The Assumption of the Virgin
Domenico Theotokópoulos, called El Greco
1578
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
Domenico Theotokópoulos, called El Greco
1578
oil
canvas
From the collection of Art Institute of Chicago
The Assumption of the Virgin is a 1578 oil by Domenico Theotokópoulos, called El Greco, a Mannerism work, held at Art Institute of Chicago.
The painting shows the Virgin Mary rising into heaven. It's an important scene in Christian art. The artist used bold brushstrokes and bright colors to depict this moment, which was part of a larger altarpiece for a church in Spain, where it related to the church's function as a monument for a noblewoman. This context adds depth to the painting. Check out the technique of glazing to learn more about how El Greco created his unique style.
The Assumption of the Virgin was the central image of El Greco’s first major commission, an altarpiece for the Church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, a convent in Toledo, Spain. The painting’s subject, the raising of the Virgin Mary’s body into heaven, relates to the function of the church as the funerary monument of a wealthy noblewoman, Doña Maria de Silva; the iconography of the entire commission focuses on death and salvation. El Greco used broad, free brushwork, flickering hues, rich color harmonies, and bold figural arrangements to arouse devotional fervor in the viewer and impart a deep…
Commissioned 1577 by Don Diego de Castilla for the convent church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, Toledo; installed with other paintings in the main retable by September 1579; sold c. 1830 to the Infante Don Sebastián Gabriel de Borbón y Braganza (died 1875), Madrid and later Pau, France, but confiscated from him by the Spanish government and installed in the Museo Nacional de la Trinidad, Madrid, in 1835 [Lavice 1864 recorded that the Assumption was on display in the Museo Nacional de Pinturas, but this cannot be confirmed]; returned to Don Sebastián in 1861; his estate in custody of the…
Pau, Salons de l'ancien Asile de Pau, Tableaux appartenant aux héritiers de feu Msg. l’Enfant don Sébastien de Bourbon et Bragance, September 1876, cat. 668. Madrid, Museo Nacional de Pintura y Escultura, Exposición de las obras de Domenico Theotocópouli, llamado El Greco, April 30 - July 31, 1902, cat. 6. Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress, June 1–November 1, 1933, cat. 169. Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress, June 1–November 1, 1934, cat. 70. Paris, Grand Palais, Greco, October 14, 2019–February 10, 2020, cat. 73; Art Institute of Chicago, El Greco: Ambition and…
Read the full account in the museum source.
El Greco painted dramatic, elongated figures in oil on canvas, blending late Renaissance technique with something more spiritual and restless.
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