Saint Martin and the Beggar

1597/1599

El Greco

Painter, Greek, 1541 - 1614

An armored man on horseback hands a piece of emerald-green cloth down to the nearly nude man standing next to him in this slightly stylized, vertical painting. Both men have light skin, and they, along with the horse, nearly fill the composition. To our right, the bright white horse stands angled to our right with the front left hoof raised. It has a smoke-gray mane, and wears a black bridle. The man riding the horse has short, copper-blond hair and a long face with a pointed chin. He looks down at the ground with dark eyes under black, arched brows. He has a long, thin nose, and his small lips are closed and framed by the faint suggestion of a mustache. He wears a white ruff pleated into figure-eights over his high-necked armor, which is liberally outlined and decorated with gold against the pewter-colored plates. He grips the voluminous, green cape in one hand and holds a sword in the other, down by the leg we can see. The cleanshaven man next to him, to our left, looks off to our right in profile. He has close-cropped, dark hair and smooth skin. His lips are parted, and he tips his head slightly away from us. He holds the green cloth with the hand closer to the horse and gestures down with his other pointer finger, in front of his hip. A white cloth bandage is wrapped around one shin, and he rests his weight on the other leg. The horse and man stand on a curving spit of brown earth. A spring-green landscape dips down behind them, running low near the bottom edge of the painting. The horizon comes about a quarter of the way up the composition, and fog-gray and white clouds create thin screens across the topaz-blue sky. The loose brushstrokes are visible in some areas, especially in the landscape and clothing. The artist signed his name in Greek near the lower right corner.

Media Options

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Commissioned for the Chapel of San José in Toledo by Martín Ramírez, a namesake of the saint and donor of the chapel, Saint Martin and the Beggar was part of one of the artist's most successful ensembles.

The saint, who lived during the reign of Constantine the Great, was a member of the imperial cavalry stationed near Amiens, in Gaul. Coming upon a shivering beggar near the city gates on a cold winter day, the young soldier divided his cloak with his sword and shared it with him. Tradition has it that Christ later appeared to Martin in a dream, saying, "What thou hast done for that poor man, thou hast done for me."

El Greco portrayed the fourth-century saint as a young nobleman, clad in elegant gold-damascened armor, astride a white Arabian horse. Seen from a low vantage point, the figures seem monumental, looming over the landscape with its distant view of Toledo and the river Tagus. The saint's relatively naturalistic proportions contrast with the attenuated form of the nearly nude beggar. The obvious distortion of the beggar's form suggests that he is not of this world and hints at the later revelation of his true identity in Martin's dream.

More information on this painting can be found in the Gallery publication Spanish Paintings of the Fifteenth through Nineteenth Centuries, which is available as a free PDF https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/spanish-painting-15th-19th-centuries.pdf

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 28

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 193.5 × 103 cm (76 3/16 × 40 9/16 in.)
    framed: 220.35 × 136.53 × 14.61 cm (86 3/4 × 53 3/4 × 5 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1942.9.25

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Commissioned 9 November 1597 by the Capilla de San José [Chapel of Saint Joseph], Toledo; sold 1906 by the directors of the chapel to (Boussod Valadon, Paris); sold in same year to Peter A. B. Widener [1834-1915], Elkins Park, PA;[1] inheritance from Estate of Peter A. B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener [1860-1943], Elkins Park, PA.[2]
[1] Edith Standen notes in the NGA curatorial files.
[2] "The Perfect Collection, as Achieved by Mr. Widener of Philadelphia," Fortune (September 1932): 66, 69.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1915

  • Loan Exhibition of Paintings by El Greco and Goya, M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, 1915, 38, no. 37.

1982

  • El Greco of Toledo, The Toledo [Ohio] Museum of Art; Prado, Madrid; National Gallery of Art, Washington; Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, 1982-1983, 168, 241, no. 30, pl. 17.

2003

  • El Greco: The Illumination and Quickening of the Spirit, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The National Gallery, London, 2003-2004, no. 38, repro.

2008

  • Picasso et les Maîtres, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris; National Gallery, London, 2008-2009, unnumbered catalogue, repro. (shown only in Paris).

  • El Greco to Velázquez: Art during the Reign of Philip III, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, 2008, no. 1, repro.

2014

  • El Greco in the National Gallery of Art and Washington-Area Collections: A 400th Anniversary Celebration, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2014-2015, no catalogue.

  • El Greco: Painter and Master, Museo de Santa Cruz, Toledo, March-June 2014, not in catalogue.

  • El Greco y la pintura moderna, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, June-October 2014, unnumbered catalogue, fig. 98.

2016

  • The Spanish Golden Age: Painting and Sculpture in the Time of Velázquez, Gemaldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 2016.

2019

  • Greco, Musée du Grand Palais, Paris; The Art Institute of Chicago, 2019 - 2020, no. 32, repro.

2022

  • Picasso -- El Greco, Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, 2022, no. 63, repro.

Bibliography

1845

  • Amador de los Rios, José. Toledo pintoresco o descripción de sus más célebres monumentos. Madrid, 1845: 186.

1857

  • Parro, Sisto Ramón. Toledo en la mano o descripción histórico-artística de la magnífica catedral y de los demás célebres monumentos. 2 vols. Toledo, 1857: 2:320.

1890

  • Palazuelos, El Vizconde de. Toledo: guía artísticopráctica. Toledo, 1890: 958.

1906

  • Lafond, Paul. "La Chapelle San José de Tolède et ses peintrures du Greco." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 36 (1906): 388, repro. 387.

1907

  • Thieme, Ulrich, and Felix Becker, eds. Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. 37 vols. Leipzig, 1907-1950: 33(1939):6.

