Mr. Foulds, sir.
El Greco is not someone who, to date, I have spent a great deal of time trying to digest. One thing I know is he has always felt like one of those artists who does not fit historically. There is a certain crude sophisticaion, which I like.
I think the comparison between your work's intentions and El Greco's work is a pertinant one. He seems to use figural line, application and colour in order to find his own indepenndant power. The curving line, which historians seem determined to call 'mannerist', seems solid enough to justify the term sculptural.
The main thing of interst is, as you pointed out, both the application and chosen colour of his flesh tones. It is an obvious point but I don't think this can be considered on its own, its relationship to the tones of the colours around it.
He feels, to me, to do a lot of similar things to Cezanne. This is over simplisitic, but the application of colour seems to be parallel but with Cezannes being of a more retangular type. The colour range is certainly similar in what it does. Perhaps El Greco' colour range is more consistenly cool, but its function seems the same. In applying the paint in palpably present strokes and in using colours which create and capture intangible space they seem to detach the viewing space from us. Yet there seems a dichotomy, becasue it is these exact same features which seems to drag us in, eat us up. Yet we end up floating in this inbetween space, not quite capable of getting into the stage, but not also sat entirely outside of its space.
Anyway, long story short. I think this is what you are looking to do in many ways. Or at the least what 'Mary the Queen.' seems to be moving towards doing. I think linear spatial plays also have a role to play in this.
In terms of how to do this, colour wise. Fuck knows. Your use and knowledge of colour puts mine to shame. It is only recently I have made an attempt to approach colour 'scientifically'. Progress, i tihnk, is being made. Yet at the moment I very much feel I am in your shadow (shivering and feel pathetic). So, Sir, the puzzle of El Greco's colour range is something I hope you crack and I can then steal.
ps Good luck today in the game. United to steal a 2-1 victory from the jaws of defeat.
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