El Greco of Toledo

Start date: Monday, January 14, 2008
Event is ongoing: Until Saturday, February 2, 2008

This exhibit incorporates the beauty of El Greco’s art, the definitive portrait of Toledo, and the historical significance of the time period. Born in Crete but living and working in Spain, El Greco is the premier representative of the Spanish school of painting during the late sixteenth and early seventeen centuries. Traveling between Venice, Siena, Florence, Rome, and finally to Toledo, El Greco was most influenced by Tintoretto and Michelangelo. From his early training as an icon painter in Crete, he retained the spiritual characterization of icons in his later works. Known for his elongated figures and odd mixtures of pigments, El Greco’s style is a strange marriage of Byzantine and Renaissance art with leanings towards Mannerism.

Based on the international exhibit with cooperation from the Dallas Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Toledo Museum of Art, and Humanities Texas, the photographic display demonstrates the compassion and respect evident by El Greco’s interpretation of religious subjects. A small but significant collection of photos and text, El Greco of Toledo will enlighten all audiences.