Leseprobe

94 Doménikos Theotokópoulos, called El Greco Candia/Heraklion, Kreta 1541–1614 Toledo The Healing of the Blind Man c. 1570 Mixed media on poplar panel; 65.5×84 cm Acquired in Venice in 1741 Gal. no. 276 The artist shows the biblical story of the healing of the blind man as though acted out on a stage. Jesus strides towards us on the left, identifiable by his aureole, as he runs his fingers across the eyes of the blind man kneeling before him. The right half of the picture is taken up with a group of gesticulating men, busy pointing at and discussing the unfolding events, which all four gospels retell, albeit with diverging accounts. In the story, an argument breaks out among the Pharisees, because the healing has occurred on a Sabbath. It is unclear whether, in the men on the right, El Greco has depicted the Pharisees or Christ’s disciples. He has demonstrably used one-point perspective, with the resulting recession emphasized by the tiled ground and Italianate architecture. The landing of the stairs provides a springboard into the picture space. The composition and rendering of the figures also reveal the influence of Italian art, particularly the Venetians Tintoretto and Jacobo Bassano. This is hardly surprising, as the artist did indeed travel to Venice, in 1567, after first train- ing as an icon painter on the island of Crete, hence his more common name, ‘El Greco’ (The Greek). After Venice, El Greco was active in Rome, before eventually settling in Spain. In Italy he learned the new painterly techniques of the Renaissance, such as modelling the flesh through colour, the use of light effects, and the laws of perspective. Building on this foundation, El Greco developed an expressive style in Spain, which had an inspiring effect on early modern artists.  |  iyw