When Julius Meier-Graefe rediscovered El Greco in the early 20th century, he observed that the artist had more in common with Renoir and Cézanne than his own master, Titian. His works are an improbable island of proto-modernism situated within, and largely ignoring, the prevailing currents of Renaissance art. Characterized by the use of bold, dissonant colors, otherworldly lighting and elongated figures that move in paroxysms of religious ecstasy, his works dramatize rather than describe, subordinating nature to the requirements of expression. Much like the religious icons that he painted as a young artist, El Greco viewed himself, in the words of art historian James Romaine, as "a vessel through which the spirit might move, his art drawing us into the light of Christ."

Centuries ahead of his time, El Greco was widely disdained by the generations immediately following his death. Spanish commentators variously described him as "contemptible," "ridiculous," "strange," "queer," "eccentric," and "odd," and yet he would go on to become a major influence upon the likes of Paul Cézanne, Eugène Delacroix, Édouard Manet, Pablo Picasso, Franz Marc and Jackson Pollock. As late as 1920, the artist and critic Roger Fry described him as "an old master who is not merely modern, but actually appears a good many steps ahead of us, turning back to show us the way."

A psychologically compelling piece that emanates the power and authority of an Inquisitor General in 16th/17th-century Spain, Cardinal Fernando Niño de Guevara illustrates El Greco's expressive genius as applied to portraiture; a genre in which he has been compared to Titian and Rembrandt. 

The Ibis’s giclée process uses archival pigment inks on 100% cotton rag paper to achieve crisp detail and rich, lasting color. Unlike posters, they will not yellow with time, but will maintain their original quality for as long as you own them.

All of The Ibis's prints come with a 100% happiness guarantee. If you are disappointed in your purchase for any reason, you are welcome to return it for a full refund.