El Greco The Assumption of the Virgin Painting ID:: 59156 new21/El Greco-694287.jpg
The Assumption of the Virgin The Assumption of the Virgin (1577?C1579, oil on canvas, 401 ?? 228 cm, Art Institute of Chicago) was one of the nine paintings El Greco completed for the church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo, his first commission in Spain.
El Greco The Disrobing of Christ Painting ID:: 59159 new21/El Greco-564794.jpg
The Disrobing of Christ The Disrobing of Christ (El Espolio) (1577?C1579, oil on canvas, 285 ?? 173 cm, Sacristy of the Cathedral, Toledo) is one of the most famous altarpieces of El Greco. El Greco's altarpieces are renowned for their dynamic compositions and startling innovations.
El Greco View of Toledo Painting ID:: 59160 new21/El Greco-789525.jpg
View of Toledo View of Toledo (c. 1596?C1600, oil on canvas, 47.75 ?? 42.75 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) is one of the two surviving landscapes of Toledo painted by El Greco.
El Greco The Holy Trinity Painting ID:: 59161 new21/El Greco-988486.jpg
The Holy Trinity The Holy Trinity (1577?C1579, 300 ?? 178 cm, oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain) was part of a group of works created for the church "Santo Domingo el Antiguo".
El Greco The Opening of the Fifth Seal Painting ID:: 59162 new21/El Greco-669296.jpg
The Opening of the Fifth Seal The Opening of the Fifth Seal (1608?C1614, oil, 225 ?? 193 cm., New York, Metropolitan Museum) has been suggested to be the prime source of inspiration for Picasso's Les Demoiselles d' Avignon.
El Greco Picasso Les Demoiselles d Avignon Painting ID:: 59163 new21/El Greco-697242.jpg
Picasso Les Demoiselles d Avignon Picasso's Les Demoiselles d' Avignon (1907, oil on canvas, 243.9 ?? 233.7 cm., New York, Museum of Modern Art) appears to have certain morphological and stylistic similarities with The Opening of the Fifth Seal.
El Greco Portrait of Jorge Manuel Theotocopoulos Painting ID:: 59164 new21/El Greco-625987.jpg
Portrait of Jorge Manuel Theotocopoulos Portrait of Jorge Manuel Theotocopoulos (1600?C1605, oil on canvas, 81 ?? 56 cm, Museo Provincial de Bellas Artes, Seville)
El Greco The Modena Triptych Painting ID:: 59165 new21/El Greco-439289.jpg
The Modena Triptych The Modena Triptych (1568, tempera on panel, 37 ?? 23,8 cm (central), 24 ?? 18 cm (side panels), Galleria Estense, Modena) is a small-scale composition attributed to El Greco.
El Greco The Purification of the Temple Painting ID:: 62290 new21/El Greco-722957.jpg
The Purification of the Temple 1571-76 Oil on canvas Institute of Arts, Minneapolis The most significant iconographic feature of this version is the introduction in the lower right-hand corner four portraits of artists. They are, from left to right, Titian, Michelangelo, Giulio Clovio and Raphael (although it has also been suggested that this figure is El Greco himself, Giulio Romano or even Correggio). Their presence can be interpreted as a straightforward homage by El Greco to those artists to whom he felt indebted (and some of whose works he was quoting in the picture).
El Greco Portrait of a Man Painting ID:: 62291 new21/El Greco-487884.jpg
Portrait of a Man 1586-90 Oil on cardboard, 7,9 x 5,7 cm The Hispanic Society of America, New York Work by El Greco in small format, which includes miniatures, small-scale religious paintings and reduced versions of larger compositions, is well documented from the time of his residence in Italy onwards. Yet this interesting portrait miniature remains one of the few known in his oeuvre. It bears an original signature on the back
El Greco St John the Evangelist Painting ID:: 62292 new21/El Greco-596964.jpg
St John the Evangelist 1577 Black chalk with traces of white, on yellowish paper, 255 x 155 mm Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid The drawing is a study for St John the Evangelist, one of the six canvases that El Greco painted for the altarpiece on the High altar of Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo The drawing, now considerably faded, served a practical purpose. The squaring of the sheet indicates that it was used to transfer the design on to the full-scale canvas. In many respects the painting follows the drawing very closely: the arrangements of the hands, feet and draperies are virtually identical
El Greco Study for St John the Evangelist and an Angel Painting ID:: 62293 new21/El Greco-547657.jpg
Study for St John the Evangelist and an Angel 1596-99 Pen and pale-brown ink and wash on off-white paper, 337 x 210 mm J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles This is one of he very few drawings universally accepted as by El Greco. It is a study for the Crucifixion in the Prado, Madrid. It shows the figure of St John the Evangelist, who in the painting is stationed at the foot of the cross on the right side looking up at the crucified Christ. The pose and the gestures are virtually identical. The principal difference is in the figure of the angel, who in the drawing is very close to the saint, whereas in the painting the figures do not overlap at all
El Greco Two Saints Painting ID:: 62294 new21/El Greco-588648.jpg
Two Saints 1577-79 Wood, height about 150 cm Santo Domingo el Antiguo, Toledo The sculptures decorating the altar of Santo Domingo were executed by the Escorial artist J. B. Monegro after designs by El Greco
