El Greco

Large pictorial monograph on a mysterious work from the late Renaissance! The work of the Greek artist El Greco (1541-1614), primarily created in Toledo, continues to exert an unbroken fascination today. By incorporating diverse influences from Byzantine, Venetian, Roman, and Spanish art, the painter achieved a unique freedom in color, composition, and figure creation. In the painting Laocoön, which is the focus of this study, El Greco drew on a motif that had enjoyed great popularity since the sensational discovery of the Vatican Laocoön group in 1506. However, unlike other artists, the painter refrained from adopting the composition of the ancient masterpiece and populated the scene with his own invented figures. Additionally, instead of ancient Troy, a contemporary portrait appears in the background of his painting.