Mannerism · 17th century
Hand-painted reproduction after
El Greco
Opening of the Fifth Seal
These sizes keep the painting’s true proportions. Want a different shape? Email us and we’ll adapt it.
Framing never costs more than the painting. Compare rolled, stretched and framed
- Hand-painted
- Photo before it ships
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- 90-day returns
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After you order
What happens next
The painting
Opening of the Fifth Seal
El Greco was still working on this when he died in 1614. Saint John kneels at the left in blue, arms thrown up, as the souls of the martyrs rise naked from the earth and receive white robes. The canvas has been cut down at the top. Picasso saw it in Paris, and it fed into his Demoiselles d'Avignon. It is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.We paint each copy by hand in oil, only after it is ordered, and send you a photo to approve first.
About the original
- Painted in
- 1610
- Original size
- 222.3 × 193 cm (87.5 × 76 in)
- Where it hangs
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Detail
Specification
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Painting size | |
| Framed size | |
| Frame | |
| Orientation | |
| Dominant colour | |
| Arrives | Rolled, ready for local framing |
| Packed | Rolled in a protective tube |
| Turnaround | 3 to 4 weeks, then delivery |
The hand behind it
El Greco
El Greco arrived in Spain with a Byzantine training from Crete, a Venetian education under Titian, and a manner nobody there had seen before. Elongated figures, cold acid colour, space that behaves oddly. Philip II rejected the one commission he gave him. Toledo took him instead. He worked there for nearly forty years, painting altarpieces and portraits for churches and clergy, and the style grew more extreme rather than less as he aged. Figures stretch further, flames of drapery replace anatomy. The Burial of the Count of Orgaz splits into an earthly lower half of black clad mourners and a heavenly upper half that abandons normal proportion entirely. Nineteenth century critics assumed astigmatism explained the distortion. Twentieth century painters, Cézanne and Picasso among them, understood it as a choice and borrowed from it.
All paintings by this artistLooking after it
Care and hanging
Before you buy
Questions
How is the finish priced?
The price you see is the painting at the size you chose, in the finish you chose, and it updates as you change either. Rolled arrives in a protective tube, ready for local framing. Stretched arrives on wooden bars, ready to hang. Framed arrives in its frame, ready to hang. Stretched and framed go up to 60 × 90 cm (24 × 36 in); larger paintings travel rolled.
How long does it take?
Painting begins after you order and takes 3 to 4 weeks, including drying and the photo you approve. Delivery then takes 4 to 10 working days to most countries. More on delivery times.
Will it look exactly like the original?
It is painted by a person, so no. Brushwork varies between copies, which is the difference between a painting and a poster.
What if I do not like it?
Ninety days from delivery, full refund.
Can I get Opening of the Fifth Seal in a different size or shape?
Yes. Opening of the Fifth Seal is painted to the size you want, in the original’s proportions, or adapted to another shape on request. Stretched and framed go up to 60 x 90 cm (24 x 36 in). The original measures 222.3 x 193 cm (87.5 x 76 in).
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