Introduction
Art during the Renaissance is marked by the rebirth of artistic freedom. This allowed artists to be more creative, a shift from the strict ways of the medieval period. Religion and the new printing technique had great influenced on this reconstruction. El Greco is an intriguing artist of his generation, whose works reflect the style and characteristics of the Romantic period.
His ability to capture numerous artistic expressions that remain relevant today makes him the choice of my essay. The Renaissance is the period which marks the growth of literary works in the sixteenth-century in Spain, where El Greco lived and worked until his death. This is influential in the evolving, into the three dimension aspect that is aligned to the romanticism by the early eighteenth century.
Characteristic and other influencing factors of the Romantic period
A major development in the Renaissance is the emphasis on the realistic description of three-dimensional figures, and objects in painting and sculpture (History of the Renaissance, 2011). The emergence of scientific methods, and printing press led to an informed perspective and encouraged distributions to more people. This also meant that the artist appeared more intellectual given their creativity and eccentric behavior. This attitude has perhaps grown over the centuries
During the Renaissance, the revival of Plato and Platonism influenced the spread of religious inspiration of the poets and musicians. According to Plato, they were divinely inspired (Art History, 2011). It is at this time that contemporaries of the likes of Michelangelo started to enhance his status by describing him as divine.
Biographical information on El Greco
El Greco was a unique and very interesting artist of the16th-century. El Greco was born in Crete in1541, the centre of Post-Byzantine. El Greco’s father, Georgios Theotokopoulos was a merchant and tax collector.
As other Greek artists, he travelled to Venice and later moved to Rome, Italy to obtain training and enriched his style with elements of Venetian mannerism and traditions. El Greco moved to Toledo, Spain, in 1577, where spend most of his time working. He effectively combined the strict Byzantine style with the medieval traditions influences he obtained during his studies in Venice and Spain.
According to History of the Renaissance, El Greco’s concepts were greatly influenced by his immediate surrounding (2011). Toledo landscape acts to develop El Greco’s unusual perspective on his paintings which have very vibrant colors. His intense mood in several of his paintings reflects the religious perspective of this era. His mature art was influenced by Toledo.
El Greco also excelled as a portraitist reflected in his works of art, which act as a fore-shadow of modernity. According to Annenberg Media, the new printing techniques, music and musical ideas were able to be preserved and distributed to the people (2011).
El Greco’s review was not restricted to scholars, but his lucidity and skillful use of color in his works largely encouraged other artists of his time. He has had a positive impact on both artists in his generation and many contemporary artists. Picasso visited his friend Ignacio Zuloaga’s studio when he was working on Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. His agenda was to study El Greco’s Opening of the Fifth Seal.
Conclusion
El Greco altered his style by inventing a distinct interpretation of the traditional religious subject matter (Art History, 2011). Although, his works are characteristic of the Venetian Renaissance period, they are very distinct and unique compared to his contemporaries. As an artist, he captures the elements and styles of not only the Renaissance period but, also the medieval period.
This perhaps is the reason he continues to have an influence on the 20th century artists for example, Edouard Manet and Eugene Delacroix. El Greco also viewed Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, who formed the traditional trinity of great masters of that period as models to emulate. This is the reason he has such an impact across all generations.
References
Annenberg Media. (2011) Art of the Western World: The High Renaissance. Web.
Art History. (2011). Baraque Art. Retrieved from http://arthistoryresources.net/ARTHLinks.html
History of the Renaissance. (2011). The World Renaissance. Retrieved from http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac88