El Greco, Pentecost, 1596-1599, The Prado, Madrid.
Out of the persons of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit has been most ignored by artists, probably because of his implied invisibility. I have always thought El Greco's style is best suited for portraying this oft-ignored person of the Trinity.
The artist Domenikos Theotokopoulos was born on the island of Crete, where he studied icons as a teenager. He retained this eye for the spiritual throughout his career, traveling throughout Italy and finally to Spain, where he was given the nickname El Greco—Little Greek. In his mature work, El Greco masterfully combines Titian and Tintoretto's ethereal Venetian color scheme with what he learned from his study of Michelangelo's expressive bodies.
Pentecost was originally commissioned for an Augustinian monastery and depicts the dramatic scene from the Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4:
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
In the painting, light emanates from the Holy Spirit, painted as a dove, down to Mary and the apostles below. El Greco paints with large brush strokes to portray the movement of the light's descent downwards. The light from the Holy Spirit infuses the entire space and illuminates the faces of Mary, Mary Magdalene, and 13 other apostles.
Incandescent colors and elongated bodies rise as if they are afire. The flame-like appearance draws us back to the Holy Spirit, the Eternal Flame, from whom the apostles receive the gifts. Hand gestures also resemble flickers of fire. They blend with the background and point upward, reminding us that the fire of the Spirit is alive within them.
El Greco arranges the three most prominent figures— Mary, Peter, and John— together in a pyramidal scheme. This arrangement gives the painting a sense of order amidst the dramatic intensity of the moment. Mary sits most serenely among the apostles, her hands folded in prayer, while Peter and John fall backward, their hands outstretched in ecstasy. Peter, who stands out in the bright yellow, leads us to Mary, who leads us to God.
In this depiction of Pentecost, the apostles all react upon being "filled with the Holy Spirit" in an individualized way; however, the presence of Mary, mother of the Church, in the center of the painting unites their personal experiences in her prayer. Her gaze upon the Spirit is closest and most direct. She receives his light most fully and receptively.
Evidence of the Holy Spirit as a "rushing mighty wind” is visible in the ecstatic movement of the apostles and their clothing. Swaying hands and off-balance bodies seem blown about. At the same time, the dove seems to hold the figures upright as if by a thread. The power and providence of the Holy Spirit are greater than the force of gravity. The dove hovers above with outstretched wings and looks lovingly below.
Pentecost reminds us of the great gifts God has prepared for us and of the transformation he promises. El Greco's expressionistic style and mystical bodies call our attention to the spiritual transformation and movements of the soul that are the work of the Holy Spirit.
One apostle, thought to be a self-portrait of El Greco, looks out and directly confronts the viewer. Will we allow the Holy Spirit to kindle this transformative, purifying fire within us?
What do you notice about the painting?
It’s interesting that the one man looking directly at us, said to be the artist, looks immune to the fire of the Holy Spirit. He is the only one unaffected. I wonder what his thoughts on God were? Did he feel he had not yet received the Holy Spirt.