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Saint Martin and the Beggar
The Art Institute of Chicago

Saint Martin and the Beggar

Oil on canvasEl Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos; Greek, active in Spain, 1541–1614)/c. 1597–c. 1600

Description

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.

Provenance

Possibly in the artist’s studio at the time of his death, 1614 [the 1614 inventory of the artist’s estate includes “un S. Martin” (a St. Martin); transcribed by F[rancisco] de B[orja de] San Román [y Fernández], El Greco en Toledo, Madrid, 1910, p. 193]; possibly by descent to his son, Jorge Manuel Theotocopoulos (d. 1631), Toledo [the 1621 inventory of Jorge Manuel’s possessions includes “170 Un San Martin a caballo, de bara y terzia y tres quartas” (170 A Saint Martin on horseback, of one vara and a third by three quarters); transcribed by Francisco de Borja de San Román y Fernández, “De la vida del Greco,” Archivo español de arte y arqueología 3 (1927), p. 301]. Marquis de Perinat, Madrid, by 1910 [according to New York 1915]. Durand-Ruel, Paris, by 1912, with a half-share sold to Knoedler, New York [Stein 1993, p. 259, citing documents in the Durand-Ruel Archives, Paris, and letters to Louisine W. Havemeyer]; sold by Knoedler to Charles Deering (d. 1927), Chicago, by 1922; on loan to the AIC from 1922 [On loan from 1922 to 1931, when it was sent to Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey McCormick; Art Institute Archives]; given to his daughters Mrs. Chauncey McCormick and Mrs. Richard E. Danielson, 1924; Mrs. Chauncey McCormick, in a division of their joint property, by 1931; given to the Art Institute, 1949.

Dimensions

110 × 63 cm (43 5/16 × 24 13/16 in.)

Movement / Period

Mannerism

Accession No

67362

Official Citations

[The Art Institute of Chicago Official Record][Full Resolution Image]
Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos; Greek, active in Spain, 1541–1614)

Mannerism • Greece • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries

Saint Martin and the Beggar by El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos; Greek, active in Spain, 1541–1614) (c. 1597–c. 1600) | PublicArk | PublicArk