EL GRECO: GESTURES IN FINISHED WORKS

El Greco is one of my favorite artist mostly due to the gesture-like qualities in his art. Not only was he an incredible painter, his pieces have such a great sense of understanding movement and contortions in the human body, often distorting the limbs of subjects in his work.

Here are some examples of his work:


"Opening Of The Fifth Seal" (top).
 1608-1614
Oil on Canvas

This painting greatly influenced Pablo Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" (below).

"The Virgin Of The Immaculate Conception"
1608-1613
Oil on canvas

"The Resurrection"
1595-1600
Oil on canvas

This painting would eventually be the inspiration point of one of my own works, "Resurrection" (below).

 

Next week, we'll look at various works during the Renaissance, Mannerism and Baroque eras. These periods in art history stressed the importance of understanding movement and emphasized the gestalt qualities of the human body.

Stay golden!