El Greco and his Workshop

THE EXHIBITION

The Museum of Cycladic Art, in collaboration with SEACEX (Sociedad 
Estatal Para la Acción Cultural Exterior), presented the exhibition El Greco and his workshop / El Greco y su taller. The exhibition was sponsored by Iberdrola Renewables

The concept The exhibition focused on El Greco’s workshop in Spain and its impact
 on 17th century Spanish painting. It included paintings made by the 
master himself, his students Jorge Manuel Theotocopuli (1578-1631) and 
Luis Tristan (ca. 1585-1624) and other artists who were affiliated with 
or influenced by his workshop. Two or more versions of each 
iconographic theme were presented: the original, made by El Greco 
himself, and copies, produced by his students. In addition, there were some paintings that are considered “collective works”. In that way, 
visitors were able to trace the distinct style of each student and detect
 the influences exercised by the master. Radiographs helped visitors 
follow the various stages in the creation of a painted composition. The
 exhibition addressed also the issue of authenticity. El Greco has been 
extensively forged in the 20th century. Modern technology allows for the
 detection of fakes, but as some collectors and museums refuse to test 
their Greco paintings, controversy over the authenticity of a 
considerable number of works is sustained. Visitors had the chance
 to view one painting that has been proved to be a modern forgery.





The exhibits Altogether, 58 paintings were presented in the exhibition. They came from major museums 





in Spain | El
 Greco Museum – Toledo | Museo de Santa Cruz – Toledo | Prado Museum – 
Madrid | Patrimonio Nacional: Palacio Real | Real Monasterio de S. Lorenzo
 de El Escorial, Lazaro Galdiano – Madrid | National Library – Madrid | Bilbao Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Fine Arts – Seville etc.), the United States | Metropolitan Museum of Art – New York | Hispanic Society of America – New York Hungary | Szépmüvészeti Museum – Budapest Switzerland | Bührle Collection Of these, 8-10 paintings are almost certainly attributed to El Greco himself.

CATALOGUE

CURATED BY

Carmen Garrido, Prado Museum

José Alvarez Lopera, Art historian,Prado Museum

Nicos Hadjinicolaou Professor Emeritus of the University of Crete

CONTRIBUTORS

PRODUCTION Sociedad Estatal Para la Acción Cultural Exterior de España, SEACEX







ORGANIZATION Sociedad Estatal Para la Acción Cultural Exterior de España, SEACEX N.P. Goulandris Foundation - Museum of Cycladic Art

WITH THE COLLABORATION OF Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Spanish Ministry for Culture The Spanish Embassy in Athens Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha