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ARMOR: EL GRECO AND PULZONE FACE TO FACE
El Greco’s
Vincenzo Anastagi, acquired a century ago by Henry Clay Frick, is one of
The Frick
Collection’s most celebrated paintings and one of only two full-length
portraits
by the master. It was executed during the artist’s six-year stay in Rome,
before
he moved to
Spain, where he spent the rest of his career. Much of the force of this work
emanates
from the resplendent half-armor worn by Anastagi. Rich highlights applied
with broad
brushstrokes accentuate the steel, its metallic sheen contrasting with the
velvety
texture of Anastagi’s green breeches and the dark crimson curtain.
To mark the 400th anniversary of
>> El Greco's * 1541 Iraklio † 1614 Toledo
death, the Frick will pair Vincenzo Anastagi with the rarely seen Jacopo Boncompagni by the artist’s Roman contemporary Scipione Pulzone. With its gleaming, highly detailed polish, Pulzone’s portrait of Boncompagni, on loan from a private collection, epitomizes the elegant style that dominated high-society portraiture in Rome during the last quarter of the sixteenth century. El Greco’s painterly portrayal of Anastagi stands in stark contrast, underscoring the artist’s innovative departures from convention.
To mark the 400th anniversary of
>> El Greco's * 1541 Iraklio † 1614 Toledo
death, the Frick will pair Vincenzo Anastagi with the rarely seen Jacopo Boncompagni by the artist’s Roman contemporary Scipione Pulzone. With its gleaming, highly detailed polish, Pulzone’s portrait of Boncompagni, on loan from a private collection, epitomizes the elegant style that dominated high-society portraiture in Rome during the last quarter of the sixteenth century. El Greco’s painterly portrayal of Anastagi stands in stark contrast, underscoring the artist’s innovative departures from convention.
The exhibition
(05.08.2014 – 26.10.2014), held in the Frick’s East Gallery, is organized by
Jeongho Park, Anne L. Poulet
Curatorial Fellow. It is generously funded by gifts from The Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation and Sidney R. Knafel and Londa Weisman in memory of Vera
and Walter
A. Eberstadt. The Frick will continue its celebration of El Greco this autumn
and winter with a collaboration
with The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Text: The Frick Collection )