El Greco (1541–1614) was a Cretan-born painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. El Greco left his birthplace for Venice in 1567, never to return. El Greco's three years in Venice profoundly influenced his style. In 1577, he emigrated to Toledo, Spain, where he lived and worked until the end of his life.

El Greco's artworks are thus divided into three main periods:

  • Works he painted while he was still in Crete
  • Works he painted while he was still in Venice and Rome
  • Works he painted while he was still in Toledo

El Greco was mainly a painter but a few sculptures, including Epimetheus and Pandora, have also been attributed to him.[1] This doubtful attribution is based on the testimony of Pacheco, who claimed to see a series of wax, stucco, and wooden figurines in his studio, but these may have been models like those used in the Italian workshops (like the one El Greco himself had created in Italy). The figures illustrated recall certain nudes in paintings by El Greco in their elongated proportions, but their naturalism and the accentuated musculature of the male figure are regarded by certain researchers as surprising for El Greco.[2] Among the surviving El Greco works are four drawings;[3] three of them preparatory works for the altarpiece of Santo Domingo el Antiguo and the fourth a study for one of his paintings, The Crucifixion.[4]

List of selected works

At the time of El Greco's death his belonging included 115 paintings, 15 sketches and 150 drawings. In 1908 Manuel B. Cossio, who regarded El Greco's style as a response to Spanish mysticism, published the first comprehensive catalogue of his works. In 1937 a highly influential study by art historian Rodolfo Pallucchini had the effect of greatly increasing the publicly accepted works of El Greco. Palluchini attributed to El Greco a small triptych in the Galleria Estense at Modena on the basis of a signature on the painting on the back of the central panel on the Modena triptych. There was consensus that the triptych was indeed an early work of El Greco and, therefore, Pallucchini's publication became the yardstick for attributions to the artist.[5] As a result, about 119 disputed compositions (including 19 "signed") were attributed to El Greco. Nevertheless, this "over-production" of El Greco's works created a reaction by other scholars.[6] Wethey denied that the Modena triptych had any connection with the artist and produced a reactive 1962 catalogue raisonné with a greatly reduced corpus of materials. Where art historian José Camón Aznar had attributed between 787 and 829 paintings to El Greco, Wethey reduced the number to 285 authentic works. Halldor Sœhner, a German researcher of Spanish art, recognized only 137.[7] Both Wethey and Sœhner divided in their catalogues the works in those painted by El Greco and those produced by his workshop.[6]

Since 1962 the discovery of the Dormition and the extensive archival research has gradually convinced scholarship that Wethey's assessments were not undisputed, and that his catalogue decisions may have distorted the whole nature of El Greco's origins, development and oeuvre. The discovery of the Dormition led to the attributions of other three signed works of "Doménicos" to El Greco (Modena Triptych, St. Luke Painting the Virgin and Child and The Adoration of the Magi) and then to the acceptance as authentic of more works, some signed, some not, which were brought into the group of early works of El Greco. In 2006 another disputed work, The Passion of Christ — Pietà with Angels, has been finally attributed to El Greco. The painting had been photographed just before the signature was removed; Nano Chatzidakis, curator of the British Library exhibition and Professor of Byzantine Art and Archaeology at the University of Ioannina, unearthed the restorer's photograph.[8]

Nowadays the number of El Greco's works is estimated[9] at about 500. Nevertheless, certain disputes over the exact number of El Greco's authentic works remain unresolved, and the status of Wethey's (still highly esteemed) catalogue is at the centre of these disagreements.[6] Quantitatively, the disagreements are mostly concerned with the end rather than the beginning of his career. It is clear his son continued to sell "El Grecos" for many years after the artists death, and in his later years he had a large workshop who, as with other important artists of the period, produced repetitions of many of his compositions. The identification of these, and deciding how much involvement the master had, if any, in each case, remains unsettled.

