o u UJ � o tJ) o o "'0 tJ) LU a::: o ,........, CD """" .._ z n, EL ARTE EN ESPANA EDICI6N THOMAS 'Bajo el patronato de fa Comisarla 'R1gia del Turismo y Cultura el!r.tfstica N.O 10 I EL ARTE EN ESPANA BAJO EL PATRC)NATO DE LA. COMISARiA REGIA DEL TURIS!.IO Y CULTURA ARTiSTlCA t I ! Cuarenia y ocho ilusiraciones con texto de Manuel B: Cossio Director det Museo Pedagogico de Madrid E. DE J. THOt-lAS, s. A. c. M"ALLOKCA, 291 - BARCELONA RESERVADOS LOS DERECHOS DE P..ROPIEDAD ARTisTICA Y LITERARlA .r EL CRECO AS liIminasa que acompai'ia esta noticia, no estan escogidas de 1 L· entre toda la obra del Greco. (l}, En servicio del viaiero por 1 Espana, reproducense solo los principales cuadros del pintor, que quedan.todavia en los Museos del pais (2) y.en las Igteslas y-funda­ J clones publicas, a donde aun no ha lIegado Is codicla de mercaderes y�patronos. amparados en la indiferencia del pueblo hacia su natn­ 1 t monio artfstico, EI nombre deL Greco. Domenicos Theotocopou.os se fransformo en Italia y en Espana en Domenico y Dominica Theotocopult. As! firma- los documentos. V de ambos modes, los cuadros,: pero en griego: L10!l1jVtitO� (j::)e;O'tOit61tOUAq�. A veces, en abrevia­ tura, Sus conremporaneos Ie Ilarnan siempre 'Dominico Greco y-e' � Griego. de sus Era de Creta; Lo afrade en algunos cuadros; itP��, eretense. Su contemponineo Paravicino 10 diio varias veces: «Creta Ie dio la vida y los pinceles Toledo » ... . En 1582 declara ante La Inquisicion ser «natural de Is ciudad de, Candia .» Nada se sabe de su estancia alii ni en Verrecia, En 1570 Clovio escribe que «ha lIegado a Roma un [oven candle­ ta disclpulo de Tiziano que parecerne extraordinario en la pintu­ ... ra,» Naceria, por tanto, hacia 1550. 1\10 se sabe como vine e Espana. (1) 1'. EI Greco- POl' M. B. Cossio. Con 193 Idminas. Madrid. V. 'Sudres- 1008.. (2) Excepto e! Museo lA,.Gasa del Greco, poreener ga ootamenes - especiales en esta Colecci6n. i 5 La primera noticia de el es la firma .y feeha de 1577 en la Asuncion de Santo Domingo el Antiguo, de Toledo. AlIt trabaio desde enton­ ces; y para Toledo y sus cercanias, Madrid, Escorial, lIleseas, pinto sus grandes obras. La clta de Melo (1657) de que «persuadido por et hambre y por los afnigos se iue a Sevilla en tiempo de flota» no ee halla confirmada por 1a tradici6n popular ni por los ccntempora­ neos, Habitd en tas casas principa1es del Marques de Villena, hoy pa­ seo del Transite. Elrestode aquella epoca, en los solares llarnados tradlcionalmente de Villena, es Is Casa del Greco. Muri6 de eavan- � zada edad», en Ab�il de 1614. La partida en Santo Tome dice: «dominico greeo En siete del [alescio dominieogreco no hl�o testamtv- Reelblo tos sacramtos- enterrosse en Sto .domingo et antigao dio betas» Gravemente enfermo, di6 poder para testar y delandole por sa heredero universal «a -el dido Jorge Manuel mi hijo y de la dicha Dona.Iercnima de las Cuevas.» De esta nunca dice que fuese su maier, Jorge Manuel nacio en 1578. Fue pintor, escultor y-�itee­ to, y trabsjo con su padre, encargandose de las obras que.este dejo empezadas. EI testamento declara .mas deudas que creditos y conflrma su entlerro en Santo Domingo. Pero, en !618, Jorge Manuel se obliga a sacar los huesos cuando el conveuto se 10 pidiese, y es probable que 10 enterramiento que Ie concedio, ell 1619, hiciera.Hevaudolos al el Monasterio de Sail Torcuato, No se sabe, pues, donde se hallan los restos del Greco. Tampoco cual es su retrato. Ofrccen gran pro­ babilidaa de serlo el ioven en el angulo Izquierdo de La caractou del Ciego (Parma), representaciones de un mismo perso- y las dos naje de-barbs