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The Apparition of the Virgin to St. Hyacinth
ca. 1605 - 161039 3/8 x 24 3/8 in. (100 x 61.9 cm)
Domenikos Theotocopoulos (aka El Greco)
Spain (Crete, ca. 1541 - 1614)
Object Type:
Painting
Medium and Support:
Oil on canvas
Credit Line:
Marion Stratton Gould Fund
Accession Number:
1938.28
Location: Currently on view
In this painting, El Greco expresses spiritual drama by his distinctive use of line, light and color. St. Hyacinth kneels in awed wonder before a mystical vision of the Virgin and Child. The scene takes place in a church interior with pillars and a patterned floor; a shadowy, monochrome figure or statue of a bishop, identifiable by his hooked staff, stands behind the enraptured saint.
According to Christian legend, Hyacinth, a Polish Dominican priest who lived from 1185-1287, witnessed a miraculous apparition of the Virgin Mary on the feast day of her Assumption—the day she was “taken up body and soul into heavenly glory.” In 1594, shortly before El Greco painted this work, Hyacinth was granted sainthood by Pope Clement VIII.
El Greco (“The Greek”) is the popular name of Domenikos Theotokopoulos, an artist born in Crete but who lived and studied in Venice and Rome. In 1575, he moved to Toledo, Spain, the center of the Catholic Church’s Counter-Reformation activities. During his career, El Greco developed a unique and dramatically spiritual style of painting that is often considered the forerunner of Baroque art.
According to Christian legend, Hyacinth, a Polish Dominican priest who lived from 1185-1287, witnessed a miraculous apparition of the Virgin Mary on the feast day of her Assumption—the day she was “taken up body and soul into heavenly glory.” In 1594, shortly before El Greco painted this work, Hyacinth was granted sainthood by Pope Clement VIII.
El Greco (“The Greek”) is the popular name of Domenikos Theotokopoulos, an artist born in Crete but who lived and studied in Venice and Rome. In 1575, he moved to Toledo, Spain, the center of the Catholic Church’s Counter-Reformation activities. During his career, El Greco developed a unique and dramatically spiritual style of painting that is often considered the forerunner of Baroque art.
Provenance
Henri Rouart, Paris; Henri Rouart sale, Paris, première vente, December 9-11, 1912, lot 43; M. Knoedler and Co., New York, in 1915; J. Horace Harding, New York, purchased in 1916; Estate of Mrs. Horace J. Harding through 1938; M. Knoedler and Co., New York, in 1938; purchased by the Gallery in 1938
Related Objects
A larger version of this painting is in the Barnes collection.
Keywords
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Additional Images
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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:
- Loan Exhibition of Paintings by El Greco and Goya 1/1/1915 - 1/31/1915
- Spanish Paintings from El Greco to Goya 2/17/1928 - 4/1/1928
- Ten Masterpieces of Painting 1935
- Centennial Exposition Dallas Museum of Fine Arts 6/6/1936 - 11/29/1936
- The Precursors of Modern Art 10/1/1938 - 10/31/1938
- Masterpieces of Art May to October, 1939
- El Greco Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of the Greek War Relief Association 1/17/1941 - 2/15/1941
- Around the World in Rochester 2/8/1952 - 3/2/1952
- Pontormo to Greco: The Age of Mannerism The Art Association of Indianapolis 2/14/1954 - 3/28/1954
- European Paintings from the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery 1/15/1967 - 9/30/1967
- Treasures from Rochester Memorial Art Gallery 4/14/1977 - 5/28/1977
Bibliography
This object has the following bibliographic references:
- Article Author: Peters, Susan Dodge. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Susan Dodge Peters, ed. Memorial Art Gallery: An Introduction to the Collection. New York, New York: Memorial Art Gallery in association with Hudson Hills Press, 1988. Page Number: 70-71
- Article Title: A Greco Comes to Rochester. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Memorial Art Gallery. Gallery Notes. Rochester, New York: Memorial Art Gallery, 1935-1995. Issue Date: March 1939. Page Number: 2-5
- Article Scope: Reproduction only. Rochester Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester Handbook. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 1961.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Denys Sutton. Treasures from Rochester: Exhibited at Wildenstein Galleries, New York, April 14-May 28, 1977: Summary Catalogue. Rochester, New York: Memorial Art Gallery, 1977.
- Art Digest. New York, New York: Art Digest, Inc.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. S. Lane Faison, Jr.. Art Tours and Detours in New York State. New York, New York: Random House, 1964.
