Comparing El Grecos St Francis Venerating the Crucifix to El Grecos St John the Baptist

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Comparing El Grecos St Francis Venerating the Crucifix to El Grecos St John the Baptist

The compared works of art, St. Francis Venerating the Crucifix and St. John the

Baptist, were both written by the same artist. The actual name of this artist is Dominikos Theotokopoulos, but some people prefer to call him El Greco, which in translation simply means “The Greek.” Both paintings were written by El Greco towards the end of his life, and both are of important religious figures in Christian religion-one of St. Francis and the other of St. John. Both are similar in style and composition, and both were written in practically the same time period, approximately only five years apart. St. Francis was written at about 1595 and St. John at about 1600.

In the painting St. Francis Venerating the crucifix St. Francis is shown with his

right profile to the viewer. He is shown in the rocky, cave-like surroundings kneeling on

one knee, with his arms crossed at his chest, in front of a rock upon which rests the

crucifix. Crucifix is shown also leaning against an old-looking skull, and there is an

old-looking book to the side of it. St. Francis himself is shown wearing a very simple

robe, which covers him all the way down to his feet, and a cape with a large,

heavy-looking hood. In St. John the Baptist El Greco chose to picture St. John in full

frontal view, facing the viewer. He is shown standing in an open, somewhat rocky field.

Behind that there is some green grassy land with a couple of trees, and behind the grass

land there is a mountain and a city at its foot. St. John is shown wearing animal furs,

which cover his waist and some of his torso. He is holding a very tall, slender cross in his left hand, while looking with a diffused look to the right. Also, to the left of him (to the right from the viewer’s perspective) there is a sheep lying upon a rock.

Religious symbolism, although less obvious in some forms than in others, is

present in both paintings. El Greco presented both St. John and St. Francis with a very

loving and kind expressions on their faces, which could very well be symbolic of a

number of things: the adoration and love that both Saints experienced towards

Christ/God, the love and kindness, or the good, that the Christian religion conveys, or the inner happiness and the peace of mind, or the reward, that the person would inevetably achieve by following the word of Christ.

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