rubia, el-Sall Mauricio y en el Entierro apare- que ell cen mirando al espe_ctador. Como retrato suyo clrcula el de Un An- ciano, del Sr. Beruete. El Pintar (Museo, Sevilla), que antes. se erey6 su retratocse dice ahora, sill base, ser el de su hijo. La Fami- lia (Widener, Filadeffla), por su excepcional intlmldad, podria ser la auya, La tecnlca corresponde con las edades de su nuera; A)fonsa, su - consuegra, Catalina y su nieto, Gabriel de los Morales. Las breves notlcias de sus contemporaneos delan la impresi6n de ser uii hombre extraordinarlo y. o::iginal. Asi, el P •. Sigiienza y10s ,1audatoriqs sonetos de Gongora y Paravicino; los dos poetas que, por analogia artfstica, mas 1e eomprendieron y admirarcn.Fue el primero en defender POT sf mismo la exencion de tributo det arte de 1u pintura contra el alcabalero de JUeseas y obtuvo sentencia favo- 6 rable, ,«En todo fUI! singular, como en !a pinturas., (Pacheco). «De extravagante condition». «Gano muehos ducados, mas los-gastaba en demasiada ostentation de su.casa, hasta tener mustcos asalaria­ tlos para cuando cornia gozar de toda deli cis». (jusepe'Martinez) E! tnoentarto de sus blenes complete -estos iuicios. El aluar contras­ ts con los 24 meiores aposentos 'que ocupaba; ytodo da is impresiOn de casa rica venida a 1I1en05. «La riqueza que el Greco dejaba al rnorir no fue mas que lioo cuadros principiados de su manes, U. Mar­ tinez). 143 enumera el Inventarlo, -Dominico Greco me -mostro el aflo l611 una a1acena de modelos. de barre de su mano para vaterse de ellos en sus obras, y 10 que excede de toda admiracidn, los ort­ ginales de todo cuanto habla en su vida. pintados al oteo., pintlido en Iienzos mas pequeftos euadra que por su mandate me en una mostro su hij9", -(Pacheco). Inventarlados aparecen. La Biblloteca del Greco confitms la idea formada de su perso­ n�tldad 150r las frases de sus contempcraneos, Z1 obras griegast Homero, Euripides, xenotonte, Arlst6teies, Demostenes, tsocrates, -ESO_OD, Hipocrates, Luciano, Pluta reo el Viejo y el Naeve Teste­ ... mento, los Santos Padres.'M italianas: Petrarca; Ario.sto, Patrizzi, el neo platonicode su epoes. Las fuentes de su tormacton espirltual .son, por tanto, ias mas puras del Renacimiento. ,Un «Tratado de la pinturas; 19libros de Arquitectura; y solo 17 obras en romance, que no se describen. No se sabe 10 que el Greco iev6 en castellanocCon urra-vieia criada, Marla 66mez, y un fijas viejo crlado, Juan Prebos­ l te, el Greco achacoso de ios iiltimos dias hace-Ia impresiOn de un solitario. De espiritual -humorista deja el saber la visita de Pacheco en 1611, oyendole afirmar econtra Aristoteles V todos los antlguose que «la pintura no es-arte» y que "el'colorido ee superior aldibuios, contra Miguel Angel, de qulen dec!a «q�e era un buen hombre, perol cede del vlotento contraste entre el asunto heroico y el nuevo extraiio modo de tratarlo; del pronunciado acento de caracteres, acritudes.. desnudo y ropajes; de la frialdad de color y dela plenitud de la luz al aire Iibre. Representa este cuadro, me- [or que ningun otro.Ta crisis pictorica 'del Greco, . - A este primer period a correspond en Ia pequefia Anunciacion y­ 'el San Benito (lams, 8 V'9); el San Sebastian (him, 10); y los retratos del Caballero can La manoal pecho, y-del Medico (lams, II y 12), as. - como el pequeiio San-Francisco, (Paris, Zuloaga) que abre Is serie - de rodos los que hizo. -; _ EI, Entierro det Conde de Org_[l2 (lams, 13 y 14) es la obra mas - r significativa y de mayor alcance del Greco, asi como la pagina- mas sustancial- y penetrant-e -de la pintura espanola. Sorprende por 1a coniuncion de