Diego de Castilla: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
m →‎Patron of the arts: tweak wording
m →‎Patron of the arts: more precise wording
Line 6: Line 6:


==Patron of the arts==
==Patron of the arts==
On 2 July 1577, [[El Greco]] was formally engaged by Diego de Castilla to paint three altarpieces for the [[Cistercian convent]] of [[Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos (1085)|Santo Domingo el Antiguo]]. Here, the artist would produce side panels depicting the ''Adoration of the Shepherds'' and the [[Resurrection]], while the main altarpiece included images of the ''Assumption of the Virgin'' and ''The Trinity'', subjects of central theological importance.<ref>* {{cite web
On 2 July 1577, [[El Greco]] was formally engaged by Diego de Castilla to paint three altarpieces for the church of a [[Cistercian convent]], the [[Monasterio de Santo Domingo de Silos (1085)|Santo Domingo el Antiguo]] in Toledo. Here, the artist would produce side panels depicting the ''Adoration of the Shepherds'' and the [[Resurrection]], while the main altarpiece included images of the ''Assumption of the Virgin'' and ''The Trinity'', subjects of central theological importance.<ref>* {{cite web
| title = High Altar
| title = High Altar
| work = Web Gallery of Art
| work = Web Gallery of Art

Revision as of 11:57, 24 February 2021

Diego de Castilla (1510/15-1584) was a Spanish cleric who served as dean of Toledo Cathedral. He was a patron of the painter El Greco.

Family

Castilla inherited the position of dean of Toledo on the death of his father in 1545. Castilla was of Jewish blood, and this became a major issue for him in 1547, when Juan Martínez Silíceo the archbishop of Toledo, passed a statute of cleanliness of blood, excluding from ecclesiastical office and benefices anyone with a trace of Jewish lineage over four generations. Therefore, Castilla developed an obsession for genealogy, working tirelessly to prove his family's links to Spain's medieval kings.[1]

Patron of the arts

On 2 July 1577, El Greco was formally engaged by Diego de Castilla to paint three altarpieces for the church of a Cistercian convent, the Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo. Here, the artist would produce side panels depicting the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Resurrection, while the main altarpiece included images of the Assumption of the Virgin and The Trinity, subjects of central theological importance.[2] Mark Irving regards these commissions as "a public declaration that he, a leading national figure in the battle against the Protestant heresy, could be trusted to support the theological argument of the Catholic church".[1]

El Greco also undertook the renowned El Espolio as a commission from Castilla.

References

  1. ^ a b M. Irving, How to beat the Spanish Inquisition
  2. ^ * "High Altar". Web Gallery of Art. Retrieved 2006-12-18.