The Opening of the Fifth Seal

The Opening of the Fifth Seal
El Greco · CC0 · source
Title	The Opening of the Fifth Seal
Other language 1	Spanish
Other title 1	*Visión del Apocalipsis*
Artist	El Greco
Year	c. 1608–1614
Medium	Oil on canvas
Height metric	224.5
Width metric	192.8
Height imperial	88.4
Width imperial	75.9
Museum	Metropolitan Museum of Art
City	New York City

The Opening of the Fifth Seal, also known as the *Vision of Saint John*, is a late masterpiece by the Mannerist master El Greco. Painted in Toledo during the final years of his life, the work is a powerful and visionary interpretation of a passage from the Book of Revelation. The painting is celebrated for its radical composition, intense spiritual energy, and profound influence on modern art, particularly on the development of Expressionism.

Description and composition

The painting depicts the moment described in Revelation 6:9-11, where the souls of martyrs cry out for justice following the opening of the fifth seal by the Lamb of God. Dominating the left side of the canvas is the towering, elongated figure of Saint John the Evangelist, who gestures dynamically toward a celestial vision. To the right, a group of nude or partially draped figures, representing the martyred souls, writhe and reach upward in ecstatic fervor. The composition is characterized by its dramatic asymmetry, with the massive form of Saint John counterbalanced by the compact, agitated cluster of figures. El Greco employs a vibrant, non-naturalistic palette of blues, yellows, and greens, with flickering, chiaroscuro-like light that seems to emanate from within the scene itself. The brushwork is loose and expressive, contributing to a sense of mystical turbulence and transcendent revelation.

Historical context and creation

The work was created in Toledo between approximately 1608 and 1614, during the final phase of El Greco's career, a period often called his "late style." It was originally commissioned as an altarpiece for the church of the Hospital of Saint John the Baptist in Toledo, though it was never installed there. This period in Spain's cultural history was marked by the fervent religiosity of the Counter-Reformation, which encouraged art that was emotionally powerful and theologically clear to inspire the faithful. El Greco, though born in Crete and trained in Venice and Rome, had by this time fully developed his unique artistic language in Spain, synthesizing Byzantine traditions, Venetian color, and Mannerist distortion to serve his profound spiritual vision. The painting remained in his studio at his death in 1614 and was likely left unfinished.

Interpretation and symbolism

The primary subject is the apocalyptic vision of Saint John the Evangelist on the island of Patmos. The martyrs shown are often interpreted as those slain for the word of God, as specified in the biblical text. Their nudity symbolizes both their vulnerability and their purified, spiritual state before God. El Greco's radical departure from naturalistic representation—through elongated forms, compressed space, and jarring color—serves to express the ineffable, visionary nature of the experience. The painting transcends a literal illustration to become a meditation on divine justice, spiritual ecstasy, and the soul's yearning for salvation. Some scholars have also seen in the upward-straining figures a parallel to the Resurrection or the Last Judgment, themes central to Christian eschatology.

Provenance and ownership

After El Greco's death, the painting remained with his son, Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli, in Toledo. It later entered the collection of the Hospital of Tavera in the same city. In the late 19th century, it was acquired by the Spanish painter Ignacio Zuloaga, in whose studio it was seen by a young Pablo Picasso in Madrid. Zuloaga eventually sold the work to the American dealer Daniel Cottier, and it was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 1956, where it has been a highlight of the collection ever since. Its condition suggests it may have been cut down at the top, possibly removing an image of the Lamb opening the seal.

Influence and legacy

The Opening of the Fifth Seal is regarded as a prophetic work that prefigured major developments in modern art. Its direct impact on Pablo Picasso is well-documented; during his work on Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in 1907, Picasso studied a photograph of the painting, and its compressed space, fractured forms, and raw emotional power are considered crucial influences on the development of Cubism. The painting's expressive intensity and liberation from natural color and form also made it a touchstone for early 20th-century Expressionist artists, including members of Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter. Today, it is celebrated not only as a summit of El Greco's artistic achievement but also as a vital bridge between the spiritual anxieties of the Counter-Reformation and the formal innovations of the modern avant-garde.

Category:Paintings by El Greco Category:Metropolitan Museum of Art Category:Paintings depicting the Book of Revelation Category:17th-century paintings