Intimidad naturalista, exaltado idealismo, ambiente 'local, acento dimimico'y sobriedad de frias entonaciones. m argu mente es una leyenda mistiea, familiar, netamente toledana. Don - . _ - r Gonzalo Ruiz de Toledo a � J', � �.; 7A Q Seiior de Orgaz fue un va- l ""-V'j ( r,llr'J �G U'V 1'1 }' v,; . - - ron pladosc.devoto de San- Agustin y San Esteban,los � t ""))Q); a> /'f I �-; 7ITJ', j e ",c. C cuales, cuando -iba a ser enterrado Santo e� aquel mismo Tome, que el ree- l !J.. tD 0 H. difica, baian del -cielo con asombro de la clerecta v � .:J _ y de los caballeros asis­ , nRMA DEL GI\ECO EN EL' tentes, Ie lIevan al sepul- aEl'lTlERRO. DEi. CONDE DE OROAZl> 4.:-fO, Pisa (Ammtamtentos, 1612), dice. que estan «alH retratados muy al vivo muchos insignes varones de.nuestros tlem­ pos». No hay idEmtificados mas que los Covarrubias y �ndres Nunez, el cura de SantQ, T4)me, que gano pleito contra la villa de Orgaz, 9 porque descuidaba cumpllr el testamento de su Senor en beneficia de la iglesia, mando poner la Inscrlpcten latina record an dolo. y - pintar el Entierro en 1586. No se sabe por que pondria el Greco. de­ baio de su firma. 1578. Refleja este cuadro el espiritu de la raza, la tristeza v el nilsticlsmo regionales; y representa, como el Quijote, taprotesta contra todo falso manerismo y la vuetta a la inagotable - noesra de la realidad'_y de la vida Maria. Por el precio hubo pleito y dos tasaciones,la segunda, en 1.400 due ados. Dieronle 1.200, y acu­ di.; apelaclon al Papa, pero hubo aveneneia. en Los alta res del Colegio de Dona Maria de Aragon, en Madrid, 15�\0; de la Capilla de San Jose, en Toledo, 1597; y del Hospital de ia Caridad, en Illescas, 1603, forman-los ialones .del perlodo posterior al Entierro. Conservan todavia, en cierto modo, su acento melanco- - Ilco y su'mfsma tecnica los cuadros del primero: Bautismo (lam. 15), Anunctacion (lAm." 16) y sus congeneres. Crucifixion y Resurrec­ cton (lams. 17 y 18), asi como la cabeza de un Hidalgo (ram. 19). En los de la Capilla toledana, escandalosamente profanada en 1907 con el arranque y venta de sus altares laterales, San Martin y la Virgen con Santa flies y Santa Martina (Widener, Filadelfia) aparece, 10 rnlsmo que en los_ que todavia permanecen alli, San- lose, Corona­ cion de ta Virgen (lam. 20). una concepcion mas tlerna y .scsegada. Se acentaa el idealismo farnillarvy la tendencia a pocas y grandes - figuras; la tecnica'se hace mas facil y espontanea, el colorido mas � argentino, medias tintas fundidas, grises fin as, y entonacion carml­ nosa. Lo mismo ocurre en Illescas, donde el SCllI ttdefonso (lam. 21) cierra magnificamente esta fase. -Dentro de todo este periodo caen " el San jose y la Sagrada Familia (-Jams. 22 y 23); la Veronica _(lami· _ na 24); eJ Suettode Felipe II, el San Eugenio, el San Pedro"y el San" Francisco (lams. 25. 26, 27 y 28); la Virgen, la Sagrada Pamuta.fe­ sus con la Cruz y San- Antonio (lams. 29; 30, 31 y 32), y los retratos de Rodrigo Vasques y de un .Caballero (l�ms. 33 y 34). Su mas es­ plendido Retrato, el dellnquisidor Nino de Guevara (Havemeyer, Nueva York) es tarnbien de esta epoca, se caracterlza por la exaltacion de todas La ultima del Greco sus cualidades. EI puro dinamismo Ie obsesiona. Comienza con el Sa" Bernardino, 1603 (Museo del Greco) y acaba can el 'Bautismo de Tabera, que dejo sin termlnar.La Asuncion. de San Vicente, (Iii· mina 35) es su ohm mas perfecta de este 'tiempo. A el corres­ ponden la Concepcion (lam. 36) la Adoraclon de Pastores, 1612 (la· mlna 37) los Santos Iuanes (llim. 38), la Annnciacion (lam. 39). Santo Domingo (lam. 40);-San Franciscos (lhi par la