Painting by El Greco
Self-Portrait or Portrait of an Old Man is an oil-on-canvas painting by El Greco, likely dating to between 1595 and 1600. The work's distinction as a self-portrait has been widely debated by scholars for over a century. Identification as a self portrait is supported by the idea that the same figure appears several times in El Greco's oeuvre, aging alongside the artist. Critics of this work's identification as a self-portrait point to a lack of evidence to positively identify it as such. It shows the influence of Titian and Tintoretto, whose works El Greco studied in Venice. It is currently in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Visual description.
This painting takes the form of a half-length portrait. It depicts an older man against a brown background. The man is dressed in a coat and wears a ruffle around his neck in a style that was popular in the 1590s. His eyes are sunken into the face and he has a receded hairline, features which communicate the advanced age of the subject.
Influences.
El Greco was born on the island of Crete in Greece and was trained as a Christian icon painter. This influence is shown in the empty monochromatic background of the portrait. He moved to Venice in 1567 where he studied and was influenced by the works of Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, and Bassano. According to scholar Richard G. Mann, El Greco's later work was inspired by his time studying Venetian art. Venetian influence can be seen in the use of loose brushwork on the coat and a lack of hard contour lines.
Identity of figure.
Scholarly debate.
The identity of the sitter for this portrait has been debated by scholars since 1900.
Identification as a self portrait.
In 1900, this work was identified by Salvador Sanpere y Miguel for the first time in scholarly writing as a self portrait. The argument that the work is indeed a self portrait, championed by Bryson Burroughs in 1925, claims that the figure in this work has appeared in several other paintings by El Greco, including "The Disrobing of Christ"" and "The Burial of the Count of Orgaz". A major advancement for the argument that "Portrait of an Old Man" is a portrait of the artist is August L. Mayer's 1926 claim which links the work to the 1621 "Inventory of the Possessions" of El Greco's son Jorge Manuel Theotocopuli. Mayer alleges that this work can be identified as article number 189 of the inventory, which describes "a portrait of my father, with a black frame". In 1993, Fernando Marías linked this work to a different item in Jorge Manuel Theotocopuli's inventory, item number 258, described as a half-length self portrait of El Greco. In his 2011 scholarly biography on the artist, Marías also described the painting as a self portrait.
Arguments against identification as a self portrait.
The first scholar to refute the identification as a self portrait was Paul Lafond in 1906, who cited a lack of evidence identifying the sitter as the artist himself. Lafond himself, however, identified the painting as "Portrait of El Greco?" in his 1913 book on the artist, possibly as a reference to the ongoing academic debate surrounding the piece. Elizabeth du Gué Trapier was the first scholar to refer to the painting as "Portrait of an Old Man" in 1925. August L. Mayer's 1926 argument for identification as a self portrait was generally accepted by scholars until Harry B. Wehle's 1940 catalogue which points to a lack of evidence connecting the work to Jorge Manuel Theotocopuli's inventory. Harold E. Wethey corroborated this argument in 1962, claiming that the sitter of the portrait does not resemble figures in other works by El Greco that are accepted by scholars to be self portraits. Another theory, posited in 1992 by Deborah Krohn, claims that the subject of the portrait may have been a relative of El Greco's. This is due to due to visual similarities between the sitter and El Greco's son, Jorge Manuel Theotocopuli.
Dating.
Since the exact creation date for "Portrait of an Old Man" is unknown, and has also been widely debated by scholars. Scholarly debate surrounding the date of this portrait centers around the age of the sitter as well as the clothing worn by the subject.
Prospective dates for the portrait range from 1579 to 1610. The earliest possible date for the work, as posited by José Gudiol, is 1579. This interpretation for an early dating relies on the idea that the work is not a self portrait. In 1579, the artist would have only been 38, too young to paint himself as an old man. The most accepted date range for this work place it firmly in the 1590s. This date range is supported by the style of the ruffle worn by the subject. According to scholar Keith Christiansen, experts in Spanish dress of the era note that the width of the sitter's ruffle was popular in the fashion of the 1590s. The latest possible date, 1610, was suggested by Paul Guinard. This interpretation places the portrait's creation towards the end of the artist's career. Guinard's idea is supported by a trend in portraits of older individuals in which formal ruffles appear ten to fifteen years out of style.
Provenance and exhibition history.
Exhibition history.
This work has been exhibited extensively throughout Europe and North America, and has more recently been exhibited in Japan.
Popular culture.
This work has been widely circulated in the form of a Spanish postage stamp, created in 1965 to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the artist’s death.
References.
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