The Vision of Saint John
by El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) 1540 - 1614
Painting
Like many artists of the 16th century, El Greco often found his heroes in the Bible - Jesus Christ, Saint John, Saint Andrew. This painting is one part of a large altarpiece commissioned for the chapel at the hospital of Saint John the Baptist in Toledo. It depicts a passage in the Bible, Revelation (6:9-11) describing the opening of the Fifth Seal at the end of time, and the distribution of white robes to "those who had been slain for the work of God and for the witness they had borne." The Vision of Saint John was an iconic painting for twentieth-century artists like Picasso, who used it as an inspiration for Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
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Last edited 8/8/2014 4:19:03 PM