tradition ni par les !;ontemporains_. II habita dans lamaison principale du marquis de Villena, au­ jourd'hui paseo de I Trdnsito: Le batiment qui reste de cette epoque sur l'ernplacement qui conserve traditionnellement Ie nom de Ville­ !la, a eteappele la A1aison du Greco. Le peintre mourut "i1 un .age avances; en avril 1614. L'acte de la paroisse de Santo Tome dit: «Dominica greeD. Le sept du mots mourut Domintco greco. II ne fit potnt de II testamgnt. recut-tes sacrements; il rut en terre a St. Dominique le Vieua: it den­ na les cierges» Gravement malade, it avait donne pouvoir pour tes­ ter, en qualite de legataire unrversel eau dit jorge Manuel mon fils et celui de Ia dite damejerontrna de las Cue.vas .• De cette dame i1: ne dit [amais' qu'elle filt sa' femme. jorge Manuel naquit en 1'578. U fut peintre, sculpteur, et· architecte, et travailla avec son- pere; it 6e chargea des reuvres que celui-ci laissa ehaiichees. • _ Le testament declare plus de dettes que de creances et confirme I'ensevelissement it Santo Domingo. En 1618 jorge il'\anu�1 s'enga­ gea a retirer les restes de son pere quand Ie couvent le lui de­ mandera, et iI est probable qu'il les ret ira en -effet, pour les trans­ porter it la sepulture' qui lui fut concedee en 1619 par Ie ,(\-\onasthe de San Torquato. On ne sait done pas ou se trouvent les restes du Greco. Onne connait pas davantage son portrait. 11 y_a grandes chances de Ie retrouver dans Ie [eune homme du coin gauche de La guuison de l'aoeugle (Parme), et dans les deux representations d'un meme persorrnage a barbe blonde, qui dans Ie Saint Maurice et L'En­ terrement r�garde Ie spectateur, L.� p-ortrait d'un. Vieillard de la col- lection Berllete, qui circule.comme portrait du Greco, n'a rien d'au- l thentique4e· Peintre (Musee de Seville) que I'on c_toyaii iadis etre « SOD portralt, passe maUltep.!Ult, sans tondement, pour etre cel\ti'de son fils. La Famute (Widener, Philade1Jlhie), iI cause de son carac­ tere exceptiennel d'inumite, pourrait etre celle de ;Jorge Manuel. La: technique- est d'accord- avec les dates qui correspondent a la bru du Greco. Alfonsa; it Catalina, Ia belle-mere -de son fils, et il son Ilelit-fi!s. apers. Pub(ic_Record Office, London THE illustrations that accompany this text are- not the - from 'chQSen wh61__e pf EI Greco's work. (1) � For.the greater corrvenlence of-travellers in Spain-the painter's .. chief works here 'reproduced are .still to be- found in the various Museums of the country, in the churches and public-institutions f2), where the.greed of dealers and owners, seconded by the people's Indifference concerning its artistic patrimony. has not yet attacked - - . - ".them. EI Greco's name. Domenlcos Theotocopoulos was transformed in Italy and Spain into Domenico-and Dominlco Theotocoputi: He signed thus on legal documents, and in both forms on his pictures, but in Greek. AOIl-qVlXO(; 9EO'tox61tOUAO(;: Occasionally he "used abbreviations. His contemporaries called him Invariably Do- . minico Greco. and el Griego. He was a Cretan. He added the adjectfve on some of his pictures: - - XP7)(;, the Cretan. His contemporary. Paravicino, affirms 0':1 several occasions: Crete gav.e him the light of day, and Toledo his skill with the brush. (Creta Ie d/6/a vida 1/ los pinoeles 7 otedo). (1) See EI Greco, by M. B. Cossio. ",ith IQ3.illustrations. MtI- - -- drld. ". Suarez. 1{}()8. (2) Exception is made of the Museum and eass del Greco, to. which specialpolumes in this collection haoe c:lr_eadg been fUDOIed. 2r In 1582. summoned befote the Inquisition, he declared himself to be «a' native of.the town of Candia". Nothing is known about the years he spent there, and in Venice. . 