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The link between El Greco (Candia, Crete, 1541-Toledo, 1614) and the City of Toledo is an historical fact and, yet, no exhibition devoted to this painter has ever taken place in Toledo.

 

For this reason, in order to mark the 400th Anniversary of the artist's death on 7th April 1614, this exhibition was held in the city that best reflects his career and influence.

 

 

The exhibition was staged at the Museum of Santa Cruz, extending to different spaces throughout Toledo known as El Greco Venues, thus providing an in-depth insight into the different places where El Greco carried out his work: the Vestry of Toledo Cathedral, The Chapel of San José, the Convent of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, the Church of Santo Tomé and the Tavera Hospital.

 

These venues preserve their original paintings, thus endowing this exhibition with its unique flavour, one that simply cannot be repeated outside Toledo.

 

 

The exhibition contrasted with others devoted to the artist to date, going beyond the habitual approaches. On this occasion we came across a more complex character, one who is more closely embedded in the original artistic, work-related and intellectual context of the "Greek of Toledo", as he was known in his time.

 

 

In this respect, the exhibition presented the Cretan painter within his Toledan setting and milieu, as a leading figure in an artistic and cultural scene of trans-national and plural character, always seeking to explain his work within the context of the activities pursued by the artists who worked for Philip II and Philip III in Toledo or in Madrid.

 

 

The exhibition commenced with El Greco's activities before he arrived in Spain, in Candia and Venice and Rome, based on an analysis of his early training as a master painter in Crete and his gradual appropriation of Italian styles, influenced by Titian, Tintoretto, Giorgio Giulio Clovio, Michelangelo and other Italian painters.

 

 

A portrait painter

 

The exhibition placed a strong emphasis on his work as a portrait painter, the only genre in which he obtained fame and recognition from his contemporaries, even in spite of the contrasts between his work and the typical portraits that were produced in the Spain of Philip II.

 

 

El Greco was presented as a painter of devotional images in Spain, linking this up with his commercial strategies and his tendency to produce serial replicas of his compositions, based on the final distribution of these works in the form of prints. In fact, prints constituted a medium that enabled him to both increase the number of paintings he could offer and diversify his range of clients.

 

 

Furthermore, it was in Spain where he would develop his taste for theatrical settings, evolving as an artist from a painter to an inventor and creator of complex and pluri-disciplinary alter-pieces, works in which he designed the architecture and the sculptures as well. 

No exhibition devoted to El Greco had ever taken 
place in Toledo

THE GREEK OF TOLEDO

Exhibition

​Site: El Greco Venues and Museo de Santa Cruz

​Date: from March 14th to June 14th



​Curator: Fernando Marías​

​Coordinator: Casilda​ Ybarra

Over a hundred works by El Greco gathered in the largest exhibition of the artist ever held.

 

More de 60 arrived from 29 different cities of the world.

Museo de Santa Cruz:

 

 

  • Alonso Martínez de Leiva  (Montreal, Can - The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts)

  • Architect Andrea Paladio (Copenague, Den - National Gallery of Denmark)

  • A trinitary friar (Kansas City, USA - The Nelson - Atkins Museum of Art)

  • Magdeleine penitent  (Kansas City, USA - The Nelson - Atkins Museum of Art)

  • The Resurrection (St. Louis, USA - Mildred lane Kemper Art Museum)

  • The Adoration of the shepherds  ( Nueva York, USA - The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

  • Self-portrait  (Nueva York, USA - The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

  • Cardinal Fernando Niño de Guevara  (Nueva York, USA - The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

  • View of Toledo (Nueva York, USA  - The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

  • Pietá (Nueva York, USA - The Hispanic Society of America)

  • Portrait of a man  (Nueva York, USA - The Hispanic Society of America)

  • The Oration in the garden  (Toledo, USA - Toledo Museum of Art)

  • Portrait of a lady (Filadelfia, USA - Rosenbach Library)

  • The Visitation (Washington, USA - Dumbarton Oaks Museum)

  • Christ cleansing de Temple (Washington, USA - The National Gallery)

  • Madonna and Child with Saint Martina and Saint Agnes  (Washington, USA - The National Gallery)

  • Saint Martin and the beggar (Washington, USA - The National Gallery)

  • Christ on the Cross with two donnors (París, Fr - Museo de Louvre)

  • The Adoration of the Magi (Atenas, Gr - Benaki Museum)

  • Saint Luke painting the Virgin (Atenas, Gr - Benaki Museum)

  • The Coronation of the Virgin (Atenas, Gr -  Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation)

  • The Concert of the angels (Atenas, Gr - National Gallery, Alexandros Soutzos Museum)

  • The Dormition of the Virgin (Syros, Gr -  Iglesia de la Kolmesis)

  • Magdeleine penitent (Budapest, Hun - Museum of Fine Arts)

  • The Triptic of Modena (Modena, It - Galleria Estense)

  • El soplón (Nápoles, It - Museo di Capodimonte)

  • Christ healing the blind (Parma, It - Galleria Nazionale di Parma)

