User:Otto Negron/St. Luke of El Greco

St. Luke is a painting by an artist known as [|El Greco]. The painting is an oil on canvas created sometime around 1610-1614. It is currently held by the [|Indianapolis Museum of Art] in Indianapolis, Indiana.

El Greco
El Greco was a famous artist from the Spanish Renaissance. He was born in Crete and later moved to Venice and Rome after becoming a skilled artist in icon painting. In Venice he worked in the studio of the very well known artist, Titian, where he learned elements of Renaissance art, like perspective, figural construction and stage narrative. . He later moved to Rome and worked for the wealthy patron Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. With time he opened a small shop, but after living in Rome for 6 years without any major commission, he moved to Madrid, Spain, probably because he continuously criticized the works of Michelangelo, which was detrimental to his reputation. As he lived in Spain, he was able to secure two major commissions for King Phillip II during the construction of El Escorial. Still, it seems the king was dissatisfied with El Greco's work and gave no more commissions to him. While living in Toledo he enjoyed certain success as he received many major comissions like:


 * The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (best known work)
 * three altars for the Chapel of San José in Toledo (1597–1599)
 * three paintings (1596–1600) for the Colegio de Doña María de Aragon
 * St. Ildefonso for the Capilla Mayor of the Hospital de la Caridad

El Greco later moved to Toledo, where he lived quite well, sometimes hiring musicians to play while he had diner. During his life in Toledo his works where characterized for strange, elongated shapes and brilliant colors. His artworks were greatly influenced by the mix of Byzantine icon art and "humanistic vision of renaissance painting".

Analysis
According to the gallery label provided by the Indianapolis Museum of Art:

"During the last decade of his career, El Greco played a major role in popularizing a type of pictorial ensemble known as the Apostolado, or "Apostle Series." A complete Apostolado normally comprises thirteen pictures, with twelve bust-length paintings of Apostles and one of Christ as Savior.

These three paintings belong to an incomplete set of nine Apostles from the parish church of Almadrones, a small town in the Spanish province of Guadalajara. The church was badly damaged during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) and the paintings were removed for safekeeping and eventually sold."