1908

  • Cossío, Manuel B. El Greco. Madrid, 1908: 304-308, 340, 588, no. 242, pl. 46 (also 1972 rev. ed., ed. Natalia Cossío Jímenez. Barcelona, 1972: 174-175, 385-386, no. 282, fig. 53).

1909

  • Calvert, Albert F., and C. Gasquoine Hartley. El Greco. London, 1909: 122-123, pl. 94.

1911

  • Mayer, August L. El Greco. Munich, 1911: 40, 81.

1916

  • Berenson, Bernard, and William Roberts. Pictures in the Collection of P.A.B. Widener at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania: Early Italian and Spanish Schools. Philadelphia, 1916: unpaginated, repro.

1923

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1923: unpaginated, repro.

1926

  • Mayer, August L. Dominico Theotocopuli, El Greco. Munich, 1926: 48, no. 297.

1930

  • Rutter, Frank. El Greco. New York, 1930: 51, 62, 97, no. 77.

1931

  • Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 30, repro.

  • Mayer, August L. El Greco. Berlin, 99, 103-104.

1935

  • Tietze, Hans. Meisterwerke europäischer Malerei in Amerika. Vienna, 1935: 6, repro. (English ed., Masterpieces of European Painting in America. New York, 1939: 6, repro.).

1937

  • Legendre, Maurice, and Alfred Hartmann. Domenikos Theotokopoulos Called El Greco. Paris, 1937: 459, repro.

1938

  • Goldscheider, Ludwig. El Greco. London, 1938: pl. 116.

1940

  • Widener, Peter A.B. Without Drums. New York, 1940: 59-60.

1941

  • Gudiol y Ricart, José. Spanish Painting. Exh. cat., Toledo [Ohio] Museum of Art. Toledo, 1941: 66, fig. 42.

1942

  • Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 5.

1945

  • Cook 1945, 66-70, fig. 2.

1948

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 30, no. 621, repro.

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 30, repro.

1950

  • Camón Aznar, José. Dominico Greco. 2 vols. Madrid, 2:698-703, 1382, no. 522, figs. 533, 538 (also 1970 rev. ed., 2:708-720, 1367, no. 523, figs. 587-589).

1952

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds., Great Paintings from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1952: 78, color repro.

1956

  • Guinard, Paul. El Greco. Translated by James Emmons. Cleveland, 1956: 26.

1957

  • Soehner, Halldor. "Ein Hauptwerk Grecos: die Kapelle San José in Toledo." Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 9 (1957): 212-215, figs. 19, 22-23.

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): pl. 36, 138.

1958

  • Gaya Nuño, Juan Anotonio. La pintura española fuera de España; historia y catàlogo. Madrid, 1958: 199, no. 1337, fig 108.

  • Soehner, Halldor. "Greco in Spanien" Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst 8 (1957); 162-164, 167, fig. 39; Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst 9/10 (1958/1959): 190, under nos. 56-57.

1961

  • Soehner, Halldor. Una obra maestra de El Greco: la Capilla de San José de Toledo. Translated by M. a de los Angeles Vázquez de Parga. Madrid, 1961: 29-30, pl. 15-16.

1962

  • Wethey, Harold E. El Greco and His School. 2 vols. Princeton, 1962: 1:47, figs. 116-118; 2:13, no. 18 (also Spanish ed. Madrid, 1967: 1:63, pls. 100-102; 2:28, no. 18).

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 62.

1966

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 1:200, color repro.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 54, repro.

1969

  • Manzini, Gianna, and Tiziana Frati. L'opera completa del Greco. Milan, 1969: no. 105-C, color pl. 16.

1973

  • Gudiol y Ricart, José. Domenikos Theotokopoulos, El Greco. Translated by Kenneth Lyons. New York, 1973: 176, 349, no. 135, color fig. 162 (also 1983 ed.: 176, 349, no. 135, color fig. 162).

1975

  • Lafuente Ferrari, Enrique, and José Manuel Pita Andrade. El Greco: The Expressionism of His Final Years. Translated by Robert E. Wolf. New York, 1975: 158, no. 58, fig. 75.

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 162, repro.

1976

  • Davies, David. El Greco. London, 1976: 14, no. 22, color pl. 22.

1978

  • King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 38, pl. 17.

1979

  • Watson, Ross. The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 60, pl. 43.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 237, no. 301, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 187, repro.

1990

  • Brown, Jonathan, and Richard G. Mann. Spanish Paintings of the Fifteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1990: 47-51, repro. 49.

  • El Greco of Crete: Exhibition on the Occasion of the 450th Anniversary of his Birth. Exh. cat. Iraklion, 1990: 238, fig. 1, 371.

1992

  • National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 80, repro.

1993

  • Griswold, Susanna P. "Two Paintings by El Greco: Saint Martin and the Beggar." Studies in the History of Art 41 (1993): 133, 140-148, repro. no. 1.

1997

  • Tomlinson, Janis. From El Greco to Goya: Painting in Spain, 1561-1828, New York, 1997, no. 27, repro.

2004

  • Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 113, no. 86, color repro.

2013

  • Harris, Neil. Capital Culture: J. Carter Brown, the National Gallery of Art, and the Reinvention of the Museum Experience. Chicago and London, 2013: 381.

2019

  • Stoenescu, Livia. The Pictorial Art of El Greco: Transmaterialities, Temporalities, and Media. Amsterdam, 2019: 254-255, color fig. 102.

Inscriptions

lower right in cursive Greek: doménikos theotokópoulos e'poíei (Domenicos Theotocopoulis made this)

Wikidata ID

Q6119366

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