El Greco: Domenikos Theotokopoulos, 1541-1614 (Taschen Basic Art)
by Michael Scholz-Hansel
from Taschen
Cretan-born painter Domenicos Theotocopoulos, better known by his Spanish nickname, El Greco (c.1545-1614), studied under Titian in Venice before settling down in Toldeo. 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 movement.
El Greco: The Burial of Count Orgaz
by F. Calvo Serraller
from Thames & Hudson
"The Burial of the Count of Orgaz" is one of El Greco's most famous paintings, and a key work in the Mannerist tradition. Painted between 1586 and 1588 in the church of Santo Tome in Toledo, it was commissioned to commemorate the funeral of Don Gonzalo Ruiz Toledo, Lord of Orgaz. At this legendary event which had taken place two and a half centuries earlier, the congregation saw St Stephen and St Augustine descend from heaven to place the body in its tomb. El Greco not only painted the scene as it was described, but turned it into a mystical vision of Heaven and Earth, with the Virgin and John the Baptist interceding before Christ, surrounded by saints and angels. In this book the painting is reproduced as a whole, then section by section, and finally in a series of details. The circumstances of the commission are described, the composition is analyzed and a brief biography of El Greco is included.
El Greco
by Santiago Alcolea
from Poligrafa
El Greco (born Domenicos Theotocopoulos, 1541-1614) was born on the Greek island of Crete, then a Venetian colony, and went as a youth to Venice, where he began by painting icons in the Byzantine style for the Greek community there. He soon succumbed to the powerful influences of Titian, Tintoretto and, later, Michelangelo. In 1576, El Greco went to Spain, settling in Toledo, where he spent the rest of his life--producing the depictions of the Toledan landscape that are justly among his best-loved works. El Greco's art aimed to arouse religious fervor in its viewers: consequently his brushwork is ecstatically free, color is used expressively and figures are elongated to maximum tension by their emphatic gestures. His work brings a great age of Christian art to its close. With 108 full-color illustrations, including all of his best-known and most characteristic works, this volume offers the reader a wide overview of the work of one of the world's most innovative painters.
El Greco (Masters of Art)
by Leo Bronstein
from Harry N Abrams
El Greco in Toledo: National Monuments of Spain
by Fernando Marias
from Scala Publishers
El Greco, whose real name was Domenikos Theotocopoulus, was born in Crete, trained in High Renaissance Venice and Rome, and moved to Toledo in 1577. He saw himself as the epitome of the artist as courtier and philosopher, a contrast to the craftsman who emphasised the medieval aspects the city, including 'El Espolio' in the cathedral and 'Burial of the Count of Orgaz' in Santo Tome. His landscape paintings of the city are unparalled - and even his monumental rendering of Laocoon refers to his adopted city which, in legend, was founded by the Trojans. This stunningly illustrated title is a highly informative study of El Greco's paintings of the landscape and monuments of the city of Toledo.
El Greco (National Gallery Company)
from National Gallery London
El Greco (1541–1614), born Domenikos Theotokopoulos, was one of the most fascinating and distinctive artists of the sixteenth century. His works are immediately recognizable for their brilliant colors, elongated figures, and spiritual intensity.
Initially trained in Crete, in around 1567 El Greco moved to Italy where he purportedly studied with Titian. A decade later he is documented in Toledo (south of Madrid), and he spent the rest of his long life in Spain. His paintings and writings offer a thoughtful, frequently inspired response to the varied environments in which he worked—and they reveal that he was deeply engaged with the religious and artistic thinking of his times.
This lavishly illustrated book—the first comprehensive English-language publication on El Greco in many years—addresses the full range of the artist’s work in painting and sculpture, from his Byzantine icons to his late altarpieces. It considers his personality from both a religious and intellectual point of view, and presents the artist’s religious, mythological, genre, landscape, and portrait works, providing the historical context in which they were made.
El Greco: The Expressionism of His Final Years (Library of Great Painters)
Figures of Thought: El Greco as Interpreter of History, Tradition, and Ideas (Studies in the History of Art)
El Greco: Domenikos Theotokopoulos 1541-1614 (Serie Menor)
by Michael Scholz-Hansel
from Taschen
Cretan-born painter Domenicos Theotocopoulos, better known by his Spanish nickname, El Greco (c.1545-1614), studied under Titian in Venice before settling down in Toldeo. 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 movement.
El Greco & Fernando Arrabal (Secret Museums. 16th Century, Vol. 3)
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