Allegory with Boy Lighting Candle by El Greco Postcard

Allegory with Boy Lighting Candle in the Company of an Ape and a Fool (Fábula) by El Greco, c. 1592, is an oil on canvas painting with radical, expressionistic contrasts between light and dark. The ape and fool look on with interest while the boy holds flame to candle, faces illuminated with deep, contrasting shadows. El Greco's expressive allegory differs from his larger religious works but the drama of his manner is none the lesser in this small piece. Doménikos Theotokópoulos (1541 - 1614) was born on the island of Crete where he apprenticed as a painter of religious icons in the Byzantine tradition. As a young man he studied in Venice under Titian and the painters of the Venetian Renaissance and became known by the moniker El Greco, "The Greek". El Greco permanently settled in Toledo, Spain, where he produced most of his famous paintings and worked also as a sculptor and architect. El Greco's unique manner defies classification, incorporating elements of the Italian and Spanish Renaissance, Byzantine art, Mannerism, and Expressionism. El Greco remained somewhat obscure until the 19th and 20th centuries, when his paintings profoundly influenced the rising modern artists.