EL MUSEO DEL PRADO The Prado Museum is one of Europe’s finest. It houses over 3,000 paintings including an extensive collection of royal paintings, many of which were collected by Spanish monarchs between 1400 and 1700. Every work in the Prado is considered a masterpiece. The collection of Spanish, Italian and Flemish art is too large to see in one visit, so we will concentrate on three of the most famous Spanish painters of all time: El Greco, Velázquez and Goya. Whether or not you do not make it to the Prado Museum, these artists are worth learning more about here! El Greco (1541-1614) Domingo Theotocopuli was born in Crete but came to Spain during the reign of Felipe II hoping to work as a court painter decorating the Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo del Escorial. El Greco's paintings were not accepted by the king, hence he settled in Toledo in 1576 at the age of 35. It was in Toledo that El Greco created his major works. His paintings are mainly portraits and religious themes. It is said that he, more than any other painter of his day, was able to capture the Spanish obsession with religion. He created figures that had a mystical, exalted look reflecting the mysterious nature of religion. Yet his style shocked some and displeased even the king. El Greco's work is characterized by vibrant colors especially apparent in the garments, his dramatic use of light and the elongated faces and hands of his subjects. His portraits are admired for the psychological force they transmit. It was not until many centuries later that the work of El Greco was appreciated for its originality and ironically was seen as the most representative of the reign of Felipe II. El Greco combined realism and idealism with a touch of originality that has seldom been copied. His works are considered a precursor of modern painting. Below are two paintings by El Greco: “The Adoration of the Shepherds” (1614, on left) and “St. Andrew and St. Francis” (1595, on right). If you visit Toledo, you may have the opportunity to see the master work of El Greco, “The Burial of Count Orgaz” (photo below). This painting depicts the miracle of the burial of the Count who died in 1586. Count Orgaz was responsible for the rebuilding of the church of San Tomás. He also donated a monastery to the Augustinian friars which was dedicated to St. Stephen. El Greco's painting depicts the moment when the priests were ready to bury the count, St. Stephen and Augustine came down from heaven and buried him with their own hands. The painting is divided into two sections, the top, celestial, divine, idealistic and the bottom, human, realistic. Take time to note in the lower left hand corner, the right hand panel of St. Stephen's cloak which depicts the stoning of St. Stephen. Note, too, the three heavenly musicians in the cloud to the Virgin's right. There is an extraordinarily beautiful portrait of St. Peter with the keys to heaven. Take some time to look closely at the faces of the many characters represented in both heaven and earth. El Greco (1541-1614) Domenico Theotocopuli nació en Creta. Tras su aprendizaje en Venezia, y algunos viajes por la península italiana, vino a España durante el reinado de Felipe II con la esperanza de ser contratado para trabajar en el proyecto más importante de la época: El Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Debido al rechazo de sus pinturas por parte del monarca español se estableció en Toledo a los treinta y cinco años, donde residió hasta el final de su vida, realizando allí sus obras más importantes. Pintó sobre todo retratos y pinturas religiosas. Se ha dicho que él, más que ningún otro pintor contemporáneo, supo captar la obsesión española por la religión. La mirada exaltada y mística de sus figuras refleja el misterio de lo divino; a pesar de eso, su estilo sorprendió a sus contemporáneos y desagradó incluso al rey. Tuvieron que pasar varios siglos antes de que sus obras fueran apreciadas por su originalidad y se le viera, irónicamente, como el pintor más representativo del reinado de Felipe II. El Greco combinó realismo e idealismo con un toque de originalidad que ha sido copiado a menudo. Su obra se considera precursora de la pintura moderna. La pintura del Greco se caracteriza por el uso de colores vibrantes, sobre todo en los tejidos y adornos, su uso dramático de la luz, el alargamiento de los rostros y la estilización de las manos en sus figuras. Sus retratos son admirados por la gran fuerza psicológica que transmiten. En Toledo posiblemente tendrás la oportunidad de admirar la obra maestra del Greco: “El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz”. El conde de Orgaz fue responsable de la reconstrucción de la