These are some of El Greco's most important paintings:

Cretan period (b. 1567)

Image Title Date Technique Size (см) Location Note
Adoration of the Magi c.1565 — 1567 Wood, tempera and gold leaf 40 × 45 Benaki Museum, Athens
Adoration of the Magi c. 1565 — 1567 Oil on canvas 45 × 52 Museum of Lazaro Galdiano, Madrid
Adoration of the Magi c. 1565 — 1567 Oil on canvas private collection
St. Luke Painting the Virgin and Child c. 1567 Wood, tempera and gold leaf 41.6 × 33 Benaki Museum, Athens
Assumption of the Virgin c. 1567 Wood, tempera and gold leaf 61.4 × 45 Cathedral of the Assumption, Ermoupolis
Christ Healing the Blind 1567 oil on canvas 65.5 × 84 Old Masters Gallery, Dresden
Modena Triptych c. 1567—1569 Tempera on Wood 37 × 23.8
24 × 18		 Estense Gallery, Modena

Italian period (1567–1577)

Image Title Date Technique Size (см) Location Note
Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata c. 1567 – 1570 oil on wood 40.9 × 53.3 Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo, Bergamo
The Last Supper 1568 –1568 oil on wood 43 × 52 Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Bologna
Adoration of the Magi c. 1569 — 1570 oil on canvas 63.5 × 76 Willumsens Museum, Frederikssund, Denmark
Purification of the Temple c. 1570 oil on wood 64.5 × 83.2 National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Flight into Egypt 1570 oil on wood 15.9 × 21.6 Prado, Madrid
Annunciation 1570 oil on wood 26.7 × 20 Prado, Madrid
Adoration of the Shepherds 1570 – 1572 oil on canvas 114 × 104.5 private collection
Adoration of the Magi 1570 oil on canvas San Diego Museum of Art
Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata 1570 oil on canvas 28.8 × 20.6 Art Museum of the Paliard Foundation, Naples
Capodimonte Museum, Naples
Mount Sinai c. 1570 oil on canvas 41 × 47.5 Historical Museum of Crete, Heraklion
Purification of the temple c. 1570 oil on canvas 116.8 × 149.8 Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis
The Fable 1570 — 1575 oil on wood 50.5 × 63.6 Prado, Madrid
The Entombment of Christ 1570 — 1576 oil on wood 51 × 43 National Art Gallery, Athens
Portrait of Giulio Clovio c. 1571 oil on wood 58 × 86 Capodimonte Museum, Naples
Boy Blowing on an Ember to Light a Candle 1571 – 1572 oil on canvas 60.5 × 50.5 Capodimonte Museum, Naples
Portrait of Vincenzo Anastagi 1571 – 1576 oil on canvas 188 × 126.7 Frick Collection, New York
Pieta 1571 — 1576 Tempera on wood 28.9 × 20 Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
Portrait of Charles de Guise c. 1572 oil on canvas 178.5 × 94.5 Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Christ on the Cross 1573 oil on canvas 43 × 28 Barbara Pyasetskaya-Johnson Collection, Princeton
Christ Healing the Blind c. 1573 oil on canvas 50 × 61 Parma National Gallery, Parma, Italy
Annunciation 1575 – 1576 oil on canvas 117 × 98 Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid
  • early 1570s Lamentation[10]

Spanish period (1577–1614)

