El Greco: Key Artisit in Siglo de Oro
“Siglo de Oro”在西班牙语中意为“黄金时代”，特指15世纪至17世纪的西班牙。1492年，哥伦布扬帆出海寻找新大陆，揭开了殖民序幕。在接下来的两个世纪中，西班牙不断扩张殖民领土，艺术、音乐、文学、哲学也不断繁荣，到达鼎盛阶段。17世纪下半叶，哈布斯堡皇室的腐败统治导致帝国的衰落，黄金时代，最终，以1681年著名作家佩德罗·卡尔德隆·德·拉·巴尔卡(Pedro Calderón de la Barca)的离世为标志而告终。
“Siglo de Oro” means “Golden Age” in Spanish and refers specifically to Spain from the 15th to the 17th century. In 1492, Columbus sailed to the sea in search of a new continent, which opened the prelude to colonization. Over the next two centuries, Spain continued to expand its colonial territory, and art, music, literature, and philosophy continued to prosper, reaching its peak. In the second half of the 17th century, the corrupt rule of the Habsburg royal family led to the decline of the empire, the golden age, and finally, the famous writer Pedro Calderón de la Barca in 1681 ‘S death ended as a sign.
格雷考(El Greco)(1541–1614)出生于克里特(希腊第一大岛)，26岁时前往意大利并经营了一间画坊，期间受到了威尼斯文艺复兴的影响，开始逐渐在画作中融入了矫饰主义。1577年，他厌倦了意大利的生活，转而来到西班牙托雷多。在这里，他创作了大量富有特色的画作，影响了之后的画家，成为了西班牙黄金时代的代表人物。
El Greco (1541–1614) was born in Crete (Greece’s largest island). At the age of 26, he went to Italy and ran a painting workshop. During the period, he was influenced by the Renaissance of Venice and began to gradually paint. Mannerism is integrated into it. In 1577, tired of living in Italy, he came to Toledo, Spain. Here, he created a large number of distinctive paintings that influenced later painters and became the representative of Spain’s golden age.
这幅画作被认为是格雷考最精致的作品，讲述了一个当地传说：奥尔加兹伯爵(Count of Orgaz)在地区颇有声望，在他被谋杀后，两位圣人从天而降，亲自将他下葬。
This painting is considered the most elaborate work of Greco and tells a local legend: Count of Orgaz is quite prestigious in the region. After his murder, the two saints descended from the sky and buried him personally
格雷考的画作中充满无尽的想象力，此外他认为优雅是艺术的最高标准，故而放弃了度量、比例等古典主义标准。在这幅画中，格雷考区分出了两个世界：天堂和地面，并为两个世界都添加了大量元素。此外，这幅画作中的人物身形修长，动作流畅柔软，因而十分优雅。
Greco’s paintings are full of endless imagination. He believes that elegance is the highest standard of art, so he gave up classicism standards such as measurement and proportion. In this painting, Greco distinguishes two worlds: heaven and ground, and adds many elements to both worlds. Also, the figures in this painting are slender and have smooth and soft movements, which are very elegant.
格雷考在托雷多度过了人生的后半生，这幅作品描绘的是这座小城的风景。可以看出格雷考相较如实描述更倾向于使用戏剧化的夸张，他的作品中已体现出了对光和色彩的探索。在他的作品里，似乎每个物件都携带着自己的光源或反射了看不见的光。此外，运用了多种混合但又独立的色彩，因而画面看上去粗糙且充满野性。也正因为这样的特色，格雷考也被认为是表现主义和立体主义的先驱。
Greco spent the second half of his life in Toledo. This work depicts the landscape of this small city. It can be seen that Greco is more inclined to use dramatic exaggeration than an accurate description, and his work has reflected the exploration of light and color. In his works, it seems that each object carries its own light source or reflects invisible light. Besides, a variety of mixed but independent colors are used, so the picture looks rough and wild. It is precise because of this characteristic that Greco is regarded as a pioneer of expressionism and cubism.
