Calamos Supports Greece
GreekReporter.comGreek NewsArtEl Greco's Talent Unfolds in New York

El Greco’s Talent Unfolds in New York

El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) A View of Toledo Ca. 1598-99 Oil on canvas, 47 3/4 x 42 3/4 in. (121.3 x 108.6 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) A View of Toledo
Ca. 1598-99
Oil on canvas, 47 3/4 x 42 3/4 in. (121.3 x 108.6 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929

Through February 1, 2015, the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art features sixteen brilliant masterpieces of El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos). The exhibition “El Greco in New York,” which apotheosizes the grand artistic footprint of the extraordinary Greek painter, marks four hundred years after his death and includes ten paintings from the Metropolitan Museum and other six lent from the Hispanic Society of America. The exhibit is supplemented with three more paintings from the Frick Collection on display for the first time, only a few blocks away.

Theotokopoulos was born in Crete, Greece, in 1541, living most of his life in Italy and Spain until his death in Toledo in 1614. Crete (a part of the Republic of Venice at that time) has been a great influence on him, expressed through his ‘blossom’ as an icon painter of Post-Byzantine art with many references to Byzantium’s monkish mysticism, an element that had been steadily delivered in his later works.

After becoming a discipline of Titian in Venice, he moved to Rome, where he studied anatomy. Although he adopted many elements of Mannerism and Venetian Renaissance during his stay in Italy, he never accepted Michelangelo’s artistic ability because he was still opposed to the celebration of the body being expressed during the Renaissance. The appreciation that he sought as an artist was finally found in Toledo, where he settled for the rest of his life.

Famous for his religious elongated figures and fantastic coloring, with a thorough influence on modern art, El Greco constitutes one of the most distinguished European artists. His fragile but fully expressive figures placed in specific constructed places, the bright colors used to create splendid visionary effects, as well as the psychological drama that he depicted in his paintings, have inspired modern artists such as Beckmann, Kokoschka, Manet, Delacroix, Picasso, Cézanne, Pollock, German Expressionists and Abstract Expressionists.

Info
“El Greco in New York”
Through February 1
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028, tel (212) 535-7710
European Paintings, Gallery 608, 2nd floor
Open 7 Days a Week: November-February (10:00 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.), Closed December 25 and January 1
Admission: Adults $25.00, seniors (65 and over) $17.00, students $12.00
Members and children under 12 accompanied by adult free of charge

El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) Saint Luke Ca. 1600-1605 Oil on canvas Hispanic Society of America, New York
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) Saint Luke
Ca. 1600-1605
Oil on canvas
Hispanic Society of America, New York
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) The Vision of Saint John 1608–14 Oil on canvas 87 1/2 x 76in. (222.3 x 193cm); with added strips 88 1/2 x 78 1/2 in. (224.8 x 199.4 cm) [top truncated] The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1956
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) The Vision of Saint John
1608–14
Oil on canvas
87 1/2 x 76in. (222.3 x 193cm); with added strips 88 1/2 x 78 1/2 in. (224.8 x 199.4 cm) [top truncated]
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1956
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) Cardinal Fernando Niño de Guevara (1541–1609) Ca. 1600 Oil on canvas, 67 1/4 x 42 1/2in. (170.8 x 108cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) Cardinal Fernando Niño de Guevara (1541–1609)
Ca. 1600
Oil on canvas, 67 1/4 x 42 1/2in. (170.8 x 108cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) Christ Carrying the Cross Ca. 1580–85 Oil on canvas The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.145)
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) Christ Carrying the Cross
Ca. 1580–85
Oil on canvas
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.145)
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) Portrait of an Old Man Ca. 1595–1600 Oil on canvas, 20 3/4 x 18 3/8 in. (52.7 x 46.7 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1924
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) Portrait of an Old Man
Ca. 1595–1600
Oil on canvas, 20 3/4 x 18 3/8 in. (52.7 x 46.7 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1924

El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) Saint Jerome as a Scholar Ca. 1610 Oil on canvas, 42 1/2 x 35 1/16 in. (108 x 89 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1540/41–1614 Toledo) Saint Jerome as a Scholar
Ca. 1610
Oil on canvas, 42 1/2 x 35 1/16 in. (108 x 89 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975

See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!



Related Posts