'In 1570, Clovjo wrote: itA Cretan youth, Titian's.pnplt. has arrl­ ved in Rome his paintlng.seems remarkable to me», The date of his ... birth maybe placed, therefore. somewhere. about 1550: Nothing is known of th�i!asons or the manner of his coming to Spain. The first indi-cat-ion of him is the signature-and dateon the Assumption'ui Santo Domingo eI Antiguo in Toledo. 1577 He worked-in Toledo •. from that time onward and Plliri�ed for TOledo and the neighbouring !-. places, Madrid;The Escorlal, fIIescas, his-greatest: works. Melo's assertion'(1657>"that the master ewent to Seville driven bywant and tlje persuasions-of" his', frlenps, ;;t the .time of the arrival of the' fleet», finds no confirmation in' any of -erq,teco's contemporaries, or in popular tradition, - He lived-in one of the Marqu'es de VilIena's larger houseswhere in our day the Paseo del Transite ties. The remains of that date; which may still be seen in the buildings that bear traditionally the, name:,of Villena, are tl}e Casa del Greco. He died «at an advanced) agesID April 1614. .' - The entrY' in the' registry !It Santo Tom� is as foUows: Dominlco greco .. On the 7th. died Dominico greco he left no will. lie received/he sacrament's was interred in', Santo Domingo eranti� - guogav?lapers� _ "domin/co greQo...7in $l�te del (alespio 1fomjnicogreco no hlZ_Ci - testamt�'>Rec;bio los sacramtos. enterrose en' Sto. domingo el tintlguo' dfi) 'beTas.». - . Wherldangerously'i1I, he g!lv� power to' draw. up a will to «the said Jorge Manuel my son.-and the.said Dona Jeronima de las CUB' vas» and made his son his qniversal.lleii'. Henowhere isserfed that . the lady was his' wife. J6�e oMa'nuet: wa:s'bom-,�ri:1578. He was ��·llaiiiter. sculptor! and architect, and worked ·wit11: ifiS'. father, carrying those of his paintings which.he leffund t-o his authentic podfarf�.1%ere are-great probabilities in favour of the 'youth in the �ft c:.orJil- or ilIe � 01 the Bliiul (Paona) and the two repre- 22 ,entatlons 'of the 'same red-bearded personage who looks forth towards the spectator In the San Mauricio and -in the Bntterro, Se­ nor Beruete's picture of an old man (Un anciano) is often credited with being el Greco's 'portrait. 'The Painter (el Pintor) In the Mu­ seum at Seville, once believed to be his own likeness, Is, Dot \}'Ithout foundation, described as that of his son. La familia (Widener Collection, Philadelphia) might well be a picture of his own family, fudging by the exceptiOnally intimate atmosphere .of the same. The manner and teclinlque correspond In date with the age of his daughter-In-law AiJoDSa. her mother Catalina. and her grandson . Gabriel de los Morales. " '" The short references of his contemporaries to El Greco give the impression of a peculiar and extraordinary man. Father Sigiienza wrote of him.thus, and in their laudatory sonnets Gongora' and Pa­ raviclno also. two poets who through 'an artistic affinity with him; understood him best and admired him most. He claimed the privilege of exemption from the payment of taxes for.the art of pafnting, and successfully supported the claim agantst the taxgatherer of Hles­ cas. «He was extraordinary in all things, as in his painting» (Pache­ co), «Extravagant in his ways» .