Lot Essay
The original, on canvas, 131.8 x 100.3 cm, is in the Cleveland Museum of Art since 1926. It was executed circa 1590-1595 for the Convento de Esquivias, Torrejón de Velasco, Toledo (see H.E. Wethey, El Greco and his School, 1962, I, pl. 105 and II, pp. 58/59, no. 86).
As pointed out by J. Gudiol in his monograph on the artist (J. Gudiol, Domenikos Theotokopoulos El Greco 1541-1614, 1973, p. 142), the artist presented the Virgin and Mary Magdalen very close together and thus tried to intensify the contrast between the Virgin as the Mother of God and the repentant Magdalen.
Piet Rezelman was a self-taught artist who worked in Amsterdam from 1935 onwards. It is likely that he painted the present lot on the basis of photographs rather than in front of the original as the painting was already in Cleveland by 1926 (see P.A. Scheen, Lexicon Nederlandse Beeldende Kunstenaars 1750-1950, II, 1969, p. 230)
See illustration
As pointed out by J. Gudiol in his monograph on the artist (J. Gudiol, Domenikos Theotokopoulos El Greco 1541-1614, 1973, p. 142), the artist presented the Virgin and Mary Magdalen very close together and thus tried to intensify the contrast between the Virgin as the Mother of God and the repentant Magdalen.
Piet Rezelman was a self-taught artist who worked in Amsterdam from 1935 onwards. It is likely that he painted the present lot on the basis of photographs rather than in front of the original as the painting was already in Cleveland by 1926 (see P.A. Scheen, Lexicon Nederlandse Beeldende Kunstenaars 1750-1950, II, 1969, p. 230)
See illustration