El Greco and Nordic Modernism

At the birth of modernism in the late 19th century, artists across Europe rediscovered the almost three centuries old artwork of the Greek painter known as El Greco (1541–1614). In the Nordic countries as well, his characteristic rapturous and expressive style was perceived as speaking directly to the rule-breaking forms of expression with which a new generation of artists were experimenting. His hailing as a cult figure was based as much on the story of his life, though, including the 300 years of rejection and obscurity that made him an outsider idol for young artists. This catalogue traces the inspiration that leading Nordic artists such as Edvard Munch, Helene Schjerfbeck, Nils Dardel, Harald Giersing, and Jens Ferdinand Willumsen took from the works of El Greco, and for the first time specifically explores his Nordic reception in the decades between 1885–1945, adding a hitherto undiscovered piece to the mosaic of El Greco’s multifaceted and multinational rediscovery.

To his contemporaries in late 16th-century Venice, El Greco (1541­–1614) was a contrary fellow, an innate artist blessed with extraordinary talent, but stubborn in the pursuit of his own path. Throughout his career, as he progressed from Crete to Venice, to Rome and ultimately Toledo, Spain, “The Greek” stood apart from his peers, merging different Western art traditions to create a unique pictorial language.

El Greco’s single-minded style rejected naturalism and rejected accessibility. Works such as The Disrobing of Christ (1577–79), The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (1586–88), and The Vision of St John (1608–14) reveal elongated, twisted figures; unreal colours; and an experimental rendering of space — all resistant to easy viewing and intent, instead, on an art of epic grandeur and intellectual beauty.

Frequently regarded with suspicion and criticism during his lifetime, El Greco was revived by a troop of ardent modern admirers, including Pablo Picasso, Roger Fry, and Der Blaue Reiter pioneer Franz Marc. Today, the artist belongs to the privileged group of great old master painters, as much an anomaly of his age, as a reference point across the centuries.

This essential introduction from TASCHEN Basic Art 2.0 explores the influences and the ingredients of El Greco’s radical and singular vision, from the symbolic world of Byzantine icons and the humanistic values of the Renaissance to the nascent beginnings of conceptual practice.

About the series:

Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:

- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography
- approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

A prophet of modernism

Strong colors and sinuous figures

El Greco (1541–1614) was born Doménikos Theotokópoulos in Crete in 1541. He arrived in Venice in 1566, where his work was greatly influenced by Titian and Tintoretto. However when he made an offer to the Pope to paint over Michelangelo’s Last Judgement in the spirit of the Counter Reformation, he incurred the wrath of Roman artists to such an extent that a career in Italy was no longer conceivable. El Greco settled in Spain, in Toledo, where he received numerous commissions from the Church and the nobility. Between 1586 and 1588 he created one of the great works of European painting, the monumental Burial of the Count of Orgaz for a chapel altar in the parish church of Santo Tomé in Toledo. El Greco confined his palette to a small number of very expressively used shades, with an evident preference for pale purple, pink, and yellow and greyish tones. He located the iconographical events in a space that he dramatized by means of light and atmospheric phenomena. His œuvre had a wide-ranging impact on art up to and including modern 20th-century painting. Paul Cézanne and later Picasso and the Expressionists regarded El Greco as a prophet of modernism. A prophet of modernism

About the Series:
Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series features:
a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
a concise biography
approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

A painter ahead of his time

Cretan-born painter Domenikos Theotokopoulos, better known by his Spanish nickname, El Greco (c.1541-1614), studied under Titian in Venice before settling down in Toledo. Commissioned by the church and local nobility, El Greco produced dramatic paintings marked by distorted figures and vibrant color contrasted with subtle grays. Though his work was appreciated by his contemporaries, especially intellectuals, it wasn’t until the 20th century that it was widely embraced and admired, influencing in particular the Expressionist and Cubist movements.

About the Series:
Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art Series features:

• a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
• a concise biography
• approximately 100 colour illustrations with explanatory captions

The author:
Michael Scholz-Hänsel studied art history, history, theatre studies, and Hispanic studies in Berlin and Hamburg, earning his doctorate in 1984. He has taught at Leipzig University since 2002 and has published widely, especially on topics relating to the Hispanic world. His research focuses on cross-cultural influences in the Mediterranean area, for example in the work of El Greco and Jusepe de Ribera.

Посмотреть русскоязычное издание книги El Greco - Эль Греко

Catalogue on the sensational exhibition featuring about 40 of El Greco’s works

The sensational oeuvre of El Greco (1541-1614) was first introduced to a broader German audience in 1910 through Julius Meier-Graefe’s journal, The Spanish Journey. Numerous artists subsequently caught “Greco fever” when they first saw larger groups of his works in exhibitions in Munich in 1911 and Düsseldorf in 1912. Max Beckmann, Oskar Kokoschka, Max Oppenheimer, Ludwig Meidner, and especially members of the Blaue Reiter - August Macke, Franz Marc, Albert Bloch, and others - recognized in El Greco a father figure for the Modernist movement, mentioning him in the same breath as Paul Cézanne.

This volume presents a general selection of over forty paintings by El Greco from the most famous museums around the world. At the same time, the young artists’ exploration of the paintings and visual spheres of the exceptional Spanish painter are discussed, opening up a fascinating view of the battle for Modernism.

Искусство Эль Греко - грека по происхождению, нашедшего благодатную почву для раскрытия своего самобытного, необычайного дарования в Испании, по своим масштабам не укладывается в рамки какой-либо одной национальной школы. Оно представляет собой причудливый сплав поствизантийской иконописной традиции с подлинно всеобъемлющим ренессансным мировосприятием, пронизанный глубокой религиозностью и проникновенным драматизмом.
Большинство произведений Эль Греко написаны на религиозные сюжеты, но при этом сильно отличаются от привычных алтарных картин, напоминая фантастические видения, исполненные экспрессии и экстаза. Лишь в одном картины Эль Греко тождественны иконным образам - они являют мир, каждая частица которого преображена силой яркого духовного озарения.

Книга об испанском художнике греческого происхождения Эль Греко (1541–1614), одном из крупнейших представителей маньеризма, способствовавшем мировой славе испанской живописи. Существует предположение, что он начинал свою работу живописца в иконописной мастерской. Все свои работы всегда подписывал своим настоящим именем –Доминикос Теотокопулос. О его жизни известно очень мало, возможно потому, что он долго путешествовал по Средиземноморью и лишь в 1577 году обрел новую родину в испанском Толедо. Скупые данные о нем подтверждают, что он был образованнейшим человеком своего времени, имел прекрасную библиотеку. Книга состоит из восьми глав, рассказывающих о жизни художника и об истории создания каждой картины, представленной в издании. В конце книги приводится хронология жизни и творчества мастера, а также избранная библиография трудов об этом великом мастере.

Посмотреть англоязычное издание книги Эль Греко - El Greco