Image Title Date Technique Size (см) Location Note
Holy Trinity 1577 - 1578 oil on canvas Prado, Madrid
Portrait of a Sculptor 1576 – 1578 oil on canvas 94 × 87 private collection
The Penitent Mary Magdalene 1576 – 1578 oil on canvas 164 × 121 Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
Saint Sebastian 1576 – 1579 oil on canvas 191 × 152 Palencia Cathedral, Palencia, Spain
Santo Domingo el Antiguo Altarpiece (9 paintings) 1577 oil on canvas Monastery of Santo Domingo el Antiguo (3), Art Institute of Chicago (1), Prado (1)
Saint Lawrence's Vision of the Madonna and Child 1577 oil on canvas 119 × 102 College of Nosa Señora da Antiga, Monforte de Lemos, Spain
Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus 1577 – 1579 oil on canvas 140 × 110 El Escorial, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
The Disrobing of Christ (El Espolio) 1577 – 1579 oil on canvas 285 × 173 Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain
Saint Bernard c. 1577 –1679 oil on canvas 116 × 79.5 Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
Saint Francis of Assisi 1580 oil on canvas 138 × 56 Museum of Santa Cruz, Toledo, Spain
Saint Francis in Ecstasy 1580 oil on canvas 89 × 57 Lázaro Galdiano Museum, Madrid
Saint Anthony of Padua 1580 oil on canvas 104 × 79 Prado, Madrid
The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest c.1580 oil on canvas 81.8 × 65.8 Prado, Madrid
Christ Carrying the Cross c.1580 oil on canvas 105 × 79 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Ecstasy of St. Francis of Assisi c.1580 oil on canvas 106 × 79 Diocesan Museum, Siedlce, Poland[11]
The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice 1580 – 1582 oil on canvas 445 × 294 El Escorial, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
The Tears of Saint Peter c.1580 – 1589 oil on canvas 109 × 90 Bowes Museum, Co Durham, England
Portrait of a Doctor 1582 – 1585 oil on canvas 95 × 82 Prado, Madrid
Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata 1585 – 1590 oil on canvas 97 × 102 Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland
The Immaculate Conception with St John the Evangelist c.1585 oil on canvas 237 × 118 Museum of Santa Cruz, Toledo, Spain
The Burial of the Count of Orgaz 1586 oil on canvas 480 × 360 Church of Santo Tomé, Toledo, Spain
Portrait of a Gentleman c.1586 oil on canvas 67 × 55 Prado, Madrid
Holy Family 1586 – 1588 oil on canvas 178 × 105 Museum of Santa Cruz, Toledo, Spain
Holy Face of Jesus
(The Veil of Saint Veronica)		 1586 – 1595 oil on canvas 71 × 54 Prado, Madrid
Saint Peter and Saint Paul 1587 – 1592 oil on canvas 121.5 × 105 Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia
The Tears of Saint Peter c.1587 – 1596 oil on canvas 96.5 × 79 Museo Soumaya, Mexico City
Portrait of Rodrigo Vázquez de Arce 1587 – 1597 oil on canvas 62.5 × 42 Prado, Madrid
Portrait of an Elderly Man 1587 – 1600 oil on canvas 46 × 43 Prado, Madrid
Agony in the Garden 1590 oil on canvas 103 × 131 National Gallery, London
Christ on the Cross with two Donors c.1590 oil on canvas 260 × 171 Louvre Museum, Paris
The Tears of Saint Peter c.1590 oil on canvas 102 × 79.5 National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo
Christ Carrying the Cross 1590 – 1595 oil on canvas 106 × 69 National Museum of Art of Catalonia, Barcelona
Apostles Peter and Paul 1590 – 1600 oil on canvas 116 × 91.8 National Museum of Art of Catalonia, Barcelona
Saint Louis IX with a Page 1592 – 1595 oil on canvas 120 × 96 Louvre Museum, Paris
Virgin Mary c.1594 – 1604 oil on canvas 53 × 37 Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
Holy Family with St. Anne c.1595 oil on canvas 127 × 106 Hospital of Tavera, Toledo, Spain
Saint Andrew and Saint Francis 1595 – 1598 oil on canvas 167 × 113 Prado, Madrid
Portrait of Antonio de Covarrubias 1595 – 1600 oil on canvas 65 × 52 Louvre Museum, Paris
Portrait of an Old Man (so called self-portrait) 1595 – 1600 oil on canvas 52.7 × 46.7 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Purification of the Temple 1595 – 1600 oil on canvas 41.9 × 52.4 Frick Collection, New York
View of Toledo 1596 – 1600 oil on canvas 121.3 × 108.6 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Doña María de Aragón Altarpiece
(7 paintings- Resurrection, Crucifixion, Pentecost, Adoration of Shepherds, Annunciation, Baptism of Christ, Lost work)		 1596-1599 oil on canvas various Prado, Madrid (5), National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest (1), Lost (1)
