Portrait of an Elderly Man or Portrait of an Old Nobleman (Spanish: Retrato de caballero anciano) is a 1587–1600 oil on canvas portrait by El Greco, now in the Museo del Prado.[1][2] Its subject's name is unknown but he probably came from Toledo, where the artist was then working.[3] It was stored in the basement of the Real Alcázar of Madrid. The painting is signed in Greek characters "domenikos theoto: / kopol´´epoiei" on the right margin above the shoulder.[1]
Critical reception
Art critic Bartolomé Cossío praised the work in his 1908 catalog, stating: "It is difficult to find among all of El Greco's portraits a piece superior to this head, due to the severe precision of execution and the supreme simplicity of background and form."[1]
Copies
A watercolor study was made by Spanish artist Ricardo de Madrazo y Garreta in 1873. The 132 by 118 millimetres (5.2 in × 4.6 in) work on cardboard, dedicated "A mi querido Martin Rico" and signed "Ricardo Madrazo / Roma 1873," demonstrates the painting's influence on 19th-century artists studying El Greco's technique.[4]
A forgery is held by Brooklyn Museum as part of the Michael Friedsam bequest. Now attributed as "After El Greco,"[5] X-ray examination revealed the oil on canvas work was painted over a cut-down piece of genuinely old canvas with modern paint that dissolves easily and shows no proper age cracks under microscopic analysis.[6][7] The museum cannot deaccession this work due to bequest restrictions.[8]
