The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (204 page)
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Authors: Ian Chilvers
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Greaves , Walter
.
.
Greco , El
(1541–1614).
Cretan-born painter, sculptor, and architect who settled in Spain and is regarded as the first great genius of the Spanish School. He was known as El Greco (the Greek), but his real name was Domenikos Theotocopoulos ; and it was thus that he signed his paintings throughout his life, always in Greek characters, and sometimes followed by
Kres
(Cretan). Little is known of his youth, and only a few works survive by him in the
Byzantine
tradition of
icon
painting, notably the
Dormition of the Virgin
discovered in 1983 (Church of the Koimesis tis Theotokou, Syros). In 1566 he is referred to in a Cretan document as a master painter; soon afterwards he went to Venice (Crete was then a Venetian possession), then in 1570 moved to Rome. The
miniaturist
Giulio
Clovio
, whom he met there, described him as a pupil of
Titian
, but of all the Venetian painters
Tintoretto
influenced him most, and
Michelangelo's
impact on his development was also important.
Among the surviving works of his Italian period are two paintings of the
Purification of the Temple
(Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and NG, Washington), a much-repeated theme, and the portrait of Giulio Clovio (Museo di Capodimonte, Naples). By 1577 he was at Toledo, where he remained until his death, and it was there that he matured his characteristic style in which figures elongated into flame-like forms and usually painted in cold, eerie, bluish colours express intense religious feeling. The commission that took him to Toledo—the high altarpiece of the church of S. Domingo el Antiguo—was gained through Diego de Castilla, Dean of Canons at Toledo Cathedral, whom El Greco had met in Rome. The central part of the altarpiece, a 4-m. high canvas of
The Assumption of the Virgin
(Art Inst. of Chicago, 1577), was easily his biggest work to date, but he carried off the dynamic composition triumphantly. A succession of great altarpieces followed throughout his career, the two most famous being
El Espolio
(Christ Stripped of His Garments) (Toledo Cathedral, 1577–9) and
The Burial of Count Orgaz
(S. Tomé, Toledo, 1586–8). These two mighty works convey the awesomeness of great spiritual events with a sense of mystic rapture, and in his late work El Greco went even further in freeing his figures from earth-bound restrictions:
The Adoration of the Shepherds
(Prado, Madrid, 1612–14), painted for his own tomb, is a prime example.
El Greco excelled also as a portraitist, mainly of ecclesiastics (
Felix Paravicino
, Boston Mus., 1609) or gentlemen, although one of his most beautiful works is a portrait of a lady (Pollock House, Glasgow,
c.
1577–80), traditionally identified as a likeness of Jeronima de las Cuevas , his common-law wife. He also painted two views of Toledo (Met. Mus., New York, and Museo del Greco, Toledo), both late works, and a mythological painting,
Laocoön
(NG, Washington,
c.
1610), that is unique in his
œuvre
. The unusual choice of subject is perhaps explained by the local tradition that Toledo had been founded by descendants of the Trojans. El Greco also designed complete altar compositions, working as architect and sculptor as well as painter, for instance at the Hospital de la Caridad, Illescas (1603).
Pacheco
, who visited El Greco in 1611, refers to him as a writer on painting, sculpture, and architecture. He had a proud temperament, conceiving of himself as an artist—philosopher rather than a craftsman, and had a lavish lifestyle, although he had little success in securing the royal patronage he desired and seems to have had some financial difficulties near the end of his life. His workshop turned out a great many replicas of his paintings, but his work was so personal that his influence was slight, his only followers of note being his son
Jorge Manuel Theotocopouli
and Luis
Tristán
. Interest in his art revived at the end of the 19th cent. and with the development of
Expressionism
in the 20th cent. he came into his own. The strangeness of his art has inspired various theories, for example that he was mad or suffered from astigmatism, but his rapturous paintings make complete sense as an expression of the religious fervour of his adopted country.