Allegory of the Camaldolese Order 1597 oil on canvas 138 × 108 Museo del Patriarca, Valencia, Spain
Virgin Mary 1597 oil on canvas 52 × 41 Prado, Madrid
Saint Joseph and the Christ Child 1597 – 1599 oil on canvas 289 × 147 Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain
Saint Martin and the Beggar c.1597 – 1599 oil on canvas 193.5 × 103 National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Christ Carrying the Cross 1597 – 1600 oil on canvas 108 × 78 Prado, Madrid
Portrait of Jorge Manuel Theotokopoulos 1597 – 1603 oil on canvas 81 × 56 Museum of Fine Arts of Seville, Seville
Saint Ildefonsus 1597 – 1603 oil on canvas 187 × 102 Capilla Mayor del Hospital de la Caridad de Illescas, Toledo, Spain
Saint Augustine 1597 – 1603 oil on canvas 140 × 56 Museum of Santa Cruz, Toledo, Spain
Saint John the Baptist 1597 – 1603 oil on canvas 111 × 66 Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
The Virgin of Charity 1597 – 1603 oil on canvas 184 × 124 Capilla Mayor del Hospital de la Caridad de Illescas, Toledo, Spain
Agony in the Garden 1597 – 1607 oil on canvas 169 × 112 Santa Maria la Mayor, Andujar, Spain
Annunciation 1600 oil on canvas 107 × 74 São Paulo Museum of Art, São Paulo
Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple 1600 oil on canvas 106 × 130 National Gallery, London
Allegory of the Camaldolese Order c.1600 oil on wood 124 × 90 Instituto Valencia of Don Juan, Madrid
Portrait of Diego de Covarrubias y Leyva c.1600 oil on wood 68 × 57 El Greco Museum, Toledo, Toledo, Spain
Portrait of a Cardinal (possibly Fernando Niño de Guevara) c.1600 oil on canvas 67.2 × 42.5 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Saint John the Evangelist and Saint Francis c.1600 oil on canvas 110 × 86 Uffizi, Florence
Portrait of a Young Nobleman 1600 – 1605 oil on canvas 65 × 49 Prado, Madrid
Saint John the Baptist 1600 – 1605 oil on canvas 103 × 62 Museu de Belles Arts de València, Valencia, Spain
Annunciation 1600 – 1605 oil on canvas 128 diameter Capilla Mayor del Hospital de la Caridad de Illescas, Toledo, Spain
Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist 1600 – 1610 oil on canvas 110 × 86 Prado, Madrid
Christ (Toledo series) c.1602 – 1607 oil on canvas 98 × 78 Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain
Saint Luke (Toledo series) 1602 – 1605 oil on canvas 100 × 76 Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain
Saint James the Less (Toledo series) 1602 – 1607 oil on canvas 98 × 78 Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain
Saint Peter (Toledo series) 1602 – 1607 oil on canvas 98 × 78 Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain
Saint Andrew (Toledo series) 1602 – 1607 oil on canvas 98 × 78 Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain
Saint Matthew (Toledo series) 1602 – 1607 oil on canvas 98 × 78 Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain
Saint Thaddeus (Saint Jude) (Toledo series) 1602 – 1607 oil on canvas 98 × 78 Toledo Cathedral, Toledo, Spain
Saint Bernardino of Siena 1603 oil on canvas 269 × 144 El Greco Museum, Toledo, (Toledo, Spain) (Property of Prado, Madrid)
Coronation of the Virgin 1603 – 1605 oil on canvas 163 × 220 Capilla Mayor del Hospital de la Caridad de Illescas, Toledo, Spain
Nativity 1603 – 1605 oil on canvas 128 diameter Capilla Mayor del Hospital de la Caridad de Illescas, Toledo, Spain
Marriage of the Virgin 1603 – 1607 oil on canvas 110 × 83 National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest
Portrait of an Unknown Gentleman 1603 – 1607 oil on canvas 64 × 51 Prado, Madrid
The Apparition of the Virgin to St. Hyacinth c. 1605-1610 oil on canvas 100 × 61.9 Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY
Apparition of the Virgin and Child to Saint Hyacinth c. 1605-1610 oil on canvas 158.4 x 98.7 Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, PA
Immaculate Conception 1607 – 1613 oil on canvas 348 × 174.5 Museum of Santa Cruz, Toledo, Spain
Concert of Angels 1608 oil on canvas 112 × 205 National Gallery, Athens
Saint Peter 1608 oil on canvas 207 × 105 El Escorial, San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain
View and Plan of Toledo c.1608 oil on canvas 132 × 228 El Greco Museum, Toledo, Toledo, Spain
