''Concert of Angels'' is a work of
El Greco
Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...
in oil on canvas from 1608, during his last period in
Toledo, Spain
Toledo ( , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. Toledo was declare ...
. It is exhibited at the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
in Athens.
Created at the end of his life, art historians have disputed whether this painting is a finished work or part of a working study for a commission of the ''
Annunciation
The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
'' for the chapel of the
Hospital de Tavera
The Hospital de Tavera, also known as the Hospital de San Juan Bautista, Hospital de afuera, or simply as Hospital Tavera, is an important building of Renaissance architecture located is in the Spanish city of Toledo. It was built between 1541 an ...
. It is not an independent composition but a cut-down fragment of the whole. It shows a celestial choir of angels, some of them with their backs to the viewer.
Entry
on museum website Designed to hang high above the head of the viewer, the very extended heads and the anatomy of the characters show the influence of Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
, though there are probably retouchings by Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli, the son of the painter. It once formed part of a threesome of paintings for the chapel. It is unknown when the paintings were removed from the chapel. It is also unknown when this painting was cut down, but Tiziana Frati assumes it was done in the latter half of the 19th century. Stylistically it is similar to the concert of angels seen at the top of El Greco's annunciation in the Prado.
File:Los tres Retablos del Hospital Tavera, en Toledo.jpg, Old photo of chapel interior
File:El Greco - Annunciation reconstruction, Hospital de Tavera.jpg, Annunciation reconstruction with Madrid fragment
File:Anunciacion Prado(2).jpg, Prado version of the Annunciation
File:El Greco, The Vision of Saint John (1608-1614).jpg, Vision of St John (also cut down, upper portion unknown)
File:Image-El Bautismo de Cristo El Greco version1609.jpg, Baptism of Christ (still in Toledo)
See also
* List of works by El Greco
El Greco was a Crete, Cretan-born Painting, painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. El Greco left his birthplace for Venice in 1567, never to return. El Greco's three years in Venice profoundly influenced his style. In 1577, he ...
References
Bibliography
* Álvarez Lopera, José. ''El Greco.'' Madrid: Arlanza, 2005. .
* Scholz-Hänsel, Michael. ''El Greco.'' Colonia: Taschen
Taschen is a luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen.
History
The company began as Taschen Comics, pu ...
, 2003. .
External links
''Concierto Of ángeles''
ArteHistoria.Like
Paintings by El Greco
1608 paintings
Angels in art
Books in art
Musical instruments in art
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