Follower of El Greco, 19th century

Follower of EL GRECO (Candia, 1541 - Toledo, 1614), 19th century.
"The Holy Family with St. Anne and St. Johnny".
Oil on canvas.
Relined.
With patches on the back.
Measurements: 39,5 x 50,5 cm; 44 x 65,5 cm (frame).

Nineteenth-century version of the homonymous work of El Greco (preserved in the Museo Nacional del Prado), made in the context of renewed interest in the Cretan master that took place throughout the nineteenth century. During this period, his spiritual language and his singular conception of the figure were the object of study, admiration and reinterpretation by artists and collectors.

The work faithfully follows the compositional scheme of the original, maintaining the pyramidal arrangement of the group and the characteristic elongation of the figures, as well as the expressive intensity of the faces. The hallmarks between deep reds and greenish tones reinforce the dramatism of the Grecian model.

It is a study version that evidences the assimilation of the master's mannerist style, within the academic tradition of the 19th century, when the copying of great works was a fundamental exercise in training and a means of disseminating the artistic legacy.