El Greco: Life and Work-A New History

Domènikos Theotokópoulos, known to us as El Greco, was one of the seminal painters of the Spanish golden age. This magnificent volume features superb new reproductions of his most famous works, some of which have been cleaned and restored, revealing unknown facets of his art.

Born in Crete in 1541 under Venetian rule, raised in the iconographic traditions of Byzantine art, and acquainted with both Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic practice, El Greco journeyed to Venice and Rome in the late Renaissance, before finding patronage in Spain at the court of Philip II. He was a painter not only of religious subjects but also of idiosyncratic portraits executed in his own dramatic and expressionistic style.

He spent approximately half his life in Toledo, a city with which his name has become indelibly linked, although he was never fully accepted and was known there as a disputatious outsider. All this and more is detailed in this thorough, illustrated book. Many of El Greco's most famous works are included: View of Toledo, The Adoration of the Shepherds, The Gentleman with His Hand on His Chest, Christ on the Cross Adored by Donors, as well as many others.