We had to catch the last day of the show. Just one room filled with iconic El Grecos. He was barely Greek - raised in Crete (which was Venetian at the time) and never went to Greece. Here's a fine, brief bio
I'll call my photo A View of People Studying A View of Toledo
A few more pics and comments below the fold -
One side of the room. How cool is that? Rich food indeed. When we go, we only do one or two rooms, then leave. Avoid the afflictions of Art Overdose and Museum Brain. Just a judicious taste of special visual delights, then maybe an elegant light lunch, then hop in the car and head back to the country.
Best and largest art museum in the world. What else do you want? The stupid Mona Lisa?
It is said that El Greco took Mannerism (at the time, no longer in fashion) to an extreme. He was considered an eccentric.
I learned that the Vision of St. John (depicting the opening of the fifth seal) is only the bottom half of the original painting. The top half depicted Divine Love, the remaining part depicting earthly, carnal love. Some restorer cut off the top half and threw it away. That was before he had the importance he has today.
OK, this is compelling.
My favorites were two of his nativity scenes. Didn't take a photo, just looked.
A snowy Central Park.
We noticed that the Cubism show only has a few more weeks. I do not want to miss it. Thank you, Mr. Lauder, for this gift to us all.
