteristics may be associated with international mannerism, which
is still evident in the art of El Greco sometime after it had ceased to
be widely popular in European painting.
El Greco's intensely personal vision was rooted in his highly cultivated
spirituality. Indeed, there is present in his canvases a mystical atmosphere
similar to that evoked in the writings of such contemporaneous Spanish
mystics as Saint Teresa of Ávila and Saint John of the Cross, although
no evidence exists that El Greco had any personal contact with them. El
Greco was a prosperous man. He had a large house in Toledo, where he received
members of the nobility and the intellectual elite, such as the poets Luis
de Góngora and Fray Hortensio Felix de Paravicino, whose portrait,
painted by El Greco from 1609 to 1610, is now in the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston. El Greco also painted views of the city of Toledo itself, such
as View of Toledo (1600?-1610?, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City),
even though landscape was a genre traditionally neglected by Spanish artists.
Later Paintings
feverish intensity can be sensed in many of El Greco's canvases dating
from the 1590s until the time of his death. Baptism of Christ (signed in
Greek, as was the artist's custom, 1596?-1600?) and Adoration of the Shepherds
(1612-1614), both in the Prado, seem to pulsate with an eerie light generated
by the holy figures themselves. In addition, the Adoration figures are
enveloped by a steamy haze, observable in other late works, which intensifies
the mystical nature of the event. Subjects of classical mythology, such
as the Laocoon (1610?-1614?, National Gallery, Washington, D.C.), and Old
Testament history, such as the unfinished apocalyptic scene Opening of
the Fifth Seal (1608?-1614?, Metropolitan Museum), attest to El Greco's
humanistic learning and his brilliantly personal and novel approach to
traditional themes. El Greco died in Toledo on April 7, 1614, and he was
buried there in Santo Domingo el Antiguo.
"Greco, El," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 97 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1996
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TEMPLE
OF EL GRECO
