El Greco was an ideal Renaissance man because of the art work he produced exemplified many of the important Renaissance ideals. The ideals that his art work showed are individualism, classicism, secularism and realism. Individualism is the focus of art or literature toward the person the rights of the individual freedoms. Classicism is the influence of the Greeks and Romans in art or literature. Secularism is the separation of the person or state away from the focus toward religion or God. Realism is the attempt to depict art as close to real life as possible without romanticizing the subject. The works that the El Greco produced that show these major renaissance values are: View of Toledo, Miracle of Christ Healing the blind and Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple.
View of Toledo
One of El Greco's most famous paintings that shows examples of his Renaissance values is View of Toledo. Toledo was the city he lived in and made some of his most famous pieces of artwork. The painting shows secularism, classicism and realism. It has a church in the paining, but the subject is the city and not the church, so it is secular. There are columns and arches in the city, so there is classicism. Finally, there is the use of perspective and a realistic subject of the city.
Miracle of Christ Healing the Blind
Another one of El Greco's most famous paintings that shows examples of his Renaissance values is Miracle of Christ Healing the Blind. Miracle of Christ Healing the Blind is a religious artwork, so it is not secular, but the painting shows classicism and realism. Miracle of Christ Healing the Blind shows some renaissance values like, humanism, because its showing people active in the square. The focus is on both God and all the people and their actions toward God. It shows classicism because of the Greek and Roman architecture. There is realism in the use of perspective and the size of the people in the square.
Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple
Another one of El Greco's most famous paintings that shows examples of his Renaissance values is Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple. Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple is another religious artwork, so it is not secular, but the painting shows classicism and realism. This painting is not secular because it shows Jesus whipping people out of the temple. Classicism is shown in this painting because there are columns and arches. There is a realistic use of perspective and the way people look toward each other in the painting.
El Greco was an ideal Renaissance man because of the art work he produced exemplified many of the important Renaissance ideals. His art showed many values including secularism, classicism, realism, and individualism. This use of these new values in his work are why El Greco was a ideal renaissance man.