Saint Luke (El Greco)
Saint Luke is a painting by an artist known as El Greco. The painting is an oil on canvas created sometime around 1610-1614. It is currently held by the Indianapolis Museum of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana.
| Saint Luke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | El Greco |
| Year | 1610-1614 |
| Medium | Oil on Canvas |
| Dimensions | 28 1/4 x 21 5/8 in |
| Location | Indianapolis Museum of Art |
Analysis
According to the gallery label provided by the Indianapolis Museum of Art:
"During the last decade of his career, El Greco played a major role in popularizing a type of pictorial ensemble known as the Apostolado, or "Apostle Series." A complete Apostolado normally comprises thirteen pictures, with twelve bust-length paintings of Apostles and one of Christ as Savior.
These three paintings [ie Saint Luke, Saint Matthew and Saint Simon - all three in the Indianapolis collection] belong to an incomplete set of nine Apostles from the parish church of Almadrones, a small town in the Spanish province of Guadalajara. The church was badly damaged during the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) and the paintings were removed for safekeeping and eventually sold.".[1]
Provenance
According to the gallery label provided by the Indianapolis Museum of Art:
"Parish church of Almadrones (Guadalajara), Spain, until 1936 or immediately after{1}; removed to the Fuerte of Guadalajara (former convent of San Francisco) until 1941{2}; at the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, for conservation treatment, 1941-45; restituted to the bishopric of Sigüenza in 1945, sold and legally exported in 1952{3}; (Newhouse Galleries, Inc. New York); Dr. G.H.A. Clowes [1877-1958], Indianapolis, in1952{4}; The Clowes Fund Collection, Indianapolis, 1958-present (C10034)".[2]