The cycle of Greek exhibitions begins in Crete, birthplace of Domenicos
Theotokopoulos(El Greco). In Heraklion, an exhibition entitled
"D.
Theotokopoulos between Venice and Rome" is being held from 21 June to 25
October 2014 at the Historical
Museum of Crete, in collaboration with the Benaki Museum.
From a very young age, Domenicos Theotokopoulos excelled as an artist in Venetian Candia (present-day
Heraklion), at the time the Cretan School was at its zenith. Thus equipped, the
young Cretan left in 1576 for Venice, the mother city, where he attended the
workshop of the famed Titian. In 1570 he moved to Rome, remaining until at
least 1573. In 1577 he settled in Toledo,
where he was to stay until the end of his life. It was then that he created his
most important works.
The exhibition at the Historical
Museum of Crete is dedicated to the artist’s
Italian period. Taking the two paintings on permanent exhibition at the
Historical Museum of Crete as its focal point – View of Mt. Sinai and the
Monastery of St. Catherine (c. 1570, owned by the Andreas and Maria
Kalokerinos Foundations) and The Baptism of Christ (c. 1569, owned by
the Municipality of Heraklion) – the broader artistic milieu is recreated.
Relevant works from 16th century Cretan icon painting are on display, as well
as similarly themed works by Western artists.
The exhibition presents major paintings and
engravings from museums and private collections in Greece and abroad: the
Galleria Uffizi (Florence); Pinacoteca Vaticana (Rome); Münchner Stadtmuseum
(Munich); Kupferstichkabinett (Berlin); Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica
(Rome); the Benaki Museum; the Byzantine and Christian Museum (Athens);the
Gennadius Library; the Zosimaia Library; the Archdiocese of Crete; the Marianna
Latsi Collection. Works to be exhibited for the first ever time in Greece
include The Adoration of the Shepherds held by the Agnes Etherington Art Center
(Kingston, Ontario, Canada); Portrait of Guilio Clovio by Sofonisba Anguissola,
from the Malgeri-Zeri Collection (Rome); and a Portrait of Fulvio Orsini by an
unknown artist, from the Uffizi Gallery Museum (Florence).
The exhibition is
complemented by a wealth of archive material,
books and documentary evidence.
Following presentation at the Historical Museum
of Crete, the exhibition will go on show at the Benaki Museum, Pireos St., Athens, from 20th November 2014 to 1st
March 2015. Admission to the temporary exhibition D. Theotokopoulos
between Venice and Rome is free, as is attendance at sessions of the
international academic symposium on El Grec The Cretan Years.
Source: Cretazine
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