Jesus Morales on Toledo and El Greco; Nils Tillstrom on Madrid and Philip II

Reading:

Murray chapter 11, on Spanish Renaissance art
P+R chapter 9, pp. 451 - 480, especially the first sections on the Counter Reformation and its effects on Italian painting.

Images: set number rt223-11 Image Database
N.B.: not all images on the list are in the tag file yet: the final images will be put up on Monday morning. I've provided text page numbers where applicable.

Titian. Danae. 1554.
Titian. Rape of Europa. 1559-62
Titian. Venus and the Organ Player. late 1550s
Titian. Allegory of Peace after the battle of Lepanto. 1572-75
Hieronymus Bosch. Garden of Earthly Delights. 1500
Juan de Herrera and Juan Bautista de Toledo. El Escorial. 1563-86 (Murray p. 266)
El Greco. Purification of the Temple. before 1570
El Greco. Disrobing of Christ. 1577
El Greco. Burial of Count Orgaz. 1586
El Greco. Scene from Revelations (Opening of the Fifth Seal). 1603

Summary: Nils spoke to us about the dichotomy in Philip II's personality and patronage: he showed us the poesie paintings commissioned by the King for a marriage gift, and contrasted those with images of works collected by the king. The collected works included great masters of the past, both Northern and Southern, and works of intensely pious religious feeling (Bosch) as well as amorous in content (Organ player). He also outlined the construction and ideas of the Escorial monastery/palace as the primary location for much of Philip II's artistic patronage. Nils's point, that the king's patronage, although it appears conflicted to modern viewers, brought together several divergent aspects of both his personal and professional (public) life, is well taken, and should be thoughtfully considered by all of us as we look at more royal collectors.
Jesus outlined the life and influences upon El Greco, showing us his origins in Crete and Venice, his Italian aspects, and his Spanish career. He pointed out the issues the Italian-oriented artist brought with him to a less modern nation, and how that caused trouble for him with his patrons. He illuminated El Greco's attempts to work with Philip II, and the reasons for that failure. We also discussed how these issues (of payment, of artistic quality and genius, of Counter-Reformation mandates) might be visible in some of the works that caused legal trouble for the artist, such as the Disrobing, and contrasted that with works that were less problematic visually, such as the Burial of Count Orgaz. Jesus's talk showed us well how artists had to work with the prevailing attitudes of patrons and society in order to get the kinds of commissions they wanted, and in order to paint the kinds of works they wanted. This provides a counterpoint to Nils's discussion of the patron's wishes and needs. Think about how and why the artist/patron relationship was sometimes successful (as with Philip II and Titian) and sometimes not (with El Greco).

Terms:

mysticism

Patrons:

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, etc. (1500-1558, r. 1515-56)
Philip II, King of Spain (1527-98, r. 1556-98)
Canons of Toledo Cathedral (Disrobing of Christ)
Church of San Tome (Burial of Court Orgaz)
Hospital of Charity, Illescas (Revelations)

Artists:

Titian
El Greco (Domenicos Theotokopoulos, 1541-1614)