Interpreting The Painting 'View Of Toledo' By El Greco
The title of this work is View of Toledo by the Spanish artist El Greco. The painting depicts the landscape of Toledo, Spain, the city where the artist worked and lived for most of his life. This is a very significant work for several reasons: it is considered to be the first landscape in Spanish art, one of only two surviving landscapes painted by this artist, and because this artist rarely painted non-religious subject matter. View of Toledo is considered to be one of the most dramatic and individual landscapes in the history of art. The painting is not an accurate representation of Toledo. The artist rearranged the buildings. The perspective of the city is the eastern side as seen from the north. The cathedral would not be visible from this
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The inner conflict of each artist is represented in both works. The two works were painted more than a century apart but the similarities are remarkable. Neither landscape is ordinary. Both evoke a lot of emotion and many elements of the composition are similar. The sky is dark and almost violent looking. A storm is brewing on both canvases. Another similarity is that the church is the most visible element of the architecture in both works. The calmness of both cities contrasts with what is happening beyond the boundaries of the respective cities. However, there are some differences as well. Nature is not as prevalent in The Starry Night. The works are painted in different perspectives. View of Toledo is painted on a diagonal and while the mountains in the background of The Starry Night are slightly diagonal, View of Toledo appears much more three dimensional. The Starry Night is more stylized than View of Toledo. If a storm of this magnitude were to occur, the sky would be more similar to El Greco’s. Van Gogh’s is somehow more calm and welcoming than El Greco’s. The architecture also plays a role in setting the mood. In View of Toledo, the sharp lines combined with the atmosphere make the city appear harsh and unwelcoming while the town van Gogh painted is more calm. The way that Toledo is constructed on a hill while the one in The Starry Night is flat exemplifies
The inner conflict of each artist is represented in both works. The two works were painted more than a century apart but the similarities are remarkable. Neither landscape is ordinary. Both evoke a lot of emotion and many elements of the composition are similar. The sky is dark and almost violent looking. A storm is brewing on both canvases. Another similarity is that the church is the most visible element of the architecture in both works. The calmness of both cities contrasts with what is happening beyond the boundaries of the respective cities. However, there are some differences as well. Nature is not as prevalent in The Starry Night. The works are painted in different perspectives. View of Toledo is painted on a diagonal and while the mountains in the background of The Starry Night are slightly diagonal, View of Toledo appears much more three dimensional. The Starry Night is more stylized than View of Toledo. If a storm of this magnitude were to occur, the sky would be more similar to El Greco’s. Van Gogh’s is somehow more calm and welcoming than El Greco’s. The architecture also plays a role in setting the mood. In View of Toledo, the sharp lines combined with the atmosphere make the city appear harsh and unwelcoming while the town van Gogh painted is more calm. The way that Toledo is constructed on a hill while the one in The Starry Night is flat exemplifies