The Birth of the Virgin
El Greco·1593
Historical Context
El Greco's The Birth of the Virgin of around 1593 depicts the nativity of Mary in the Joachim and Anna narrative that formed an important part of Counter-Reformation devotional culture — the new Marian devotions promoted after Trent finding their foundation in the miraculous character of Mary's own origins. El Greco's treatment combines the domestic scene of a lying-in room with the supernatural quality he brought to all sacred history, the swaddled infant already suggesting the exceptional destiny of the woman who would bear the savior.
Technical Analysis
El Greco renders the birth scene with his characteristic combination of earthly figures and celestial apparition, using elongated forms and luminous color to bridge the human and divine aspects of the subject.
