GRECO, El
Greek-born Spanish Mannerist Painter, 1541-1614
Greek painter, designer and engraver, active in Italy and Spain. One of the most original and interesting painters of 16th-century Europe, he transformed the Byzantine style of his early paintings into another, wholly Western manner. He was active in his native Crete, in Venice and Rome, and, during the second half of his life, in Toledo. He was renowned in his lifetime for his originality and extravagance and provides one of the most curious examples of the oscillations of taste in the evaluation of a painter,
ID: 62349 The Adoration of the Shepherds 114 x 105 cm Private collection In the eighteenth century this painting was attributed to Giovanni Lanfranco, and later to a member of the Bassano family. Since 1951 the authorship of El Greco is universally accepted. However, this picture owes a great deal to the nocturnal paintings of the Bassano. According to the X-radiograph the upper part of the canvas was completely repainted, and the canvas has been cropped at the top. Author: GRECO, El Title: The Adoration of the Shepherds , 1551-1600 , Spanish Form: painting , religious
