| Saint Peter and Saint Paul | |
|---|---|
| Spanish: San Pedro y San Pablo | |
 | |
| Artist | El Greco |
| Year | 1590-1600 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 116 cm× 91.8 cm(46 in× 36.1 in) |
| Location | Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona |
Saint Peter and Saint Paul is a painting by the Cretan-Spanish artist El Greco. The work was completed between 1590 and 1600. It is currently on display at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, who purchased the work in 1932. [1]
El Greco completed Saint Peter and Saint Paul between 1590 and 1600, while living in Toledo, Spain. [1] Returning to a theme he had previously painted in a work now in the Hermitage, the painting depicts saints Peter and Paul, two of the Apostles of Jesus. According to the guide of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, the painting is “enriched by modern use of colour, the fruit of the lessons the artist had learned in Venice.” [2] El Greco created a sense of a halo around the heads of the saints by providing an intense blue opening in the background clouds. [1] The placement of the hands of the saint, crossed without actually touching, symbolizes a possible disagreement between the two. [1] The older Peter, on left, is gesturing towards Paul, suggesting a sign of surrender in the disagreement. [1]
Doménikos Theotokópoulos was born around 1541 in what is modern day Heraklion, Crete. [3] The nickname El Greco is Italian and means “The Greek”, reflecting his citizenship and the time he spent in Italy. [3] In the 1560s, El Greco moved to Venice, where he studied painting under Titian and learned the techniques of Renaissance painting. [3] El Greco moved in 1577 to Toledo, Spain, where he completed many of the masterpieces attributed to him. [3] El Greco died in Toledo in April 1614. [3] Today, El Greco is seen as a major influence for Cubism and Expressionism, as well as artists such as Picasso and Cézanne. [3]
The figure on the left in El Greco's Saint Peter and Saint Paul can be identified as Saint Peter. In the Bible, Peter is one of the first disciples that Jesus calls upon. In the Book of Matthew, Jesus said to Peter, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." [4] El Greco included the keys of heaven in this painting, as seen in the left hand of Peter.
On the right of the painting is Saint Paul. Paul was one of the major contributors to the Bible, as well the founder of many Christian churches. [5] Paul was born Jewish and lived under these beliefs until he was visited, on the street, by the resurrected Jesus, causing his conversion to Christianity. [5] In El Greco's painting, Paul is depicted holding a sword, a symbol of his martyrdom for his Christian beliefs. [5]
The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya purchased El Greco's Saint Paul and Saint Paul in 1932. [1] The painting was part of a large collection the museum purchased from Lluis Plandiura, a Catalan politician. [1] The art collection of Plandiura was one of the most important in Spain at the time and contain almost 2000 works, including paintings, sculpture, and archaeological pieces. [6]
The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, abbreviated as MNAC, is a museum of Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, near Pl Espanya, the museum is especially notable for its outstanding collection of romanesque church paintings, and for Catalan art and design from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including modernisme and noucentisme. The museum is housed in the Palau Nacional, a huge, Italian-style building dating to 1929. The Palau Nacional, which has housed the Museu d'Art de Catalunya since 1934, was declared a national museum in 1990 under the Museums Law passed by the Catalan Government. That same year, a thorough renovation process was launched to refurbish the site, based on plans drawn up by the architects Gae Aulenti and Enric Steegmann, who were later joined in the undertaking by Josep Benedito. The Oval Hall was reopened in 1992 on the occasion of the Olympic Games, and the various collections were installed and opened over the period from 1995 to 2004. The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya was officially inaugurated on 16 December 2004. It is one of the largest museums in Spain.
The Assumption of the Virgin is an oil on canvas painting by Greek artist Doménikos Theotokópoulos, known as El Greco, in 1577–1579. The painting was a central element of the altarpiece of the church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo, Spain. It was the first of nine paintings that El Greco was commissioned to paint for this church. The Assumption of the Virgin was El Greco's first work in Toledo and started his 37-year career there. Under the influence of Michelangelo, El Greco created a painting that in essence was Italian, with a naturalistic style, monumental figures, and a Roman school palette. The composition of El Greco's depiction of the Assumption of the Virgin resembles Titian's Assumption in the Basilica dei Frari in Venice with Virgin Mary and angels above and the apostles below. On the painting Virgin Mary floats upward which symbolizes her purity, while apostles gathered around her empty tomb express amazement and concern.
