To those who may be receiving one of these post-notifications for the first time: This is not a blog; it’s actually part of a book, and will make little sense to you without knowledge of what has come before—which you can easily obtain, along with a goodly amount of satirical theatre as matters progress, by simply entering ttgftyri.org into your web browser, opening the menu, and starting at page one. J.J.
One painter who worked in Spain but wasn’t Spanish was Doménikos Theotokópoulos: better known both then and now as El Greco, ‘the Greek’.
Born in 1541 on the Mediterranean island of Crete—at the time, part of the independent Republic of Venice on the eastern side of the Italian peninsula—he received his first training from Cretan masters as a painter in the post-Byzantine tradition, and was himself certified as a master of that tradition before traveling to Venice at age twenty-six for more study; as a number of other Greek artists had done before him.
Three years later, he moved on to Rome and opened his own workshop; but then in time, relocated to distant Toledo, Spain—where he received several major commissions, executed all of the paintings for which he has since become famous, and remained until his death in 1614 at the age of seventy-two.
Modern art historians who’ve grown accustomed to labeling artists as belonging to this or that ‘school’ of art are struck dumb when asked where El Greco fits in—simply because his work defies association with any school or artist that ever was.
As an artist, he was—in the extreme—his own man; and yet, he too followed the traditional color formula used for depicting the Madonna garments.
See for yourself, since if only in appreciation of his unique style, we’re going to give him some special treatment here and show you every Madonna that he’s known to have ever painted.

Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki, Japan

Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio

Museo del Prado, Madrid

Banco Santander, Madrid

Museo del Prado, Madrid



Gallery Estense, Modena, Italy

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Hospital de la Caridad, Seville

National Museum of Art of Romania, Bucharest

Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad, Illescas

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Colegio del Patriarca, Valencia

Museo del Prado, Madrid



Cleveland Museum of Art
























Meanwhile up north, where Catholicism more or less reigned supreme despite periodic grumbling by the Germanic peoples, until early in the sixteenth century when one of its German priests, Martin Luther, finally protested against its more corrupt practices along with papal authority in general, even the painters suddenly seemed bent on establishing their own way of doing things, if only by reversing the colors of the Virgin’s garments in their depictions of her—now portraying her mantle as red, and her gown as blue, as in the painting below.

Oh, by no means all of them; and not all of the time, depending upon the wishes of those who were commissioning them. Which brings us to the following Flemish painters whose works would do any Italian painter proud; granted that no one in them looks Italian.

Frick Collection, New York

Mayer van den Bergh Museum, Antwerp

Gemäldegalerie der Staatlichen Museen, Berlin

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels.

Museo del Prado, Madrid
1101: Google A&C https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/annunciation/zgGZbKaYeICq1Q
1102: MFA Budapest https://www.mfab.hu/artworks/the-annunciation-5/
1103: WikiArt https://www.wikiart.org/en/el-greco/annunciation
1104: Fine Art America https://fineartamerica.com/featured/23-the-annunciation-el-greco.html
1105: Fine Art America https://fineartamerica.com/featured/30-the-annunciation-el-greco.html
1106: Museo del Prado https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-annunciation/26bfae24-de87-47cd-9b7b-d15bd9fbb664
1107: Barnes Foundation https://collection.barnesfoundation.org/objects/5659/Annunciation/
1108: Sothebys https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/old-master-paintings-n09102/lot.44.html
1109: Arthive https://arthive.com/elgreco/works/17088~The_Annunciation_Of_Mary
1110: Fine Art America https://fineartamerica.com/featured/8-the-annunciation-el-greco.html
1111: iCanvas https://www.icanvas.com/canvas-print/the-annunciation-1597-1603-hospital-de-la-caridad-bmn6223#1PC6-26×26
1112: Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_of_the_Virgin_(El_Greco)
1113: Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_(El_Greco)
1114: The Met https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436570
1115: The Met https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436570
1116: Museo del Prado https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-adoration-of-the-shepherds/4fb170c0-d4cf-4c3e-8293-a8d7152aff78
1117: Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/303148618658478386/?nic_v1=1baxFTn7Im73%2FCyXLGBr4Hk%2F0UIDwOdLSYAs%2FZpw%2BNMauMa9mmGwyzQv57G4%2BjyTKs
1118: Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/pin/82472236910654834/?nic_v1=1b%2FBgVVxwCOplLhQ8kmyuDQmz%2BWscIeG4hByp%2BF12kJCBSKuL6kf6LwF1HyWt6F2p0
1119: Portland Art Museum https://portlandartmuseum.org/exhibitions/masterworks-portland-el-greco/
1120: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/Adoration-Of-The-Shepherds-Detail-1596-1600.html
1121: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Visitation-1610-13.html
1122: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/Adoration-Of-The-Shepherds.html
1123: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/Holy-Family-The-Virgin-Of-The-Good-Milk-1594-1604.html
1124: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Holy-Family.html
1125: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Holy-Family-1594-1604.html 1126: El Greco Foundation
1126: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Holy-Family-C.-1585.html
1127: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Flight-Into-Egypt.html
1128: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Adoration-Of-The-Magi.html
1129: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/Pieta-The-Lamentation-Of-Christ-1571-76.html
1130: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Crucifixion-1596-1600.html
1131: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Immaculate-Conception.html
1132: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Assumption-Of-The-Virgin-1577.html
1133: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/Madonna-And-Child-With-St.-Martina-And-St.-Agnes-1597-99.html
1134: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Coronation-Of-The-Virgin-1591.html
1135: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/Virgin-Of-The-Immaculate-Conception.html
1136: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/Christ-On-The-Cross-With-The-Two-Maries-And-St-John-C.-1588.html
1137: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Coronation-Of-The-Virgin-2-1591.html
1138: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Coronation-Of-The-Virgin-1603-05.html
1139: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/Outpouring-Of-The-Holy-Spirit.html
1140: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Burial-Of-The-Count-Of-Orgaz-1586-88.html
1141: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Madonna-Of-Charity-1603-05.html
1142: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Virgin-Of-The-Immaculate-Conception-1605-10.html
1143: El Greco Foundation https://www.el-greco-foundation.org/The-Virgin-Of-The-Immaculate-Conception-1608-13.html
1144: Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucca_Madonna
1045: WikiArt https://www.wikiart.org/en/jan-van-eyck/virgin-and-child-with-saints-and-donor-1441
1046: AKG Images https://www.akg-images.com/archive/-2UMDHUNFQNUL.html
1046: Wikimedia Commons https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1440_van_der_Eyck_Die_Madonna_in_der_Kirche_anagoria.JPG
1047: Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrus_Christus
1048: Fine Art America https://fineartamerica.com/featured/assumption-and-ascension-of-the-virgin-michiel-coxcie.html
1049: Art History Land https://arthistoryland.com/david-gerard-madonna-and-child-with-the-milk-soup/
1050: Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madonna_and_Child_1527_Jan_Gossaert.jpg