| The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | El Greco |
| Year | 1580-1582 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 445 cm× 294 cm(175 in× 116 in) |
| Location | Monasterio de El Escorial, Madrid |
The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice is a 1580-1582 painting by El Greco in the Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial near Madrid.
A painting on this subject had originally been commissioned from Juan Fernández Navarrete by Philip II of Spain as an altarpiece dedicated to Saint Maurice and his Theban Legion. After Navarrete's death in 1579, Philip transferred the commission to El Greco, [1] who had recently established himself in Toledo. The king saw the completed work in 1583, on his return from Portugal, and was unhappy with it. [2] [3]
Maurice is shown in a blue breastplate and red tunic in the right foreground, surrounded by the officers of his legion while they decide whether to sacrifice to the pagan gods or accept martyrdom. To Maurice's left Saint Exuperius holds a red banner. Next to him is a bearded man in a tunic, identified as James the Less, who had converted the whole of Maurice's legion to Christianity. Between Maurice and the banner-bearer are two figures modelled on Spanish soldiers of the time - the elder one is Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, commander of the Spanish troops at the Battle of St. Quentin in 1557 and Grand Master of the Military Order of Saint Maurice. To Emmanuel's right (closer to Maurice) is Alessandro Farnese, then fighting against the Dutch Republic.
The martyrdom occurs in the left background, including a figure modelled on Charles V's illegitimate son Don John of Austria, victor of the battle of Lepanto. In the left upper background angels wait to welcome the martyrs into heaven.
Saint Sebastian, or Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian is an autograph work by the famed artist Doménikos Theotokópoulos, commonly known as El Greco. It shows the Martyred Saint in an atypical kneeling posture which has led some scholars to believe it to be a compositional quotation of various works by other great masters whom the artist admired. The painting is currently on display in the Palencia Cathedral.
Saint Sebastian is a 1610–1614 oil on canvas painting by El Greco, the last of his three portrayals of Saint Sebastian. It survives in two large fragments, both of which are in the Prado Museum; the top half was donated by the Countess of Mora y Aragón in 1959 and the lower half was acquired in 1987.
Saint Louis is a 1592–1595 painting by El Greco, painted during his time in Toledo. It is now in the Louvre in Paris.
Agony in the Garden is a 1590 oil on canvas painting by El Greco or his studio, dating to his second stay in Toledo and still showing the major influence of Titian on his work. It is now on display in the Toledo Art Museum in Toledo, Ohio.
Holy Family is a 1595 oil on canvas painting by El Greco, painted during his time in Toledo and now in the Hospital de Tavera in that city.
Holy Family is a 1586-1588 oil on canvas painting by El Greco, painted during his time in Toledo and now in that city's Museum of Santa Cruz.
Saint Peter is a 1608 oil on canvas painting produced by El Greco in Toledo towards the end of his life. It is now in the Monasterio del Escorial near Madrid.
Portrait of Antonio de Covarrubias is a 1595-1600 oil on canvas painting by El Greco, dating to his time in Toledo. It is now in the Louvre in Paris as the result of an exchange with Spanish museums in 1941.
Julián Romero and Saint Julian is a 1612-1614 painting by El Greco, now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.
Saint Ildefonsus is a 1609 painting by El Greco. It and his Saint Peter were both painted for the Church of San Vicente, Toledo. It has also previously been misidentified as Pope Eugene I or saint Blaise. It is now in the Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial.
Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus is a 1577-1579 oil on canvas painting by El Greco, produced early in his Toledo period and now in the Monasterio de El Escorial in Madrid. It is also known in modern scholarship as La Gloria, The Dream of Philip II or Allegory of the Holy League.
Saint Lawrence's Vision of the Virgin Mary is a 1577 oil on canvas painting by El Greco, produced early in his Toledo period. It was commissioned by Rodrigo de Castro, inquisitor, archbishop of Seville, bishop of Cuenca and bishop of Zamora, making it one of the artist's few private commissions from that time. It is now in the Colegio del Cardenal in Monforte de Lemos.
Saint John the Evangelist is a 1609 work by El Greco, produced towards the end of his time in Toledo, Spain. It now hangs in the Museo del Prado, to which it was left in 1921 by the collector César Cabañas Caballero.
Visitation is a 1609–1613 painting of the Visitation by El Greco, now in Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C.
The Tears of Saint Peter or Penitent Saint Peter is a 1580-1589 painting by El Greco, now in the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, UK. It shows Peter the Apostle weeping after his betrayal of Jesus.
Saint Peter and Saint Paul is a 1587-1592 painting by El Greco, one of several versions of the theme by the artist - others are now in Barcelona and Stockholm. It shows the apostles saint Peter and saint Paul. The work was once shown on a stamp produced by the USSR.
Saint Bernardino of Siena is a 1603 work by El Greco. It is owned by the Museo del Prado but displayed at the El Greco Museum in Toledo, Spain.
Saint Paul is a 1610-1614 painting by El Greco, now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The painting is key to Gregorio Marañón's theory that the painter used mental patients at the Hospital del Nuncio as models.
Saint Thomas the Apostle is a 1608–1614 painting of Thomas the Apostle by El Greco, now in the Museo del Prado.
The Martyrdom of Saint Andrew is an oil on canvas painting by Peter Paul Rubens, which since 1989 has been in the collection of the Fundación Carlos de Amberes, Madrid. It was painted in 1639, the year before the artist's death.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
