The Art Institute of Chicago

The Assumption of the Virgin

Oil on canvasEl Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos; Greek, active in Spain, 1541–1614)/1577–79

Description

The Assumption of the Virgin was the central image of El Greco’s first major commission, an altarpiece for the Church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, a convent in Toledo, Spain. The painting’s subject, the raising of the Virgin Mary’s body into heaven, relates to the function of the church as the funerary monument of a wealthy noblewoman, Doña Maria de Silva; the iconography of the entire commission focuses on death and salvation. El Greco used broad, free brushwork, flickering hues, rich color harmonies, and bold figural arrangements to arouse devotional fervor in the viewer and impart a deep sense of faith. The composition is divided into two zones: the earthly sphere of the apostles and the celestial realm of the angels. El Greco masterfully compressed many figures into a tall and narrow format: In the earthly zone, the apostles’ faces and gestures express a range of emotions through their dynamic, agitated gestures and poses. They are so individually considered that it seems El Greco studied actual studio models. In contrast, the angels in the heavenly scene above are calm, graceful, and direct in their focus toward the looming figure of the Virgin Mary as she rises into their realm.

Provenance

Commissioned 1577 by Don Diego de Castilla for the convent church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, Toledo; installed with other paintings in the main retable by September 1579; sold c. 1830 to the Infante Don Sebastián Gabriel de Borbón y Braganza (died 1875), Madrid and later Pau, France, but confiscated from him by the Spanish government and installed in the Museo Nacional de la Trinidad, Madrid, in 1835 [Lavice 1864 recorded that the Assumption was on display in the Museo Nacional de Pinturas, but this cannot be confirmed]; returned to Don Sebastián in 1861; his estate in custody of the Spanish government, 1875–87 [see María Teresa Baratech Zelama, “La testamentario del Infante Don Sebastián Gabriel de Borbón y Braganza,” Archivo español de arte 62 (1989), pp. 372–77 for the status of his estate]; his widow, the Infanta María Cristina de Borbón (died 1902), Aranjuez and Madrid; offered for sale, Madrid, October 1902, no. 2, but bought in, then lent by the Infanta’s heirs to the Museo del Prado, Madrid, 1902–04 [see Cossío 1908, p. 594, no. 279]; purchased from them by Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, for 100,000 frs. ($17,000), October 1904, with funds provided by Henry O. Havemeyer, New York [see Havemeyer 1961, p. 155]; sold to the Art Institute, July 17, 1906.

Dimensions

403.2 × 211.8 cm (158 3/4 × 83 7/16 in.)

Source

The Art Institute of Chicago

Movement / Period

Mannerism

Accession No

87479

Official Citations

[The Art Institute of Chicago Official Record][Full Resolution Image]

Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos; Greek, active in Spain, 1541–1614)

Mannerism • Greece • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries

Continuous Discovery