Those uneasy, ominous moments before the storm: El Greco Whether or not this speculation is true, the painting
this speculation is true, the painting nevertheless
seems to have captured the visual metaphor perfectly in this View
of Toledo. Although it hangs unobtrusively among myriad other
paintings in the Metropolitan, Toledo rarely fails to elicit interest
from the passing crowds. To arouse such attention, without the
obvious gimmicks of sex and "shock-value," is a rare feat in our
age of information deluge. In a sense, that in itself speaks to the
effectiveness of the image. A simple glance already suggests that
something disturbing, if not terrifying, is at work. As it excites our
imagination, it compels us to thought ... and action. Metaphorically:
We pull out that umbrella, or — more commonly -- seek shelter ...
or perhaps even write an essay.
As with any masterpiece, an extended look at Toledo brings
out a deeper and more complex picture. By virtue of color and
texture, El Greco establishes the distinction between earth and sky.
By itself, this is not much of an innovation, but what is more
important, this spatial separation parallels a temporal one between
present and future, respectively. As a snapshot of the present, the
city and countryside seems calm while the clouds above loom
tumultuously in the future.
From this emerges a certain ambiguity, as the tranquility of the
pastoral scene dispels some of our instinctive terror. And from
behind the clouds stretch the rays of a brilliant sun that points to
hope rather than despair for the future. Furthermore — and this can
only really be seen at the gallery — the sense of hope or despair
seems to depend upon the distance from which one views the
painting. Seen up-close, the sense of impending cataclysm becomes
especially acute; the lush green turns goulishly dull, the city and
countryside lie eeriely unpopulated...until we note the miniaturized
people along the river's edge and up the road. The image of a frail
and vulnerable humanity is inescapable. However, as one moves
back from the painting, the sky seems to the brighten rather than
threaten, the landscape below. Through this ambiguity, El Greco's
painting becomes even more seductive and frightening. Like a
Hitchcock film, not seeing the dreadful deed only adds to the
horror.
Given the ambiguity of form, is there an ambiguity of content
as well? With El Greco's religious mysticism and the implicit
ethos of the contemporaneous Counter-Reformation, perhaps the
painting represents a juxtaposed allegory of the "Coming
Armageddon" with the "Second Coming." I think that there is also
a secular meaning to Toledo insofar as it metaphorically
anticipates the demise of the Spanish Empire.
El Greco: View of Toledo serves as an abstraction for what was and was to become of the
Hapsburg Spain.
While El Greco painted his Toledo in 1597, Spain was in
possession of vast territorial, military and material power. Its
territories included most of South America, the Iberian peninsula,
Italy, Austria and the Netherlands.Militarily unmatched and with
unlimited resources of American silver Spain seemed comfortably
secure. Or so the rosy picture seemed. By 1598, the Peace of
Vervins permanently ended all Spanish incursions into France. The
foolish Armada disaster and other such failures lead to a
compromise peace with England in 1604 and the loss of the
Netherlands by 1648. Even Iberian unity became untenable with
the independence of Portugal in 1668. Though these are the
politico-military highlights of the Empire's demise, they simply
landmark the continuous economic decline that constituted its true
cause.
Events were not completely beyond the control of Spain's
leaders. It could even be said that they did everything in their
power to facilitate and accelerate the decline. Considering the rapid
changes and challenges of the time, Philip II certainly had his litany
of "Action Plans." A "Moral Majority," and the "New World
Order" sparked the zealous Counter-Reformation and various Wars
— small and large — which detracted attention and resources from
the true problems, both national and international. Massive deficit
financing for all these efforts diverted investment from industry and
commerce, which suffered anyway from a lack of skilled
craftsmen. "Spain First" policies found their expression through the
expulsion of the Jews and a general cut-off of contacts with foreign
universities. Perhaps El Greco saw none of this in 1597; perhaps
the future was completely clear to him. Again, the View of
Toledo — perhaps more appropriately titled View from Toledo
— is ambiguous ... or is it?
In the midst of a storm, it's natural to seek shelter — in this
context, the themes of isolationism, racism, protectionism, and
nationalism are neither ambiguous nor surprising. However, when
lightning hits the tree that seemingly protects, what then?
Ogan Gurel
14 January 1992