El Greco (c. 1540-1614)

The first great Spanish painter was Greek. El Greco (Spanish for “the Greek”) was born in Greece, trained in Venice, then settled in Toledo, Spain. The combination of these three cultures, plus his own unique personality, produced a highly individual style. His paintings are Byzantine icons drenched in Venetian color and fused in the fires of Spanish mysticism.

Phillip II, the ascetic king with sensual tastes who bought so many Titians, didn’t like El Greco’s bizarre style (perhaps because the figures — thin and haunting — reminded him of himself). So El Greco left the Spanish court and moved south to Toledo, where he was accepted. He spent the rest of his life there. If you like El Greco, make the 60-minute trip to Toledo.

* In Room 61a…

El Greco — Christ Carrying the Cross (Cristo Abrazado a la Cruz)

Even as the blood runs down his neck and he trudges toward his death, Christ accepts his fate in a trance of religious ecstasy. The crossbar points upward. Jesus hugs the cross lovingly, sights along it like a navigational instrument to his destination — heaven.

The upturned eyes are close to tears with humility and sparkle with joyful acceptance. (Warning: Do not get too close to this painting. Otherwise you’ll see that the holy magic in the eyes is only a simple streak of white paint.)

* In the same Room (#61a)…

El Greco — The Adoration of the Shepherds (La Adoración de los Pastores)

El Greco painted this for his own burial chapel in Toledo, where it hung until the 1950s. It combines all of his trademark techniques into a powerful vision.

The shepherds gather to adore baby Jesus. Their long bodies and expressive hands are stretched upward, flickering like flames toward heaven, lit from within by a spiritual fire. Christ is the light source, shining out of the darkness, giving a sheen to the surrounding colors. These shepherds will never be able to buy suits off the rack.

Notice El Greco’s typical two-tiered composition — earth below, heaven above. Over the Christ Child is a swirling canopy of clouds and angels. Heaven and earth seem to intermingle, and the earthly figures look as though they’re about to be sucked up through a funnel into heaven. There is little depth to the picture — all the figures are virtually the same distance from us — so our eyes have nowhere to go but up and down, up and down, linking heaven and earth, God and humankind.

* Next door in Room 60a…

El Greco — The Nobleman with His Hand on His Chest (El Caballero de la Mano al Pecho)

Despite the surreal mysticism of many of his paintings, El Greco was not a mystic, but a well-traveled, learned, sophisticated, down-to-earth man who could paint realistic and probing portraits like this. The sitter is an elegant and somewhat arrogant gentleman, who was obviously trying to make an impression. The sword probably indicates the portrait was done to celebrate his becoming a knight.

El Greco reveals the man’s personality in the expressive eyes and in the hand across the chest. The middle two fingers touch — El Greco’s trademark way of expressing elegance (or was it the 16 th-century symbol for “Live long and prosper”?). Look for it in his other works.

The signature is on the right in faint Greek letters — “Domenicos Theotocopoulos,” El Greco’s real name.

* Return to the long gallery (Room 75) and continue straight to the gallery where we started (Room 49, with Italian Renaissance art). Take the last right, just before you reach the rotunda. After entering, take the first left, into Room 58.