El Greco: The Greek Painter Who Changed the Art World

El Greco’s “Portrait of an Old Man,” believed to beryllium a self-portrait, 1595. Credit: Public Domain

The Greek creator El Greco (October 1, 1541 – April 7, 1614) is 1 of the champion known artists successful the full past of Western art, and his unique, romanticist and awe-inspiring works person influenced a large fig of painters implicit the past 5 centuries.

Even though his Byzantine-inspired benignant was precise circumstantial and personal, his enactment had an interaction connected Realist, Impressionist, Cubist, and Abstract painters.

Picasso, Van Gogh, Cezanne, and adjacent Jackson Pollock sought inspiration from the masterpieces of the Greek painter, who was well-known successful his clip but fell intro comparative obscurity until collectors and critics “rediscovered” him successful the 18th century.

Due to his shockingly modern and forward-thinking style, the superb Greek creator is besides known arsenic the “Grandfather of Expressionism.”

El Greco began his vocation coating beatified icons

El Greco (“The Greek”), arsenic the Italians dubbed him, was calved Domenikos Theotokopoulos connected October 1, 1541 successful Heraklion, Crete. However, the lipid creator spent the astir portion of his beingness successful Italy and successful Spain, wherever helium created his best-known works.

Theotokopoulos was trained archetypal arsenic a painter, oregon “writer,” of holy icons. His non-naturalistic style, truthful precise antithetic from the visually softer, Western European style, soon made him basal retired from each others moving astatine the time.

“I overgarment due to the fact that the spirits susurration madly wrong my head,” helium was erstwhile quoted arsenic saying. Theotokopoulos moved to Venice successful 1567, a earthy determination arsenic Crete was Venetian territory astatine the time.

Once there, the 26-year-old creator soon mastered the existent benignant of Renaissance painting. His works were successful information narratives, the immense bulk of his themes religious. In 1570 helium moved to Rome, wherever helium lived and worked until 1576.

El Greco’s “Purification of the Temple,” aboriginal 1570’s. Credit: Public Domain.

It was a clip erstwhile the influences of Michelangelo, Raphael and Da Vinci were paramount successful the creation world. Yet El Greco stayed existent to his own, unsocial creator vision, not pursuing the benignant of the acknowledged masters.

Characteristically, the information that helium criticized the works of Michelangelo, a fig revered successful Rome, outgo him the acceptance of his ain enactment and led to his ostracization from the remainder of the creation world.

“You indispensable survey the Masters but defender the archetypal benignant that beats wrong your psyche and enactment to the sword those who would effort to bargain it,” Theotokopoulos was erstwhile quoted arsenic saying, successful his accustomed melodramatic manner.

Indeed, his benignant and palette were wholly unique, and shocked the creation satellite of the day. He painted elongated, twisted forms, utilizing exaggerated, unreal colors, frankincense creating works which were unmistakably his own.

In essence, helium rejected the established perceptions of what creation should be, and nary different creator surviving astatine the clip had dared to bash that.

Theotokopoulos, similar truthful galore different artists possibly having been calved acold earlier his time, paid the terms for adhering to his ain vision, with the effect that helium was to each intents and purposes ousted from Rome.

The creator moves to Spain, follows his own, unsocial style

So successful 1576, El Greco chose to marque his fateful determination to Spain, wherever helium made a bid to triumph the patronage of King Phillip II, to nary avail. But erstwhile helium moved to Toledo, helium yet recovered the designation helium deserved and helium rapidly made the metropolis his home.

In Toledo, this creator genius’ enactment yet won the admiration of his peers arsenic good arsenic creation lovers. It was successful that metropolis wherever El Greco created galore of his precise finest masterpieces.

He besides recovered a radical of friends and colleagues who understood his vision, and was yet capable to marque a profitable surviving arsenic an artist.

El Greco was soon commissioned to overgarment 3 altarpieces by the dean of the Toledo Cathedral. The paintings, which were to beryllium for the Church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, turned retired to beryllium immoderate of the largest masterpieces the creator created.

“The Disrobing of Christ,” El Greco, 1579. Located successful the sacristy of the Toledo Cathedral. Credit: Public Domain

During that clip his spiritual quality genuinely came to fruition successful his work. “I was created by the all-powerful God to capable the beingness with my masterpieces,” the Greek creator erstwhile said, successful 1 of his little humble moments.

However, portion coating these works, El Greco was paid little than what helium had been hoping for, truthful helium brought a ineligible lawsuit to court, asking lone that helium beryllium paid a just wage for his work.

The quality caused a rift successful the radical of friends who had befriended him successful Toledo, and the consequences of bringing this ineligible lawsuit permanently damaged his career. Because of his ineligible action, helium ne'er received different worthwhile committee from the spiritual authorities, and was successful information ne'er hired to overgarment successful immoderate religion for the remainder of his life.

However, the Greek maestro creator did gain commissions from backstage individuals and associations until the extremity of his career.

El Greco’s “The Burial of Count Orgaz,” from 1586. Credit: Public Domain

According to the sentiment of galore creation critics and artists, El Greco’s champion coating was “The Burial of Count Orgaz,” which was commissioned by the parish clergyman of Santo Tome successful Toledo successful 1586.

The work, which is divided into 2 parts, combining the heavenly and the earthly, is considered by galore to beryllium the astir beauteous spiritual coating of each time.

The coating tells the communicative of the burial ceremonial of the pious philanthropist Count Orgaz by the Cardinal and a big of different clerics. During the ceremony, the heavens divided unfastened and the mourners witnessed a entity filled with achromatic and achromatic and starkly-colored images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, St. John, and different saints and angels.

The works of El Greco were appreciated aft his time

Once afloat established successful Toledo, El Greco completed galore commissions from a scope of patrons and lived determination for the remainder of his life. However, the decennary from 1597 to 1607 was the astir prolific for the Greek master, and helium created the bulk of his known enactment during that period.

From 1585 onward to the extremity of his life, El Greco lived successful a analyzable consisting of 3 apartments, with twenty-four rooms, which belonged to the Marquis de Villena. He passed distant connected April 7, 1614, astatine the property of 73.

The large maestro was survived by his lad Jorge Manuel, calved successful 1578, besides a painter, who had worked nether his begetter and continued to imitate his compositions for galore years aft helium inherited the studio.

El Greco’s “Concert of Angels,” from 1610. Credit: Public Domain

As tastes and styles changed, El Greco’s creation was not wide appreciated by the procreation aft his death. However, successful the eighteenth period his enactment was re-evaluated with the accomplishment of the Romantic movement.

Writers, artists and critics realized successful El Greco a gifted, misunderstood psyche who created large creation which was successful a benignant earlier its time. Some adjacent called him the precursor of the Romantic question itself.

By the nineteenth century, El Greco’s enactment was afloat recognized by all, including artists, critics and creation lovers, establishing his sanction everlastingly successful the satellite pantheon of genuinely great, influential artists.

In 2014, Greece celebrated “The Year of El Greco,” successful commemoration, 400 years aft his death, of its brilliant, visionary maestro of lipid painting. Many of his important works tin beryllium seen contiguous successful Madrid’s Prado Museum.