Biography

• El Greco was born on the island of Crete in 1541
• He was trained as a painter during his education
• He moved many times, beginning his life in Crete, then going to Venice, then to Rome, and then to Spain, finally settling in Toledo.
• El Greco wanted to be a Roman painter, but he got no work, so he then decided to move to Toledo
• In Toledo, he made many altarpieces, and his style of paintings roots can be traced back to Venice
• He created countless religious paintings, many for the churches in Toledo
• His patron was the Catholic Church
• Some of his paintings were: The Disrobing of Christ, The Burial of Count Orgaz, and View of Toledo
• Two ïsms that are apparent in El Greco and his works are classicism and Perspectivism
• Classicism can be seen in his work with the church. El Greco did many works that reflect Catholic ideas, like during the classical time period
• Perspectivism can be seen in his painting View of Toledo, where the city is three dimensional, and it has depth as well

The Work

• This painting was created in 1586
• This painting is located in Toledo, Spain
• There is significance in this painting because it was not supposed to be made. Count Orgaz donated sums of money to the church, and they did not accept it for 200 years. When they accepted it, the church comisioned El Greco to make a painting in honor of him
• It used a combination of colors that was extremely innovative in showing the ceremonial and heirarchy portions of the painting
• This painting interests me because the division of heaven and earth is apparent, and the colors used are extremely different in each. There is a different vibe about both portions and it is almost like it is two different paintings
• Classicism is seen in this painting because it shows God and heaven having an influence on human lives, as seen when the angels are looking over him
• Some artists and historians consider this painting one of the most impressive and influencial paintings of the Rennoisance

Works Cited

• "The Burial of the Count of Orgaz." Artble. N.p., 15 Sept. 2015. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.
• Christiansen, Author: Keith. "El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (1541–1614) | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2016.
• Greco, El. The Burial of Count Orgaz. 1586, painting on canvas, Toledo, Spain