Cretan-born painter, sculptor, and architect who settled in Spain and is regarded as the first great genius of the Spanish School. He was known as El Greco (the Greek), but his real name was Domenikos Theotocopoulos ; and it was thus that he signed his paintings throughout his life, always in Greek characters, and sometimes followed by
Kres
(Cretan). Little is known of his youth, and only a few works survive by him in the
Byzantine
tradition of
icon
painting, notably the
Dormition of the Virgin
discovered in 1983 (Church of the Koimesis tis Theotokou, Syros). In 1566 he is referred to in a Cretan document as a master painter; soon afterwards he went to Venice (Crete was then a Venetian possession), then in 1570 moved to Rome. The
miniaturist
Giulio
Clovio
, whom he met there, described him as a pupil of
Titian
, but of all the Venetian painters
Tintoretto
influenced him most, and
Michelangelo's
impact on his development was also important.
Among the surviving works of his Italian period are two paintings of the
Purification of the Temple
(Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and NG, Washington), a much-repeated theme, and the portrait of Giulio Clovio (Museo di Capodimonte, Naples). By 1577 he was at Toledo, where he remained until his death, and it was there that he matured his characteristic style in which figures elongated into flame-like forms and usually painted in cold, eerie, bluish colours express intense religious feeling. The commission that took him to Toledo—the high altarpiece of the church of S. Domingo el Antiguo—was gained through Diego de Castilla, Dean of Canons at Toledo Cathedral, whom El Greco had met in Rome. The central part of the altarpiece, a 4-m. high canvas of
The Assumption of the Virgin
(Art Inst. of Chicago, 1577), was easily his biggest work to date, but he carried off the dynamic composition triumphantly. A succession of great altarpieces followed throughout his career, the two most famous being
El Espolio
(Christ Stripped of His Garments) (Toledo Cathedral, 1577–9) and
The Burial of Count Orgaz
(S. Tomé, Toledo, 1586–8). These two mighty works convey the awesomeness of great spiritual events with a sense of mystic rapture, and in his late work El Greco went even further in freeing his figures from earth-bound restrictions:
The Adoration of the Shepherds
(Prado, Madrid, 1612–14), painted for his own tomb, is a prime example.
El Greco excelled also as a portraitist, mainly of ecclesiastics (
Felix Paravicino
, Boston Mus., 1609) or gentlemen, although one of his most beautiful works is a portrait of a lady (Pollock House, Glasgow,
c.
1577–80), traditionally identified as a likeness of Jeronima de las Cuevas , his common-law wife. He also painted two views of Toledo (Met. Mus., New York, and Museo del Greco, Toledo), both late works, and a mythological painting,
Laocoön
(NG, Washington,
c.
1610), that is unique in his
œuvre
. The unusual choice of subject is perhaps explained by the local tradition that Toledo had been founded by descendants of the Trojans. El Greco also designed complete altar compositions, working as architect and sculptor as well as painter, for instance at the Hospital de la Caridad, Illescas (1603).
Pacheco
, who visited El Greco in 1611, refers to him as a writer on painting, sculpture, and architecture. He had a proud temperament, conceiving of himself as an artist—philosopher rather than a craftsman, and had a lavish lifestyle, although he had little success in securing the royal patronage he desired and seems to have had some financial difficulties near the end of his life. His workshop turned out a great many replicas of his paintings, but his work was so personal that his influence was slight, his only followers of note being his son
Jorge Manuel Theotocopouli
and Luis
Tristán
. Interest in his art revived at the end of the 19th cent. and with the development of
Expressionism
in the 20th cent. he came into his own. The strangeness of his art has inspired various theories, for example that he was mad or suffered from astigmatism, but his rapturous paintings make complete sense as an expression of the religious fervour of his adopted country.
Greek Revival and Greek Taste
.
.
Green , Anthony
(1939– ).
British painter. He specializes in scenes from his own middle-class domestic life portrayed with loving attention to detail and an engaging sense of whimsy. Often he uses oddly
shaped canvases
that accentuate his strange perspective effects, and his subjects are frequently erotic as well as humorous. His work, which is often on a large scale, is instantly recognizable and is generally highly popular with the public at the
Royal Academy
summer exhibition, for he communicates with rare intensity the loving feeling he puts into his paintings.
British painter. He specializes in scenes from his own middle-class domestic life portrayed with loving attention to detail and an engaging sense of whimsy. Often he uses oddly
shaped canvases
that accentuate his strange perspective effects, and his subjects are frequently erotic as well as humorous. His work, which is often on a large scale, is instantly recognizable and is generally highly popular with the public at the
Royal Academy
summer exhibition, for he communicates with rare intensity the loving feeling he puts into his paintings.
Green , William
.
.
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