The sun., 1910-01-09

EI Greco at TOIedo

the resemblance il bears to the capital.
Both situated in New Castillo. Madrid
seems sharply modern. an modern as the
early nineteenth century when compared
| to the medieval cluster Of buildings on the
horseshoe shaped granite heights almost
entirely hemmed in by the river Tagus.
Il ID not only one Of the most original
cities in Spainlbut in all Europe. No other
boasts its incompatible profile, few the
extraordinary vicissitudes Of its history.
Not romantic in the operatic moonlight
Grenada fashion. without the sparkle and
color OF Seville or the mundanei SAVIOR Of
Madrid. Toledo incarnates in its cold, de-
tached. proud, pious way all that we feel
as Spain the aristocratic. Spain the theo-
cratic. To this city on a crag there once
came by way Of Venice q wanderer from
Crete. Toledo was the final frame OF the
strange genius OF FL Greco. he made it
the consecrate ground for his new art
II would be dificult to imagine him de-
veloping in luxuriant Italy as he did in
Spain. His nature needed a sombre and
magnificent background; this city gave 1t
TO him; for no artist can entirely isolate
himself from life, can work in vacuo. And
Ell Greco's shivering spiritual art could
haNO Dtch win w ~ OOhOh 0Ois SA@.NeA
Toledo. ....
The place shows traces of it's masters
Romans, Goths. Saracens and Chris
tians. particularly the two latter. It Ia
indeed as much Moorish as Christian. the
narrow streets. high. narrow houses often
windowless. the inner courts replacing
the open squares that are to be found in
Seville. Miscalled the Spanish Rome
IL l.
good; Toledo has the character Of con-
vent. prison. fortress with something
Of seraglio. The enormous cathedral.
which dates back to Visigothic Chris
tianity. is next to that Of Seville the
most beautiful in Spain. Such facade.
such stained glass. such ceilingsl Blanco
Ibanez has written eloquent pages about
this structure. The synagogues. the
Moorish mosque. the Alcazar are pic
turesque. And then there are the Puente
de Alcantara. the Casa de Cervantes, the
Puerta del Sol, the Prison Of the Inquisi-
ton. the Church Of Santo Tome-which
holds the most precious example OF
Greco's art-the Sinagogo del Transito.
the Church Of San Vincente Aneje-with
Greco's SantO Domingos (more Grecos);
the convent. near the Church Of San Juan
de los Reyes, contains the Museo Pro-
vincial, in which were formerly a number
of GrecOs-many of these have been
transferred to the new Museo FL Greco.
founded by the Marquis de la Vega
Inclan, an admirer Of the painter. This
museum was once the house Of Greco
and has been restored. so that IL the artist
could return he might find himself in
familiar quarters. Pictures. furniture.
carvings of his are there. while the djoin-
ing house is rebuilt Of old material, an
harmonious. Remain various antique
patios or courtlike interiors, the sword
fabric and the general view from the top
OF the town. FL Greco's romantic por-
fragment of his adopted city is as true now
as the day IL was painted-if one catches
a glimpse of the scene when the contrasts
of light and shadow are strong. During
a storm illuminated by blazing shafts Of
peninsular lightning Toledo recalls the
surge and thunder of the Apocalypse.
The Cathedral is the usual objective:
instead we first went to the Church OF
SaRto Tome. II is small Gothic struc-
ture.. rebuilt from q mosque by Count
OrgaZ. In commemoration OF this gift
a large canvas entitled -El Entierro." de-
picting the funeral Of Orgaz, by Fl Greco
has made Santo Tome more celebrated
than the Cathedral. IL is an amazing,
a thrilling work, nevertheless. on ascale
that prevents It from giving one the quin-
tessence OF FL Greco. No doubt he was
a pupil OF Titan; Gautier but repeated
current gossip when he said that Greek
went mad in his attempt to emulate his
master. But Tintoretto's q influence counts
heavier in this picture than Titian's. a
picture assigned by Cossio midway be-
tween Greco's first and second period.
Decorative as is the general scheme. the
emotion aroused by the row of portraits
in the second plan, the touching expression
Of the two saints. Augustine and stephen.
as they gently bear the corpse Of the
Count, the murky light OF the torches in
the background. while overhead the
sanity hierarchy terminating in a white
radiance, Christ the Comforter, His
mother at His right hand, quiring hosts
at His left all these figures make an en-
semble that at first glance benumbs the
critical faculty. You recall the epical
harmonies Of Michael Angelo. of whom Ell
Greco is reported to have declared ir-
reverently that he couldn't paint; then
as your perspective slowly shapes itself
you note that Tintoretto. Plus a certain
personal accent OF morbid ma agnihcence,
is the artistic progenitor OF this art, as
art which otherwise furiously boils over
with Spanish characteristics.
Nothing could be more vivid and various
than the twenty-odd portraits near the
bottom OF the picture. Expression, char
acter, race are not pushed beyond normal
limits. The Spaniard. truly noble here,
is seen at half dozen periods Of life. FL
Greco himself is said to be in the group:
the portrait certainly tallies with reputed
one Of his. The sumptuousness of the
ecclestiastioal vestments. court cos
TUNES. ruffs and eloquent hands. the grays,
whites. gold. blues, blacks. the supreme
illumination OF the scene. with its sugges-
ton Of a moment swiftly trapped forever
iDeternity. hook this masterpiece firmly to
your memory. Il is not one of the great
est pictures in the pantheon OF art, not
a Rembrandt. Velasquez. Halls. Raphael,
Michael Angelo. Titan, or a Rubens; yet
IL stands close to them because of hia