Saint James the Elder

El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) and workshop

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El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) and workshop

Candia, Crete (Greece), 1541 - Toledo (Spain), 1614

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Saint James the Elder

1608 - 1614. Oil on canvas.
Room 009B

This work is part of an apostolate from the Church of Almadrones, Guadalajara, which repeats the model of the Apostolates at Toledo Cathedral and the Museum-House of El Greco in that same city with very few variations. The Museo del Prado has four canvases from this series -The Savior, Saint James (P02890), Saint Thomas (P02891) and Saint Paul (P02892)- all of which perceptibly include the participation of the master’s workshop. The image thought to be Saint James the Elder, is the most appreciated of the series, both for its pictorial technique, with dragged brushstrokes that create interesting contrasts of light, and because of the intellectual and expressive mien of the character, which has also led some to think it might actually be Saint James the Younger, as there is no identifying attribute. This work is part of a series of Apostles made for the church of Almadrones, Guadalajara. With only slight variations, it repeats the model of the Apostles at Toledo Cathedral and the House and Museum of El Greco in the same city. Four canvases from this series are at the Prado Museum. The participation of the master´s workshop is visible in them.

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Series

Apostolado, Iglesia de Almadrones, Guadalajara

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El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) - and workshop

Inventory number: P002890
Author: El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) and workshop
Title: Saint James the Elder
Date: 1608 - 1614
Technique: Oil
Support: Canvas
Dimension: Height: 72 cm; Width: 55 cm
Series: Apostolado, Iglesia de Almadrones, Guadalajara
Provenance: Church of the Assumption or parish church of Almadrones, Guadalajara, until the Spanish Civil War; transferred to the Fort of Guadalajara, former convent of Saint Francis; acquired by the State for the Museo del Prado, 1946
Entry date: 1946

Bibliography +

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Soehner, Halldor, Greco in Spainien. Teil II. Atelier und Nachfolge Greco's; Teil III katalog der Gëmalde Grecos, seines ateliers und seiner Nachfolge in Spanischem besitz, Münchner jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst, IX-X, 1958-1959, pp. 147-242 [n.201].

Wethey, Harold, El Greco y su escuela, Guadarrama, Madrid, 1967.

Wethey, Harold, El Greco y su escuela, II, Guadarrama, Madrid, 1967, pp. 114,115 y 120-121 n.188.

Salas, Xavier de, La obra pictórica completa de el Greco, Noguer, Barcelona.Madrid, 1970.

Camón Aznar, José, Dominico Greco, II, Espasa-Calpe, Madrid, 1970, pp. 1034,1037 n.299.

Salas, Xavier de, La obra pictórica completa de el Greco, Noguer, Barcelona Madrid, 1970, pp. n.116C.

Gudiol, José, El Greco 1541-1614: Doménikos Theotokópoulos, Polígrafa, Barcelona, 1971.

Gudiol, José, El Greco 1541-1614: Doménikos Theotokópoulos, Polígrafa, Barcelona, 1971, pp. 298,317-318 n.303.

Sánchez Cantón, Francisco Javier, Museo del Prado. Catálogo de las pinturas, Museo del Prado, Madrid, 1972.

Pita Andrade, José Manuel, El Greco, Arnoldo Mondadori, Milán, 1981, pp. 114 n.197.

Cossío, Manuel B., El Greco, Espasa-Calpe, Madrid, 1981.

Museo Nacional del Prado, Catálogo de las pinturas, Museo del Prado, Madrid, 1985, pp. 319.

Alcolea Gil, Santiago, El Greco, Polígrafa, Barcelona, 1990, pp. lám.70.

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Museo Nacional del Prado, Museo del Prado. Inventario general de pinturas (III). Nuevas Adquisiciones. Museo Iconográfico. Tapices., Museo del Prado, Espasa Calpe, Madrid, 1996, pp. nº1756.

Réau, Louis, Iconografía del arte cristiano, II Vol III, Serbal, Barcelona, 1996, pp. 136-144.

El Grecoca. 1541-1614, El Greco: identidad y transformación : Creta, Italia, España, Fundación Colección Thyssen-BornemiszaSkira, Madrid, 1999, pp. 422.

El Grecoca. 1541-1614, El Greco: identidad y transformación : Creta, Italia, España, Fundación Colección Thyssen-BornemiszaSkira, Milán, 1999, pp. 422-423 n.87.

Ruiz Gómez, Leticia, El Greco y la pintura española del Renacimiento: guía, Museo del Prado, Aldeasa, Madrid, 2001, pp. 148.

El Greco : apostolados /, Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza, A Coruña, 2002.

Ruiz Gómez, Leticia, El Greco en el Museo Nacional del Prado: catálogo razonado, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2007, pp. 158-161.

Ruiz, Leticia, 'Saint James the less' En:, El Greco and Modernism, Museum Kunstpalast. Hatje Cantz, 2012, pp. 116-117.

Marías, Fernando, El Greco. Historia de un pintor extravagante, Nerea, Donostia, 2013, pp. 256.

Ruiz Gómez, Leticia, El Greco arte y oficio, En: Cat. exp. El Greco arte y oficio, Fundación El Greco 2014, 2014, pp. n.66 p.77,227.

Ruiz Gómez, Leticia, 'El Greco arte y oficio. Apóstoles y Apostolados', En: Cat. exp. El Greco arte y oficio, Fundación El Greco 2014, 2014, pp. 66-83 [71,73,76].

Garrido Pérez, Carmen, El Greco pintor: estudio técnico, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2015, pp. 441-442.

Merino de Cáceres, José Miguel; Martínez Ruiz, Mª José, De Fuentidueña a Manhattan. Patrimonio y diplomacia en España (1952-1961), Ediciones Cátedra, 2023, pp. 293.

Other inventories +

Inv. Nuevas Adquisiciones (iniciado en 1856). Núm. 1756.
Autor el Greco / 1756. Asunto 'Santiago' / Lienzo 72 x 0,55 cms / Nº del catálogo 2890 / Id.id.