• He earned many ducats, but spent them all in pompous Iivingvand even kept paid musicians to pray to him, that he might enjoy every pleasure while he ate» {Jusepe Mar­ tinez). The Inventory of his worldly goods confirms these judgments. The furniture presents a contrast with the 24 fi'le rooms he.eceupled; and everything seems to speak of a rich establishment reduced and decayed. uEI Greco left at his death no other riches except 28S of the Venitian or light; H the Roman period. The most important. are the following: The Healing 0/ the blind (Dresden and Parma Museums); The Annunciation (Vienna M!1seum); The Clearing 0/ the Temple (F. COok, Richmond, Lord Yarborough, London); The Adoration of the shepherds, (Wi­ Ilnmsen. COpenhagen); Portrait 0{ Giaiio. Ciooio; A bog blowing out II llghted candte {Naples Museum). A genre painting; inspired by the last named picture, and the Saint jerome (National Gallery, London}, are also italian subjects, frequently repeated afterwards. _ The Clearing a/the 1emple (Prick, New York}, shows the personality of the artist in the first affirmation of all his qualities; it cons­ titutes the link between the Italian and the Spanish.pericdscand is one 01 iliemoSt sPlendid e.xamplejl of his work. At the time when EI Greco reached Toledo, the ·town was the eentreof artlstlc �fe in Spain. ItS decadence had already beif.unj and painting was inferior to its other manifestations; nalian painters o.f the Roman school were at work -on the Escoriak.and El Greco must have eyed them and, their 'inferior local brethren with disdain. He deslgned ""the retablo and Its sculpture for Santo Domingo el Antigua,and painted the plchlres. hi the centre the Assumption (Art Institute.Chicagc) dated 1577; on either side St. loan the Bap-: list and SI./oftn the Evangelist (see pl. 1); above these, St. Benedict and St. Bernara (these have disappeared); at the summit, the Trini­ tu (pl. 2), and just below it The Sacred Face"(pl. 37); To the tight and· left, The Resurrection (pl. �); and th"e Adoration oj tile Shepherds (pI. 4). There-Is a blend in all·of Italian influence and- the-new tocat atmosphere. Technically, they mark a great advance. In 1579.he bestowed on the Cathedral the-painting kuown as'the Bspolto (Christ onCalvary) (�1. 5), the most dramatic of his compo­ sitions, where the idealist inheritance of Italy and the' elements of" his Spanish-manner are perfectly harmonlsed: centralised action, atmosphere, realism; a markedly cold scale of colour, tire {ores­ -shadowmg-of problems of light and colour. The Chaptec.de!l.ired tJrm_ to eliminate the hGly women, because "ffte Gospet says they steed �ad longe» and the soldiers in armour because they «deprived the Saviour oli respect». EI Greco gave -way only when he was ·tl'treatened\vith imprisonment, however they were left there after . "ail, as luck would have it. The picture was intended tor a retablo, since disappeared, which was not begun until lli85. and to. which tbe gtoup on wood, of The. Virgin inoesting. St. lldefonso uzi!h 1M chasu-. -" [71e (pl. 6) alsobelonged. 1n 1580 Philip 11 commlssloned bim to. paint die.sf.. Maurrce '(pl�7}.FatherSigiienza speaJ....iog'of-tbis picture in 1605 expressed bimseU thus: «It did not satisfy his Matesty and tbis is saying little, it is painted because it pleased hardly any" one, although they say and with great art and "its- author is a v� competent mat!,- that fine things have been painted by .his hands, The place occupied by el Greco in the mind of the public may be clearly-seen; alike to the position of every artist out ottune with his own times.