St. Luke painting the Virgin 1568

El Greco, who was born in Crete, made this damaged panel painting of Saint Luke at an unknown date, using egg tempera on wood. The image shows St Luke, traditionally the patron saint of artists, painting an icon of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child, guided by an angel in the upper reaches of the composition. The presence of the angel highlights the divine inspiration behind the image and the importance of iconic representation. The panel speaks to the rise of humanism, the status of the artist, and their creative genius which was a growing theme in the sixteenth century. El Greco, who was trained in Venice, was self-consciously progressive, and interested in bridging the iconographic traditions of his homeland with the developing ideas about painting and the artist that were forming in Italy. Art historians refer to archival sources, and stylistic analysis to examine the evolution of artistic practice, and the image culture of a specific place. What we learn can help us to understand the political and cultural values that underpin artistic production.