El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos, 1541–1614). Portrait of a Man of the House of Leiva, ca. 1580–85. Oil on canvas, 88 x 69 cm. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Adaline Van Horne Bequest

In Spain, unlike most other European countries, nobility was based almost entirely on military service. Few families of eminence came from the law, commerce, or the church: the great families of Spain and Portugal fought their way to their rank. This may sound primitive on the surface, but it was actually quite fair, as it allowed commoners to join the ranks of the nobility through loyal military service. Indeed, many poor families came to prominence and wealth quickly as a result of their successful military exploits. It was the tradition for these knights to have their portraits painted to confirm and proclaim their status.

As the wealth of Spain declined, so did the fortunes of many of these families, creating a social class of impoverished knights constantly seeking social status and the appearance that they were still grand, rich nobles. One way to achieve the appearance of wealth was to have one’s portrait painted. Such outward affectation gave rise to the term fantasma, a word literally meaning “phantom” or “ghost,” suggesting the victory of appearance over reality. This phenomenon is the focus of Miguel de Cervantes’s novel Don Quixote, first published in 1605, which satirizes the dreams of grandeur that haunted the Spanish rural gentry. It parodies classical morality and chivalry, finds comedy in knighthood, and criticizes Spain’s rigid social structures. The term “ghost” is still used today to describe a person who buys the trappings of wealth but lacks true substance.

Beginning with El Greco, the Spanish portrait was more inclined to portray reality in a natural way that opposed the idealization of human beings and did not shy away from displaying physical imperfections. This tradition was noted by Pablo Picasso, who on his first visit to Madrid’s Prado Museum when he was still a teenager commented on the magnificent El Greco portraits he saw there.

As we look at Spanish portraits today, it is difficult to know without research whether those pictured are indeed valiant knights or merely “ghosts.” Like all paintings, a portrait is a product of its time. Not only is the style characteristic of a particular painter belonging to a particular age, but the sitter also belongs to that specific era—and the fashion of his or her clothes and surroundings gives strong clues as to character, taste, and social position. These clues may be lost to later viewers.

About the works

El Greco’s portraits of Spanish noblemen are at once renditions of a long-established formula and remarkable and unique character studies. Soon after his relocation to Toledo, El Greco adopted a portrait style he would use in the years that followed, with a half- or bust-length figure emerging from a neutral background. The figure’s gaze is turned toward the viewer, and light and expressiveness are concentrated in the face and hands. El Greco would be viewed by history as the first artist to fully explore the faces and heads of the Spanish. At the same time, however, El Greco revealed his exceptional faculties in the treatment of textures, and in spite of the frontal view, he made subtle use of asymmetry. His portraits are likenesses, but they are also infused with a powerful sense of character and emotion. These images aim to define the social status of the sitter as much as their individuality: the sobriety, similarity of dress, and lack of accessories or symbols in El Greco’s portraits make it difficult to identify their subjects. Today, of the thirty or so known portraits from this period, only a dozen portray people who have been reliably identified; the rest, especially the group of noblemen attired with a ruff, remain anonymous.

El Greco seems to have painted few portraits of women, indeed, Spanish portraiture in general is overwhelmingly identified with male subjects. Although highly valued today, at the time of their creation most of El Greco’s portraits would have had a private purpose and would not have brought him considerable financial gain.

In 1939, as World War II began and Franciso Franco’s dictatorship rose to power in Spain, Pablo Picasso, his family, and longtime friend and assistant Jaime Sabartés moved to Royan on the French Atlantic coast near Bordeaux. Picasso and Sabartés had known each other for decades, and over the years Picasso depicted Sabartés in many of his works. The two had been part of the same bohemian circle in Barcelona, where Sabartés had initially occupied himself by caring for his grandfather; in 1899, however, his eyesight had failed to the point that he could be of little use in a caretaker capacity. He struggled to find his own voice as a poet, but found himself in awe of the obvious talent of his friend and contemporary Picasso. Sabartés would thereafter, until the end of his days, dedicate the majority of his energies to advancing the career of Picasso. He took on the role of managing Picasso’s business affairs and exhibitions, even of waking Picasso each morning. Over the years, Picasso gave Sabartés a treasure trove of his works. Sabartés donated this rich collection of works by Picasso to the city of Barcelona.

Sabartés wore very heavy spectacles and was known to favor black garb and to project a mournful, almost tragic expression. Although Sabartés worshipped Picasso, his idol was sometimes known to be less than kind, using Sabartés as a scapegoat. In this painting, Picasso imagined Sabartés as a Spanish grandee (a nobleman of the highest rank in Spain or Portugal), complete with a ruff (a stiffly starched and pleated fabric collar, worn by men and women in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries). Picasso’s grotesque portrait harks back to El Greco’s era, depicting his friend as a conspicuous example of a fantasma or “ghost.”

• Describe each portrait as carefully as possible. Then compare and contrast them. Make one list containing all the attributes they have in common. Create another list of all the ways they are different from each other.
• Imagine a “thought bubble” above the head of each of these portraits. Write down what you think each of these figures might be thinking or saying. Be sure to base your responses on what you see in the paintings. Share your responses with your classmates.
• Imagine a conversation between the figures in these two portraits. Working in pairs, write a dialogue between them. What subject might they want to discuss? What positions would they take? How would their voices sound, and what type of language or dialect might they each use? Perform your dialogue by taking on the “voice” of one of the portraits.

• Create your own self-portrait using digital photography. Consider carefully what clothing, costume, and accessories should be included. What pose would you strike and what background should be used? Why? Once your photograph is printed, write a short paragraph describing the persona you have chosen to project. Mount a class exhibition to display your portraits.
  Technology


• Would you choose El Greco or Picasso as the artist to paint your likeness? Why?
  Visual Arts


• Although the term fantasma may not be in common use today, the concept behind the term can be seen all around us. Nowadays we may use the expressions “wanna-be” or “poser” to describe a person who habitually pretends to be something he/she is not. In El Greco’s time a person could commission an elegant portrait to suggest his status. What are some ways that people today may use the trappings of wealth, success, or knowledge to project qualities that they may not truly possess?
  Social Studies


• Miguel de Cervantes (1564–1616) is considered to be one of the greatest figures of both Spanish and world literature and lived during roughly the same period as El Greco. His masterwork, Don Quixote, was written to mock the code of chivalry which emphasized the protection of the weak, idealized women, and celebrated the role of the wandering knight, who traveled from place to place performing good deeds. It also included social and religious commentary, and bitterly criticized the class structure in Spain, where outmoded concepts of nobility and property prevailed. Research the story of Don Quixote and discuss whether this Spanish knight deserves to be put in the company of real-world idealists or should be categorized as merely delusional.
  English / Language Arts