The Vision of Saint John

El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) Greek

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 619

This work is a fragment from a large altarpiece made for the church of the hospital of Saint John the Baptist in Toledo. It depicts an apocalyptic moment at the biblical end of time, based on the book of Revelation (6:9–11), a subject perfectly suited to El Greco’s visionary palette and otherworldly forms. Many avant-garde painters studied El Greco’s canvas while it was in Paris between 1907 and 1909. Pablo Picasso was directly inspired by the dramatic figures in this work for his landmark painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907; Museum of Modern Art, New York).

The Vision of Saint John, El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) (Greek, Iráklion (Candia) 1541–1614 Toledo), Oil on canvas

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