El Greco Epimetheus and Pandora Painting ID:: 62295 new21/El Greco-864667.jpg
Epimetheus and Pandora 1600s Polychromed wood, height: 43 cm Conde de la Infantas Collection, Granada A few sculptures, including these two strange nudes, have been attributed to El Greco. This attribution is doubtful, however. It is based on the testimony of Pacheco, who saw in El Greco's studio a series of figurines of wax, stucco, and wood, but these may have been merely models, like those used in the Italian workshops where El Greco was trained. The figures illustrated recall certain nudes in paintings by El Greco in their elongated proportions, their supple postures, and their opposition in contrapposto. Nevertheless, they also evoke certain Florentine mannerists, Sansovino or Cellini, and their naturalism and the accentuated musculature of the male figure are surprising for El Greco. The identification of the statuettes is also problematical. Originally thought to represent Adam and Eve or even Vulcan and Venus, they were correctly identified as representing Epimetheus and Pandora in 1961. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, Pandora was the first woman, created from the earth and water. She was brought to life with heavenly fire and married Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus. Zeus gave her a beautiful box containing all manner of evils and calamities and Pandora or according to some versions of the myth, Epimetheus, opened it, releasing them into the world. These small statuettes are carved in wood and painted in oils, the traditional materials of Spanish polychrome sculpture. They are undocumented works but the attribution to the artist is generally accepted
El Greco Bust of an Apostle Painting ID:: 62296 new21/El Greco-365789.jpg
Bust of an Apostle 1612-14 Unpainted wood, height: 48 cm Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid There is only one surviving sculpture by El Greco's own hand in the Toledo Cathedral. Several others were executed by J. B. Monegro after designs by El Greco, among them a series of Apostles
El Greco The Annunciation Painting ID:: 62325 new21/El Greco-479257.jpg
The Annunciation 128 x 83 cm Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio The colour and ecstatic movement is of the utmost splendour and grace, appropriate to the presentation of this particular Mystery, one of El Greco's favourite themes. The painting is a later and simpler version of the subject painted for the Colegio de Do?a Maria, Madrid
El Greco assumption of the virgin Painting ID:: 64033 new21/El Greco-439768.jpg
assumption of the virgin painted 1577
158x90
the art institute of chicago
El Greco assumption of the virgin,detail Painting ID:: 64034 new21/El Greco-647352.jpg
assumption of the virgin,detail painted1577
the art instute of chicago
El Greco holy trinity Painting ID:: 64043 new21/El Greco-554594.jpg
holy trinity painted 1577-78
118x70
the prado museum, madrid
El Greco cleansing of the temple Painting ID:: 64044 new21/El Greco-827346.jpg
cleansing of the temple painted 1584-94, cossio after 1604
41x50
national gallery, london
El Greco el espolio Painting ID:: 64045 new21/El Greco-559832.jpg
el espolio painted 1579
112x68
cathedral, toledo
El Greco st. jerome as a cardinal Painting ID:: 64046 new21/El Greco-652925.jpg
st. jerome as a cardinal painted 1571-76,cossio,last period,mayer
23x18
national gallery,london
El Greco a lady Painting ID:: 64047 new21/El Greco-728369.jpg
a lady painted 1594-1604,cossio. 1578-81,mayer
15x13
john g johnson collection,philadelphia museum of art
El Greco burial of count orgaz Painting ID:: 64049 new21/El Greco-394655.jpg
burial of count orgaz painted 1586
191x141
church of samto tome, toledo
El Greco man with his hand on his breast Painting ID:: 64050 new21/El Greco-365568.jpg
man with his hand on his breast painted 1577-84
31x26
the prado museum, madrid
El Greco st.joseph and the child Painting ID:: 64051 new21/El Greco-848772.jpg
st.joseph and the child painted 1599-1602
44x22
museum of san vicente, toledo
El Greco virgin with santa ines and santa tecla Painting ID:: 64052 new21/El Greco-295377.jpg
virgin with santa ines and santa tecla painted 1597-99
76x40
national gallery of art, washington, dc ,widener collection
El Greco st. martin and the beggar Painting ID:: 64053 new21/El Greco-892254.jpg
st. martin and the beggar painted 1597-99,mayer
75x38
national gallery of art, washington, dc, widener collection
El Greco st. louis, king of france Painting ID:: 64054 new21/El Greco-274527.jpg
st. louis, king of france painted 1586-94
46x37
the louvre, paris
Greek-born Spanish Mannerist Painter, 1541-1614
Considered a representative of late Renaissance Spanish art, El Greco was actually born in Greece, on the island of Crete. After studying in Venice under Titian, El Greco settled in Toledo, Spain in 1577. At the time he was wildly popular, his emotionally religious paintings being just the ticket for the hometown of the Spanish Inquisition. After his death his work was largely ignored until the beginning of the 20th century; now he considered one of the inspired geniuses of Western art. His distinctive style features bold shapes and colors, with elongated and slightly distorted figures.
In Toledo El Greco was in constant demand and liked living large: he maintained a private orchestra to accompany his meals.