Le Greco (1541-1642)

A Crucifixion scene from a private collection in Dordogne recalls the transitional role played by El Greco’s best student, bridging the gap between Mannerism and Baroque naturalism.

The Palazzo Reale is hosting the largest-ever retrospective of works made in Italy by el Greco (1541-1614), born Doménikos Theotokópoulos in Crete, then part of the Venetian Republic, where he learned to paint Byzantine icons.

From her lofty height, an impressive image of Diana, the goddess of the hunt, dominated other more exotic themes, like a view of Venice

The Spanish Gallery in Bishop Auckland is showing Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross on loan from Glasgow Life Museums, alongside El Greco’s Christ on the Cross, which the gallery bought in 2015. The Dali was first displayed in Glasgow in 1952 and will be on display in Bishop Auckland tomorrow until December. (BBC)

Three days were necessary, from November 18 to 20, to disperse jewelry, paintings, objects and wardrobe that belonged to the artist who died last year. A painting by Gainsbourg offered in 1959 to the singer was sold for €134,400, while a gold Van Cleef & Arpels address book won €12,160.

A sale of counterfeit paintings, accompanied by falsified documents attesting to their authenticity, has been halted in Spain. A Toledo collector was planning to sell the fakes to buyers in Switzerland, Mexico and Germany. (El País)

The Ministry of Culture and Sports has acquired Crucifixion by El Greco for the El Greco Museum in Toledo for €1.5 million. This is the first work by the artist to enter the collections since its foundation in 1910. A painting that bears the influence of El Greco's stay in Italy.

Researchers at the University of Lleida, including art expert Carmen Garrido who recently passed away, spent more than two years investigating the provenance of the canvas, which was discovered several years ago. They have now definitely attributed it to El Greco, Crete-born icon of the Spanish Renaissance. (El País)

An alleged loan embargo by the Prado will prevent the Paris museum from including A Fable (1580), The Flight into Egypt (c.1570), and The Holy Trinity (1577-79) in their upcoming retrospective on the Crete-born Old Master, set to be the largest ever with 75 works. Greco is due to open at the Grand Palais on October 16.

Devoted exclusively to archaeology, this sale will feature some sixty works from the Paul Gaudin Collection, including Egyptian and Greco-Roman works.