El Greco: Ambition and Defiance

A visually stunning examination of El Greco's work that considers the artist's constant reinvention and professional drive

Renowned for a singular artistic vision, Domenikos Theotokopoulos, known as El Greco (1541-1614), developed his distinctive painting style as he assiduously pursued professional success. This fresh and engaging survey of El Greco's work explores varied aspects of the artist's career--his aesthetic education in Italy, the mixed reception of his mature works in Spain, his uncompromising approach to business, and the baroque logistics of his Toledo workshop--and reveals the depth of El Greco's astounding ambition. The impressive volume focuses in particular on his 1577-79 altarpiece paintings for the Church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo--among them the magnificent Assumption of the Virgin--which heralded the artist's arrival in Spain after productive periods of formation and re-formation in Crete, Venice, and Rome. Lavishly illustrated and clothbound with gilded edges, this publication features reproductions and scholarly discussions of more than 60 works ranging from large-scale canvases to intimate panels, with essays that elucidate the motives and meanings behind the artist's constantly changing and inventive approach.

Distributed for the Art Institute of Chicago

Exhibition Schedule:

R?union des mus?es nationaux-Grand Palais, Paris
(October 14, 2019-February 10, 2020)

The Art Institute of Chicago
(Spring-Fall 2020)

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300250827
• ISBN13: 9780300250824
• Release Date: April 2020
• Publisher: Art Institute of Chicago
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 3.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 9.3" x 13.3"