Museo del Greco

》Pablo Picasso, the most important artist of the twentieth century, was also the one most greatly influenced by El Greco throughout his career. His contact with El Greco’s painting during his formative years in Madrid made him aware of the excellence of the artist’s works, which were still little appreciated.

Picasso’s drawings and his paintings of 1898 and 1899 show his early obsession with El Greco, which became very intense during his Blue Period, between 1901 and 1904. His original approach can be seen in Evocation. Later on in 1906, during the Gósol period, he developed an interest in the plasticity of his figures. El Greco’s oeuvre played a prominent role in the emergence and shaping of Cubism and also in its dissemination, as some of the artists influenced by Picasso, such as Derain, Modigliani, Rivera and the Czech Cubists, also drew inspiration from the Cretan artist.

After Cubism, Picasso used El Greco’s portraits as a basis for introducing references to Spanishness in his art. In his late period, when addressing the musketeer theme, he returned to El Greco’s A Gentleman with his Hand on his Chest interpreting it very freely and employing a note of humour that is both sarcastic and melancholic.Read more