El Greco Retrospective at Grand Palais Paris

A major retrospective of El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos, 1541–1614) opened at the Grand Palais in Paris, running until February 10, 2020. The exhibition presents about 71 works tracing his evolution from Byzantine iconography in Crete to Venetian and Roman influences, and finally to his mature style in Toledo, Spain. The display, designed by scenographer Véronique Dollfus, evokes a cathedral nave with the Assumption of the Virgin as a central altarpiece. El Greco is framed as a bridge between the Renaissance, modern art, and early 20th-century avant-gardes, influencing artists from Cézanne to the Fauves, Cubists, Expressionists, and Abstract Expressionists. The show highlights his radical use of color, elongated figures, and the concept of the non-finito. Notably, the exhibition opens with Saint Veronica, a black-and-white work that underscores his expressive power, as noted by Édouard Manet. The retrospective also emphasizes El Greco's rediscovery in the late 19th century by French Romantics and his role as a precursor to modernism.