Baptism of Christ 1608 – 1614 oil on canvas 330 × 221 Tavera Hospital, Toledo, Spain
The Saviour (Almadrones series) 1608 – 1614 oil on canvas 72 × 55 Prado, Madrid
Saint Thomas the Apostle (Almadrones series) 1608 – 1614 oil on canvas 72 × 55 Prado, Madrid
Saint James the Elder (Almadrones series) 1608 – 1614 oil on canvas 72 × 55 Prado, Madrid
Opening of the Fifth Seal (The Fifth Seal of the Apocalypse, The Vision of Saint John) 1608 – 1614 oil on canvas 224.8 × 199.4 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Annunciation 1609 oil on canvas 294 × 204 private collection, Madrid
Portrait of Fray Hortensio Félix Paravacino 1609 oil on canvas 112.1 × 86.1 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Portrait of Cardinal Tavera 1609 oil on canvas 103 × 82 Tavera Hospital, Toledo, Spain
Saint Jerome 1609 oil on canvas 108 × 87 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Saint Ildefonsus 1609 oil on canvas 222 × 105 El Escorial, Spain
Saint John the Evangelist 1609 oil on canvas 90 × 77 Prado, Madrid
Saint Francis and Brother Leo 1609 oil on canvas 155 × 100 College of Nosa Señora da Antiga, Monforte de Lemos
Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple 1609 oil on canvas 106 × 104 San Ginés, Madrid
Portrait of Jerónimo de Cevallos 1609 – 1613 oil on canvas 65 × 55 Prado, Madrid
Visitation 1609 – 1613 oil on canvas 98 × 72 Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C.
Laocoön 1610 – 1614 oil on canvas 142 × 193 National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Portrait of Francisco de Pisa 1610 – 1614 oil on canvas 107 × 90 Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth
Saint Luke (Almadrones series) 1610 – 1614 oil on canvas 72 × 59 Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis
Saint Matthew (Almadrones series) c. 1610 – 1614 oil on canvas 72 × 59 Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis
Saint Simon (Almadrones series) c. 1610 – 1614 oil on canvas 72 × 59 Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis
Saint Paul (Almadrones series) c. 1610 – 1614 oil on canvas 72 × 55 Prado, Madrid
Saint Andrew (Almadrones series) c. 1610 – 1614 oil on canvas 72 × 55 Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles
Saint John the Evangelist (Almadrones series) oil on canvas Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
Saint Sebastian c.1610 – 1614 oil on canvas 201.5 × 111.5 Prado, Madrid
Apostolado (El Greco museum)
(13 paintings)		 1610 – 1614 oil on canvas all 97 × 77 El Greco Museum, Toledo, Toledo, Spain
Christ on the Cross with a View of Toledo
 1610 – 1614 oil on canvas 104.1 x 61.9 Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati
Adoration of the Shepherds 1612 – 1614 oil on canvas 319 × 180 Prado, Madrid
Julián Romero and Saint Julian 1612 – 1614 oil on canvas 206.7 × 127.5 Prado, Madrid
Annunciation 1614 oil on canvas 152 × 99 Diocese Museum, Sigüenza
  • c. 1582–1586 Saint Mary Magdalene
  • c. 1585–1588 Portrait of Rodrigo de la Fuente
  • c. 1590–1595 Agony in the Garden - several versions, the one in Toledo, Ohio being accepted as prime.
  • c. 1597–1599 Madonna and the Child with Saint Martina and Saint Agnes
  • c. 1600–1605 The Repentant St. Peter, Phillips Collection
  • c. 1600–1610 Saint Jerome as Cardinal – five versions, those in the Frick and Metropolitan being generally accepted as prime. Also Madrid, London.
  • c. 1603–1605 Coronation of the Virgin, Royal Monastery of Guadalupe (Spain).
  • c. 1607 Saint Mary Magdalene

See also

References

  1. ↑ X. de Salas, The Velazquez Exhibition in Madrid, 54–57
  2. ↑ Web Gallery of Art, Epimetheus and Pandora
  3. ↑ The Guardian, El Greco Drawings Could Fetch £400,000
  4. ↑ Web Gallery of Art, Study for St John the Evangelist and an Angel
  5. ↑ R. Palluchini, Some Early Works by El Greco, 130–135
  6. 1 2 3 M. Tazartes, El Greco, 70–71
  7. ↑ Cormack-Vassilaki, The Baptism of Christ
    * M. Tazartes, El Greco, 70
  8. ↑ D. Alberge, Collector Is Vindicated as Icon is Hailed as El Greco
  9. ↑ "Interkriti: Domenicos Theotokopoulos- el Greco - Cretan Painter".
  10. ↑ Castro, Mark. "Lamentation by El Greco (cat. 807)". The John G. Johnson Collection: A History and Selected Works. A Philadelphia Museum of Art free digital publication.
  11. ↑ This painting was found several years ago in Poland

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