­ He was admired by a small minority, who Slicceded in getting him recognition in virtue ot his merits; ignored by the great majority who receives only consecrated reputations. lie lavished aU tiis art 011. the paintirlg of the St. Maunce, in the hope that the doors or the to have. Escorial migbt be opened to him; but the Kilig iljd not care 25 it placed the altar for which it was ordered, 11te{:auses or tbis over misfortune must be sought ill the violent contrast between the beroic subject of the picture and EI Greco's strange flew treatment of it; the forceful presentment of the characters, the attitudes.:.'the use of thenude and the treatment of c.rapery; tl,le cold toilBlily of the picture, and the fulness of its open-air effets. Tl_1iS::painting illustrates better than any other the time of crisis in el Greco's art . • The small Annunciation and the St. iJenetJict (pl.8and9)�the SL Sebastian (pl. 10); and the two portraits of a Man with his. hand 10 his breast, and the Doctor (pI. 11 and 12). besldes tbe sma]I_,Sainl Francis (Zuloaga Collection, Paris) all belong to thiS first pened and give the key to the rest of his work. . The Buriql of the Count of Orgllz (pl. 5, tl ana 14) is the mos' Jmportantand significant of EI Greco's "Works; and it 1s atso the most significant and penetrating ,page in the history of -Spanish painting. One may analise the bewilderment it arouses";lly its speakieg atmospnereof naturalness and intimacy; itsl-ofty ideatis!ri, rts spirit pf place, Hs ronslng .accent, and the sobriety (It its cod) tOl)slities. The subject it treats Is a mystic tale, familiar, essentia·llY 'Of. the- place where it was painted, - Toledo. Don Gonzalo Ruiz al5 Toledo, lord of Orgaz; was a pions genile�-professiog a.varticu:' _ 4ar devotion to St. Augustin and St, Stephen, \Vbo descended 'frofi\ oheavb.whcn}1isbodiwasabout of Santo Tome 10 be buried iii that v.ery·ChurCli-_ whicb be rebuilt, lind 10 the astonishment-of the whole conecruse of clergy and gentlemen, lliidilim to his,resti Pisa, (Apuntamientos,1612), says: «many �lted men of ourowntJiys are drawn here to the .Iife»_ None but the Covarrubias and An� Nil· nez, the priest of SantoTome who won his case against of Orgaz, because it had lli§tfOwn .. neglected to carry out the.·�ispo· sitions of its Lord fot the benefit of the church. and what'llad a graven record in Latin-of this facJ set. up here; and orderedthe Bu­ riai to be painted in 1586, have as yet been identified. It- is- not .known why El Greco placed the date 15;-8 beneath his signature .. This picture reflects the true spirit ofthe race, the sadness and the mysticism of that province to which it belongs; like lhe Qu·ixote, it utters a protest against false mannerisms, and voices all aspiration tothe inexhaustible poetry hidden in the events. of evcry-day.life, The price of the picture was the cause of an actionat law, and it was valued twice, the second time at 1400 ducats, Er Greco was . given twelve hundred, and be appealed-to the Pope. {;QIlIprornise. a however was arrived at. 1 The altar pieces oi Ule Colegio de Dona Marla cIe Areg6n in tile Hos­ Madrid, 1590; of tile Cllapel of San Jose in Toledo, 1597; Of in pital 'Of. tile Caridad in lliescas, 1603, are three successive stages the period that followed the Burial. Something of the melancholy in that characterises it is retained by other pictures, painted Annuncia­ the same technique, such as the first Baptism (pl. 15), an tion (pl. 16) and other kindred pictures. the Crucifixion and Re­ surrection (pL 17 and 18), a head of a Hidalgo (pI. 19). A chastened, tenderer conception is illustrated by the paintings that yet remain the in the Chapel of San Jose, scandalously profaned in 1907 when Coro­ side altars were torn ftom it to be sold; in the St. Joseph. the nation of tile Virgin (pl. 2Oj, as in those that were taken away, the St. Martin. tire Virgin with St. Agnes QIlilSLMartina (Widener Collec­ scenes and fion, (Philadelphia). The i