Saint Martin and the Beggar
El Greco
1592–1605
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 110 × 63 cm (43 5/16 × 24 13/16 in.); Framed: 133.4 × 85.7 × 10.2 cm (52 1/2 × 33 3/4 × 4 in.)
- Genre
- Paintings
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
religionoil paintings (visual works)paintingpaintChicago World's Fairs16th Centurycanvasgreen (color)Century of Progressreligious figuresoil on canvasanimalsDevotionSoldierspeasantsoil paint (paint)painting (image making)painting techniquesreligious scenesSaintsRenaissancelandscapeChristian subjectsmansixteenth centuryreligiousSpainMannerismworld's fairsclothoil painting
About
This painting is a small replica of an altarpiece for the private family chapel of San José in Toledo, Spain. Producing smaller versions of commissioned altarpieces allowed El Greco to introduce his creations to a wider market. The composition here includes elements that would have resonated with his audience: Saint Martin wears fashionable, contemporary armor, and the walls of Toledo are visible in the distant background. Martin was a popular saint during the period, when the Catholic Church was promoting acts of charity like the gift of his cloak to a beggar as necessary for earning salvation.
