Today is the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Assumption of the Virgin
El Greco 1577-9
Image: Wikimedia Commons
In the era of the Catholic Reformation this subject was a very popular choice for commissions to artists and they responded with enthusiasm and expertise creating soaring figures and swirling draperies, and the dramatic interplay of light and clouds.
Amongst the earliest of these was El Greco with his first commission in Toledo in 1577-9. This for the church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo. At that time he was still very much under the influence of both Titian and Michelangelo and had not yet evolved the unique style that became his hallmark. The history of painting, now in the Art Institute in Chicago, is set out by Wikipedia in the article Assumption of the Virgin (El Greco)
I wish a joyful feast of the Assumption of Our Lady to all my readers.
A Very Happy Feast, John.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back.