iglesia de Santo Tomé. También hizo una gran donación para el monasterio de los monjes agustinos, que fue dedicado a San Esteban. La obra nos muestra el milagro del entierro del Conde: en el momento en que los frailes se disponen a enterrarle, aparecen San Esteban y San Agustín que le dan sepultura con sus propias manos. La tela está dividida en dos partes, la superior, idealizada, representa el cielo, la inferior, realista, representa el mundo terrenal. Tómate tiempo para observar en un recuadro, en la esquina inferior izquierda, la escena de la lapidación de San Esteban. También llaman la atención los tres músicos en la parte superior, a la derecha de María, y un extraordinario retrato de San Pedro con las llaves del Cielo. Diego de Silva Velázquez (1599-1660) Velázquez was born in Sevilla and was the student of two masters, Herrera el Viejo y Francisco Pacheco, whose daughter he married. In 1622 he moved to Madrid where he became court painter to Felipe IV. His court paintings can be divided into five types: portraits of royal women in intricately patterned dresses (look closely at the portrait of the Infanta Margarita), royal hunting scenes with the Madrid sierra as background, portraits of famous noblemen and writers of the day, the equestrian portraits of the king, dukes and princes on horseback (take special note of the compassion and tenderness depicted in the painting of Prince Baltasar Carlos who was sickly and died at an early age), and finally his series of portraits of deformed and marginalized characters who played a role in court life - dwarfs, buffoons and beggars. Velázquez's portraits all reveal a sense of human dignity. It is said that he painted gods and kings as humans and at the same time gave great dignity to those characters who were less fortunate members of society. Velázquez also painted large historical scenes (see "La Rendición de Breda”) and mythological scenes. Of these, the most famous are of Bacchus (photo above of “The Triumph of Bacchus”, 17th century), Minerva and the Weavers (pay special attention to the use of light to create perspective), and Mercury and Argus. Velázquez created atmosphere in his paintings through the use of the subtlest gradations of light and the finest shades of color. He was able to convey the impression of space without resorting to geometric aids. His use of shading and light was considered the first of impressionistic techniques. He was one of the first to paint with the concept that our eyes are only able to perceive distinctly the object they are focusing on at the moment, so the surrounding objects appear blurred. This technique is obvious in the mythological paintings and in his masterpiece called "Las Meninas" or "The Handmaidens" (photo on next page). This is considered one of the most ingenious paintings ever created. It is a painting of the Infanta Margarita surrounded by people of the court including her parents, the King and Queen (reflected in the mirror), her handmaidens, and even Velázquez himself. The genius is in the creation of perspective through light and shading, and the fact that the spectator becomes part of the painting. Diego de Silva Velázquez (1599-1660) Velázquez nació en Sevilla, donde se formó en el taller del pintor Francisco Pacheco, con cuya hija se casó posteriormente. En 1622 se trasladó a Madrid donde se instaló definitivamente convirtiéndose en pintor de corte de Felipe IV. Sus obras pueden ser clasificadas en varios grupos: pinturas de escenas mitológicas, que realizó en todas sus épocas, a este grupo pertenece el "Triunfo de Baco", popularmente conocida como "los borrachos", la "Fragua de Vulcano", "Marte", o "Minerva y las Hilanderas". En esta última merece la pena observar el uso de la luz para crear perspectiva, así como el movimiento de la rueda. Retratos de los diferentes miembros de la familia real en atuendo de caza, fueron realizadas para decorar los pabellones reales de caza. Normalmente las figuras aparecen al aire libre, con las montañas de Guadarrama y Somosierra como fondo. Retratos reales, a pie y a caballo. Entre estos destacan los retratos de Felipe IV y su esposa Isabel de Valois o el del Conde-Duque de Olivares. Llama la atención la ternura y compasión con que pintó al enfermizo príncipe Baltasar Carlos que fallecería a edad muy temprana. La riqueza de los tejidos así como el realismo de los retratos los hacen excepcionales. Pinturas históricas como “la Rendición de Breda”, una gran composición en la que se conmemora la rendición a las tropas españolas de esta ciudad belga después de un largo asedio. Por último es de destacar la serie de bufones y otros personajes marginales de la corte a los que retrata dotándolos de gran dignidad.