- Brighton-Pittsford Post. Pittsford, NY
- Article Author: Soria, Martin S.. Article Title: Some Flemish Sources of Baroque Painting in Spain. Article Scope: Article. The Art Bulletin. New York, NY: College Art Association of America Volume Number: XXX Issue Date: December 1948. Page Number: 250 ff.
- Apollo. London, England: Apollo
- Jean-Marie Rouart. Une Famille dans l'impressionnisme. Paris: Editions Gallimard, 2001.
- Article Title: An El Greco Bought by Rochester Gallery. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. The New York Times. New York, NY: H.J. Raymond & Co Issue Date: February 7, 1939.
- Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Elizabeth Brayer. Magnum Opus: The Story of the Memorial Art Gallery, 1913-1988. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1988.
- Article Title: The Harding Collection: A Document of American Taste. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Art News. Issue Date: December 10, 1938. Page Number: 14, 15, 22
- Memorial Art Gallery. ARTiculate. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 2000--.
- Article Scope: Catalogue Raisonné Entry. August L. Mayer. Dominico Theotocopuli El Greco: Kritisches und illustriertes Verzeichnis des Gesamtwerkes. München: Franz Hanfstaengl, 1926.
- Article Title: Acquisitions. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Annual Report. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery Issue Date: 1938-1939. Page Number: 4-6
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Pontormo to Greco: The Age of Mannerism. Indianapolis, Indiana: The Art Association of Indianapolis, 1954.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. The Collection of the Late J. Horace Harding. New York, New York, 1938.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Stuart Preston. El Greco. New York, NY: The Beechhurst Press, 1953.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. José Gudiol. The Complete Paintings of El Greco: 1541-1614. New York, NY: Greenwich House, 1983.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. M. Legendre and A. Hartmann. Dominico Theotocopouli, dit El Greco. Paris, France, 1937.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. José Camón Aznar. Dominico Greco. Madrid, Spain, 1950. Volume Number: 2
- Article Author: Soehner, Halldor. Article Title: Greco in Spanien. Article Scope: Article. Münchner Jahrbuch der Bildenden Kunst. München : Prestel Verlag Volume Number: 8 Issue Date: 1957. Page Number: 179
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Harold E. Wethey. El Greco and His School. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1962. Volume Number: 2
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. José Gudiol. Domenikos Theotokopoulos, El Greco, 1544-1614. New York, NY: Viking Press, 1973.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Arsène Alexandre. Catalogue de la collection de Henri Rouart. , 1912.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Masterpieces of Art: Exhibition at the New York World's Fair 1939. New York, NY: The Art News, 1939.
- Article Title: University of Rochester Buys El Greco Painting. Article Scope: Article. New York Herald Tribune. New York, NY Issue Date: 1939.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Wilhelm R. Valentiner, ed. Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture from 1300-1800. New York, NY: Publishers printing company, 1939.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Catalogue of the Sale of the Collection of Henri Rouart. Paris, France, 1912.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. The Precursors of Modern Art: The Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Exhibition, October 1938. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1938.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. El Greco: Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of the Greek War Relief Association. New York, NY: M. Knoedler and Company, Inc., 1941.
- Article Author: Hoene, Anne. Article Title: A Balanced Collection. Article Scope: Article and reproduction. Art Gallery Magazine. Ivoryton, CT: Wm. C. Bendig Volume Number: XI, Issue Number: 10. Issue Date: Summer 1968. Page Number: 22
- Times-Union. Rochester, NY: Gannett
- Article Scope: Mention. Marilyn Stokstad. Preliminary Report of Spanish Paintings 1100-1900 in American Public Collections. [Lawrence, KS?]: United States-Spanish Joint Committee for Cultural and Educational Cooperation, 1989.
- Creative Change for the University of Rochester and its community. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester, 1953.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. El Greco. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1938.
- Article Scope: Entry and reproduction. Catalogue of an Exhibition of Spanish Paintings from El Greco to Goya. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1928.
- Article Scope: Entry. Catalogue of the Exhibition of Paintings, Sculptures, Graphic Arts. Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, 1936.
- John D. Morse. Old master paintings in North America: over 3000 masterpieces by 50 great artists . New York, NY: Abbeville Press, 1979.
- Evening Tribune. San Diego
- Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Marjorie Searl and Lu Harper. The Memorial Art Gallery: 100 Years. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 2013.
- Article Author: Galassi, Susan Grace. Article Title: Stranger in a Strange Land: El Greco in New York Exhibitions, 1912 to 2014. Article Scope: Mention and reproduction. Inge Reist, ed. El Greco Comes to America: The Discovery of a Modern Old Master. New York, NY: The Frick Collection, 2017. Page Number: 208 n. 22; 212; 217, Figure Number: 6, p. 213
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