Francisco Camilo was a Spanish painter, the son of an Italian immigrant who had settled in Madrid. When his father died, his mother remarried, and Camilo became the stepson of the painter Pedro de las Cuevas.
The Batlló Majesty is a large 12th-century Romanesque wooden crucifix, now in the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain. It is one of the most elaborate examples in Catalonia of an image of Christ on the Cross, symbolizing his triumph over death.
Royal Monastery of Santa María de Sigena is a convent in Villanueva de Sigena, region of Aragon, Spain. Built between 1183 and 1208, the Romanesque church was founded by Queen Sancha of Castile, wife of Alfonso II of Aragon.
The Altar frontal from La Seu d'Urgell or of The Apostles is a Romanesque altar frontal currently exhibited at the National Art Museum of Catalonia, Barcelona. The work dates from the second quarter of the 12th century and comes from a church of the Bishop of La Seu d'Urgell and was acquired in 1905. It is one of the masterpieces of the collection of panel painting of the MNAC. The frontal, the item covering the front of the altar, stands out for the quality of its bright colours and because it illustrates some of the characteristics of composition in Romanesque art, such as bilateral symmetry, abstraction of the background, with no reference to space or context, and the unnatural geometrical treatment of form to be observed in the folds of the clothing. It also shows certain conventions of representation, such as so-called hierarchical perspective, which consists in representing the chief character in a larger size.
The Spanish Wedding or La Vicaría (1868–1870) is a masterwork by Marià Fortuny i Marsal, also known as Marià Fortuny or Mariano Fortuny. La Vicaría exemplifies genre painting of the 19th century. The use of jewel tones, contrasts between light and dark, and the virtuosity of the work attest to Fortuny's talent. It resides at Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain.
The Southern apse from Pedret is a Romanesque fresco painting from late 11th century or the beginning of the 12th century, which was acquired during the 1919-1923 campaign of the Junta de Museus. The artwork originated from the southern apsidiole of the Church of Sant Quirze de Pedret and is currently exhibited in the Romanesque Art collection at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, in Barcelona, Spain.
The Apse of Santa María d'Àneu is a romanesque apse of the church of Santa Maria, Àneu, created in the late 11th century or early 12th century, the transferred frescos from which are now exhibited at Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, in Barcelona. The decoration of the apse of the church of Santa María d’Àneu combines themes and motifs from the Old and New Testaments. Originally painted at the Church of Santa María d’Àneu
Terraced Village is a painting by Joaquim Mir currently exhibited at the National Art Museum of Catalonia.
The Apse from La Seu d'Urgell is an apse exhibited at the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona.
The Paintings from El Burgal is group of paintings exhibited at the National Art Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona.
Josep Tapiró i Baró was a Spanish painter; best known for his watercolor portraits from Morocco.
The El Greco Museum is located in Toledo, Spain. It celebrates the mannerist painter El Greco, who spent much of his life in Toledo, having been born in Fodele, Crete.
Alex Clapés was a Catalan modernisme artist. He was one of the less known painters in the late 19th century and early 20th century in Catalonia, Spain. He was born in Vilassar de Dalt on September 10, 1850. He died in Barcelona in 1920. He is most known for performing some commissions for the Güell family, thanks to his friend and colleague, Antoni Gaudí.
Saint Paul is a painting by Diego Velázquez that is in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. The piece was created around 1619 during the early stage of Velázquez's artistic career before he moved to Madrid. At this stage of Velazquez's career he was deeply influenced by Caravaggio. In the image, Saint Paul is seated holding a book, commonly referenced as a large Gospel book.
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Christ Carrying the Cross is an oil painting by El Greco, produced early in his Toledo period circa de 1580. The picture depicts Christ in a moment of personal reflection as he carries the cross to his death, therefore committing the ultimate sacrifice for humankind. In the painting, Christ's eyes are lifted up to the heavens as he begins his walk towards his crucifixion. His gentle hands wrap around the cross as a stormy night floods the background. Christ Carrying the Cross is an oil painting, 105x79cm. The painting, one of numerous similar paintings by El Greco, is currently in the El Greco room in the New York art collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Christ Carrying the Cross refers to Jesus's journey to his crucifixion.
| Romanesque works |  | |
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| Gothic works | ||
| Renaissance and Baroque works | ||
| Modern works |
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| See also | ||