GRECO, El Greek-born Spanish Mannerist Painter, 1541-1614
Greek painter, designer and engraver, active in Italy and Spain. One of the most original and interesting painters of 16th-century Europe, he transformed the Byzantine style of his early paintings into another, wholly Western manner. He was active in his native Crete, in Venice and Rome, and, during the second half of his life, in Toledo. He was renowned in his lifetime for his originality and extravagance and provides one of the most curious examples of the oscillations of taste in the evaluation of a painter,
An Allegory with 1577-79 Oil on canvas, 65 x 90 cm Private collection The central figure is closely based on El Greco's earlier painting of a Boy Blowing on an Ember in Naples but the scene has been enlarged to include another male figure, wearing a yellow jacket and red cap, and a chained monkey, who emerges from the darkness on the left to look over the boy's shoulder. The composition, known in two other autograph versions (one of similar size in Edinburgh from around 1590, and another smaller and later in the Prado from around 1600), has usually been interpreted as an allegory with some sort of moralising intent; it is unlikely that it was conceived simply as a genre scene. It bears the traditional title 'F?bula', meaning fable or story. Author: GRECO, El Title: An Allegory with a Boy Lighting a Candle in the Company of an Ape and a Fool (F?bula) , 1551-1600 , Spanish Form: painting , genre
Painting ID:: 62353
An_Allegory_with 1577-79 Oil on canvas, 65 x 90 cm Private collection The central figure is closely based on El Greco's earlier painting of a Boy Blowing on an Ember in Naples but the scene has been enlarged to include another male figure, wearing a yellow jacket and red cap, and a chained monkey, who emerges from the darkness on the left to look over the boy's shoulder. The composition, known in two other autograph versions (one of similar size in Edinburgh from around 1590, and another smaller and later in the Prado from around 1600), has usually been interpreted as an allegory with some sort of moralising intent; it is unlikely that it was conceived simply as a genre scene. It bears the traditional title 'F?bula', meaning fable or story. Author: GRECO, El Title: An Allegory with a Boy Lighting a Candle in the Company of an Ape and a Fool (F?bula) , 1551-1600 , Spanish Form: painting , genre
Christ on the Cross Adored by Two Donors 1580 Oil on canvas Mus?e du Louvre, Paris On the painting a priest and a nobleman, probably the patrons who commissioned the painting, are shown praying before Christ on the cross. This detail shows the priest whose white surplice is similar to that worn by the priest in El Greco's Burial of the Count of Orgaz. He contemplates Christ's sacrifice with compassion and sobriety, his gaze leading our eyes upwards to Christ. Author: GRECO, El Title: Christ on the Cross Adored by Two Donors (detail) , 1551-1600 , Spanish Form: painting , religious
Painting ID:: 62354
Christ_on_the_Cross_Adored_by_Two_Donors 1580 Oil on canvas Mus?e du Louvre, Paris On the painting a priest and a nobleman, probably the patrons who commissioned the painting, are shown praying before Christ on the cross. This detail shows the priest whose white surplice is similar to that worn by the priest in El Greco's Burial of the Count of Orgaz. He contemplates Christ's sacrifice with compassion and sobriety, his gaze leading our eyes upwards to Christ. Author: GRECO, El Title: Christ on the Cross Adored by Two Donors (detail) , 1551-1600 , Spanish Form: painting , religious
GRECO,_El Greek-born Spanish Mannerist Painter, 1541-1614
Greek painter, designer and engraver, active in Italy and Spain. One of the most original and interesting painters of 16th-century Europe, he transformed the Byzantine style of his early paintings into another, wholly Western manner. He was active in his native Crete, in Venice and Rome, and, during the second half of his life, in Toledo. He was renowned in his lifetime for his originality and extravagance and provides one of the most curious examples of the oscillations of taste in the evaluation of a painter,