El Greco. Pictures: history and description

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One of the few old masters who enjoys great popularity today is El Greco. His paintings have taken pride of place among the works of famous artists. The masterpieces of El Greco admired many of his contemporaries, and after the death of the maestro, many followers appeared who adopted the technique of a talented painter.

Crete, or Creation of Religious Paintings

El Greco was born on the island of Crete. This piece of the Mediterranean belonged to the we althy Venetian "empire". The rulers of this power subjected to terror and enslaved local residents. They were interested in Orthodox Greek churches. The Byzantines allowed the icon painters of Crete to create religious canvases in the traditional Byzantine style.

At the age of twenty-five, El Greco began to create altarpieces. Cretan artists borrowed the style of the Italian masters. This is how the mixed Greco-Venetian style appeared, which manifested itself in the first work of El Greco. This damaged icon is located in a church on the island of Syros. It depicts the death of the Holy Virgin Mary. But Crete was small, and the artist had big ambitions. El Greco, whose paintings,in his opinion, could not become popular in his homeland, decides to leave the island.

The period of life and work in Venice

He moved to Venice in 1567 and there began mastering the elements of Renaissance painting. Among his best works of this period - "Christ heals the blind." This theme was especially popular during the Counter-Reformation, because the healing of blindness was a symbol of the revelation of the true faith. The Catholic Church tried to regain its former power by creating a movement called the Reformation. And El Greco, being a religious man, became one of the most influential artists of this plan.

After staying in Venice for three years, the master went south - to the center of Catholic and classical culture (Rome), where he worked from 1570 to 1576. He arrived with a letter of recommendation from the Croatian miniaturist Giulio Clovio, which provided him with a place to live and work in the palace of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, who was the richest and most influential patron in all of Rome.

Unsuccessful career in Rome, or criticism of Michelangelo

Of course, this city made a huge impression on El Greco. The paintings he paints during this period are commissioned portraits, small prayer canvases, and sculptures created for higher-ranking clients. He is lucky and even manages to earn some money. But one of the reasons why El Greco did not achieve popularity in Rome and did not find important patrons is his criticism of Michelangelo, whowas a highly respected person in this city.

In 1576, El Greco again sets off on a journey. He decides to move to Spain and come to the service of King Philip II. The church and the royal court of this country patronized the arts. The city where El Greco settled is Toledo. It was there that he remained until the end of his days.

The city that became the last refuge of the artist

When the artist arrived in Spain, he was thirty-six. Toledo was the cultural center of the country, and El Greco soon felt at home. It was at this time that the city was completely rebuilt. The streets widened, new buildings were erected, the most important among which was the Cathedral. And the first order the artist received here. We are talking about the epic canvas "Taking off the clothes of Christ." This is El Greco's first masterpiece.

His pictures are finally becoming popular. Moreover, the artist finds his own style. Images become not only narrative, but also dynamic. El Greco selects vibrant and vibrant colors. He was lucky, and he got the first serious customer, and then his work attracted the attention of the king himself.

A work commissioned by Philip

What paintings did El Greco paint for Philip? The description of his further creative path informs that the artist received an order to create an altar image called "The Martyrdom of St. Mauritius". At the bottom of the picture you can see Mauritius himself, dressed inblue armor and discussing with the soldiers the possibility of battle. But a different fate awaited him.

On the left side of the canvas, the viewer again sees the main character, looking at what is happening, then his own, but naked, bowed in prayer, and, finally, beheaded. It is immediately noticeable how strong the influence of the Venetian masters was on El Greco. But Philip II did not accept this painting in the idea of an image for the altar, but included it in his personal collection.

Creativity of El Greco, or Paintings for small chapels

At the age of forty-two, the artist was engaged in painting canvases for small churches and chapels. But what about the rest of the paintings by El Greco, whose names are familiar to many art lovers? It was during this period that the most famous creation of the painter was created - "The Burial of Count Orgas". It was a nobleman who lived in the fourteenth century. During his funeral, a miracle happened: Saints Stephen and Augustine descended from heaven and lowered the deceased into the coffin. And the masterpiece we mentioned just depicts this story.

We briefly reviewed the biography of the talented El Greco. His paintings are always very large-scale in content. It is not for nothing that his work, rediscovered in the nineteenth century, influenced the artists of that time. And today this man is considered one of the world's greatest painters.