Customer Reviews

El Greco (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists)

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"El Greco," by Mike Venezia, is a visually striking introduction to the life and work of this great artist. Venezia uses reproductions of classic paintings, a simple but compelling text, and his own humorous cartoons to bring El Greco and his world to life. This book is part of a series designed to introduce the world's great artists to children.

"El Greco" begins with the great painter's birth on the island of Crete in the 16th century, and takes the reader along on El Greco's travels through Europe. Not only does the book include many full-color reproductions of El Greco's works, but it also includes reproductions of works by artists who influenced him. We get a fascinating portrait of El Greco as a family man, traveler, and artistic innovator. Venezia's cartoons provide entertaining complements to the text and reproductions.

This is a truly beautiful and educational book. El Greco's remarkable use of color and light, and his passionate treatment of the human form give his work both visual and emotional impact after all these centuries. If your child has an interest in art, this book would make a good addition to the family library.

From time to time I have heard about various hypotheses concerning physical ailments that would explain the striking artwork of Domenikos Theotokopoulos, known as El Greco ("the Greek") when he became a famous painter in Spain. But Mike Venezia explains the effect in terms of El Greco creating movement by twisting and stretching out the figures in his paintings. Part of his distinctive technique involved using crackling, electric colors and mysterious lighting. Tracing his journey from Greece to Spain, Venezia looks at how El Greco was influenced by Venetian artists like Titian and Tintoretto, and provides examples of the work of those artists to help young readers understand the point. There is a nice comparison offered between paintings of "The Assumption fo the Virgin" by both Titian and El Greco. The book ends with some nice analysis of the "Burial of Count Orgaz."

What I really like about Venezia's "Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artist" series is that it focuses on art appreciation, and explaining the uniqueness of each artist, more than it does on their biography. Of course, it is the latter that usually serves as the inspiration for Venezia's humorous cartoons. There are over two dozen such books in this series and they are a wonderful way of introducing young child (and some adults) to the wonderful world of art.