  • The Adoration of the Shepherds (Roma, It - Galleria Nazionale d´Arte antica Palazzo Barberini)

  • The Baptism of Christ (Roma, It - Galleria Nazionale d´Arte antica Palazzo Barberini)

  • The Lady in fur  (Glasgow, UK - Pollock House, Glasgow Museums)

  • The Adoration of the Name of Jesus (Londres, UK - The National Gallery)

  • The Disrobing of Christ (Wiltshire, UK - The National Trust)

  • Saint Peter and Saint Paul (San Petersburgo, Rus - The State Hermitage Museum)

  • Portrait of an sculptor (Ginebra, Sui - Colección particular)

  • Saint Peter and Saint Paul (Barcelona - Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña)

  • Saint Francis meditating (Barcelona - Colección particular)

  • Christ carrying the Cross (Barcelona - Colección particular)

  • The Coronation of the Virgin (Guadalupe, Cáceres - Monasterio de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe)

  • Saint Francis (Madrid - Colección particular)

  • Saint Paul  (Madrid - Colección particular)

  • the Holy Face of Sto. Domingo el Antiguo (Madrid - Colección particular)

  • The Annunciation (Madrid - Colección Banco Santander)

  • View of the Camáldula (Madrid - Instituto de Valencia de Don Juan)

  • Portrait of an old man (Madrid - Museo Nacional del Prado)

  • The nobelman with his hand on his chest (Madrid - Museo Nacional del Prado)

  • Saint Benedict  (Madrid - Museo Nacional del Prado)

  • The Crucifixion (Madrid - Museo Nacional del Prado)

  • The Adoration of the Shepherds of Sto. Domingo el Ant.  (Madrid - Museo Nacional del Prado)

  • Saint Dominic in prayer  (Madrid - Colección particular)

  • Francisco de Pisa  (Madrid - Colección particular)

  • The Annunciation  (Madrid - Fundación Thyssen- Bornemisza)

  • The Annunciation  (Madrid - Fundación Thyssen-Bornemisza)

  • The Adoration of the Name of Jesus  (Madrid - Patrimonio Nacional)

  • Saint Ildefonse, Archbishop of Toledo (Madrid - Patrimonio Nacional)

  • Saint Peter Apostle  (Madrid - Patrimonio Nacional)

  • The Apparition of the Virgin to Saint Lawrence (Monforte de Lemos, Lugo - Museo de Nosa Señora de Antiga)

  • Saint Sebastian  (Palencia - Obispado de Palencia)

  • The Crucifixion  (Sevilla - Colección particular)

  • Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli  (Sevilla - Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla)

  • The tears of Saint Peter  (Sitges - Museo Cau Ferrat)

  • View and map of Toledo  (Toledo - Museo del Greco)

  • The Veronica with the Holy Face  (Toledo - Museo de Santa Cruz)

  • The Immaculate Conception seen by Saint John  (Toledo - Museo de Santa Cruz)

  • The Holy Family with Saint Anne and  the infant Saint John (Toledo - Museo de Santa Cruz)

  • The Immaculate Conception Oballe  (Toledo - Museo de Santa Cruz)

  • The Announciation (Toledo - Museo de Santa Cruz)

  • Saint Agustine  (Toledo - Museo de Santa Cruz)

  • Saint Francis  (Toledo - Museo de Santa Cruz)

  • Saint James  (Toledo - Museo de Santa Cruz)

  • Christ taking leave of His Mother(Toledo - Museo de Santa Cruz)

  • Saint Peter (Toledo - Museo de Santa Cruz)

  • Saint Ildefonse, Archbishop of Toledo  (Toledo - Museo de Santa Cruz)

  • The Adoration of the shepherds  (Valencia - R. Colegio Sem. del Corpus Christi de Valencia)                                      

This exhibition will take place in el Greco Venues and the Museo of Santa Cruz,

that will show dozens of works arrived from many different places all the world.

 

These are the works that will be part

of the exhibition The Greek of Toledo:

Cathedral of Toledo:

 

  • The Disrobing of Christ

  • Saint Peter in tears

  • Saint Francis y Fray Louis meditating on death

  • Saint Joseph and the Child

  • Christ on the Cross

  • Saint Dominic in oration

  • The Saviour

  • Saint Peter

  • Saint Paul

  • Saint John

  • Saint Mathew

  • Saint Luke

  • Saint Jude

  • Saint Andrew

  • Saint Philip

  • Saint James the Greater

  • Saint James the Less

  • Saint Thomas

  • Saint Simon

The works

Chapel of San José:

 

  • Saint Josep and the Child

  • The Coronation of the Virgin

Hospital Tavera:

 

  • The Holy Family with Saint Anne

  • Saint Peter in tears

  • Cardinal Tavera

  • Saint Francis kneeling in prayer

  • The Baptism of Jesus

  • The Resurrection of Crhist

Convent of  Santo Domingo el Antiguo:

 

  • Saint John the Evangelist

  • Saint John the Baptist

  • The Resurrection of Christ with Saint Ildefonse

Church of Santo Tomé:

 

  • The burial of couint Orgaz

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