El Greco's First Major Milan Exhibition Opens at Palazzo Reale

For the first time, Milan hosts a major exhibition dedicated to Doménikos Theotokópoulos, known as El Greco (Crete, 1541 – Toledo, 1614), at the Piano Nobile of Palazzo Reale. Curated by Juan Antonio García Castro, Palma Martínez-Burgos García, and Thomas Clement Salomon, with scientific coordination by Mila Ortiz, the show traces El Greco's career through historical and critical lenses, emphasizing Italian influences on his work and his later Toledo period. The exhibition features 41 paintings divided into five thematic sections, including early icons, his dialogue with Italy (influenced by Michelangelo, Parmigianino, Correggio, Titian, Tintoretto, and the Bassano), spirituality during his Toledo years, a return to iconography, and mysticism in the late masterpiece "El Greco nel Labirinto." Key loans include "San Martino e il mendicante" and "Laocoonte" from the National Gallery of Washington, "Ritratto di Jeronimo De Cevallos" from the Museo del Prado, two "Annunciazioni" from the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, and "San Giovanni e San Francesco" from the Gallerie degli Uffizi. Works never before exhibited in Italy come from ecclesiastical institutions: "Martirio di San Sebastiano" from Palencia Cathedral, "L'Espulsione dei mercanti dal tempio" from San Ginés Church in Madrid, and "L'incoronazione della Vergine" from Illescas.