Head of Christ

Maker and role
Artist: El Greco, Spanish, born Crete, 1541-1614
Workshop of: El Greco, Spanish, born Crete, 1541-1614
Year
ca. 1579-ca. 1586

See full details

Details

Media/materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
19 7/8 x 15 5/16in (50.5 x 38.9cm)
Credit line
Bequest of Marion Koogler McNay
Accession number
1950.56
Object type
Paintings
Department
Medieval and Renaissance Art
Location
On view/Oppenheimer Gallery 2
Further information
Scholars have proposed several theories why El Greco painted the McNay's Head of Christ. One expert suggest that the work was intended to hang with an image of Mater Dolorosa (Our Lady of Sorrows), a common pairing in Catholic Spain of the 1500s. Others think that an individual commissioned the painting as a personal devotional image. Still others believe that the work is a simplified version of the central figure's face in El Greco's earlier masterpiece, El Espolio (The Disrobing of Christ), which was painted in 1577 for the Toledo cathedral.
Subject period
Medieval/Renaissance
Maker

Colors

Subject category

European/Spanish Concepts/religions/Christianity People/men Furnishings and Equipment/clothing and costume/headwear/halos

Part of 1 highlight set

European Art

European Art

 Share

 Comments

Be the first to comment.