The Great Visionary - Venice: The tribute of the Doge’s Palace to El Greco

150 works and numerous documents recount the centuries-long relationship between the Serenissima and Crete, lasting over four centuries
Trying to explain the greatness of Domínikos Theotokópoulos, known to all as El Greco (born in Candia, today Heraklion, in 1541 and died in Toledo in 1614), risks diminishing it: his multifaceted genius resists any attempt to confine him within a critical framework, as is often the case with figures of exceptional talent. This is not the intent of the exhibition “Painted Gold. El Greco and Art between Crete and Venice”. Instead, it aims to broaden the critical narrative by offering, first and foremost, a perspective that restores centrality to that Eastern Mediterranean region too often marginalized in canonical accounts of modern artistic history. Domínikos emerges in this context, rich in historical and iconographic references, as part of the fertile dialogue between East and West, shaped by continuous contaminations and adaptations.
 

He arrived in the lagoon at the age of 25, after his Cretan training in the late Byzantine tradition, before moving permanently to Toledo in 1577

The “young Cretan” who arrived in Venice at 25, after his early training in the late Byzantine tradition and before settling permanently in Toledo (1577), found himself amid the crisis of Renaissance certainties, encountering the likes of Tintoretto, Titian, and Jacopo Bassano in Venice, and later Michelangelo in Rome. This cultural stratification gave rise to an entirely new artistic language, capable of moving from the iconography of the Greek Orthodox world to a visionary Catholic Renaissance representation. Who better than him could be called a transcultural artist today? That “clumsy foreigner from overseas” and “foolish stranger” (as he was harshly called by Pirro Ligorio at the Farnese court), indifferent to any form of power, sought a new light and continued, in his own way, the spiritual mission of the icon transforming it into pathos, movement, and expression. From the gold of Byzantine icons to the baroque icons of the soul, his painting always evokes a mysterious spiritual and visionary tension that transcends the centuries and opens the door to a unique stylistic innovation.
 

From the gold of Byzantine icons to the baroque icons of the soul, his painting carries a mysterious spiritual and visionary tension

The Venetian exhibition - curated by Chiara Squarcina, Caterina Dellaporta, and Andrea Bellieni - offers a historical reflection through the opulent, living golden material and, favoring a comparative approach, juxtaposes icons with Renaissance altarpieces and panels. With loans from Greek and Spanish museums as well as Venetian collections, it repositions Cretan painting as a key to understanding the transition from the unchanging sacredness of the icon to the human sensitivity of the Renaissance.
An immersive exhibition - enhanced by a blue-toned display design - in perfect balance between philological rigor and visual emotion, it unfolds through the rooms of the Doge’s Apartments in seven thematic sections, presenting 150 works and numerous documents that tell the story of the Serenissima’s voyages and ties with Crete lasted for more than four centuries.

Always in search of a new light, he continues the spiritual function of the icon by translating it into pathos, movement, and expression