El Greco in the National Gallery of Art and Washington-Area Collections: A 400th Anniversary Celebration
November 2, 2014 – February 16, 2015
West Building, Main Floor, M-28
This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.
The National Gallery is fortunate to have seven paintings by
Domenikos Theotokopoulos, universally known as El Greco, was born on the Greek island of Crete, where he achieved mastery as a painter of Byzantine icons. Aspiring to success on a larger stage, he moved to Venice in his late twenties and absorbed the lessons of High Renaissance masters, especially
El Greco relocated to Spain in 1576 and spent the rest of his life in Toledo, where he finally received the major commissions that had eluded him in Italy. Unlike the Italian mannerists, who aimed at elegant artifice, El Greco used their dramatically elongated figures and ambiguous treatment of space for expressive ends, creating transcendent works that, like the icons of his youth, convey deep spirituality. Blending diverse influences — Byzantine, Renaissance, mannerist — he developed a unique style that captures the religious fervor of Counter-Reformation Spain.
Organization: The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art.
Attendance: 116,710
- El Greco
- Greek, 1541 - 1614
- El Greco: An Artist's Odyssey
- Video, Released: November 4, 2014, (30:22 minutes)
- Press Event: El Greco in the National Gallery of Art and Washington-Area Collection
- Audio, Released: November 3, 2014, (17:35 minutes)
- Patrons, Artists, and Saints: El Greco in the Chapel of San José in Toledo
- Audio, Released: June 10, 2014, (33:00 minutes)
- El Greco: 400 Years After: The Apostolate of the Museo del Greco in Toledo: One of El Greco’s Greatest Series, Part 5
- Audio, Released: June 10, 2014, (41:58 minutes)
- El Greco: 400 Years After: Sainthood and Creativity: El Greco’s Portraits of Saint Ildefonso and Giulio Clovio, Part 4
- Audio, Released: May 27, 2014, (27:07 minutes)
- El Greco: 400 Years After: A Greek Painter in Toledo, 400 Years After, Part 3
- Audio, Released: May 20, 2014, (38:03 minutes)
- El Greco: 400 Years After: El Greco in Italy: Formation of an Ambitious Portraitist, Part 2
- Audio, Released: May 6, 2014, (18:26 minutes)
- El Greco: 400 Years After: Introduction: The Critical Fortune of El Greco: Causes and Effects, Part 1
- Audio, Released: April 29, 2014, (18:26 minutes)
- In the Conservation Lab: El Greco’s Saint Martin and the Beggar
- Video, Released: October 29, 2013, (6:29 minutes)