''The Disrobing of Christ'' or ''El Expolio'' ( la, Exspolĭum) is a painting by
El Greco
Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...
begun in the summer of 1577 and completed in the spring of 1579 for the High Altar of the
sacristy
A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.
The sacristy is usually located ...
of the
Cathedral of Toledo
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, where it still normally hangs. In late 2013 it was on temporary display at the
Prado
The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum
An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It migh ...
in Madrid (with the other El Grecos), following a period of cleaning and conservation work there; it was returned to Toledo in 2014. It is one of
El Greco
Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...
's most famous works.
[M. Lambraki-Plaka, ''El Greco-The Greek'', pp. 43–44.] A document dated July 2, 1577 which refers to this painting is the earliest record of El Greco's presence in Spain. The commission for the painting was secured thanks to El Greco's friendship from Rome with Luis, the son of
Diego de Castilla, the
dean
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of the Cathedral of Toledo. De Castilla senior also arranged El Greco's other major commission, on which he worked simultaneously, the paintings for the Toledan church of ''Santo Domingo el Antiguo''.
Description
The painting shows Christ looking up to Heaven with an expression of serenity; His idealized figure seems segregated from the other people and the violence surrounding him.
[M. Tazartes, ''El Greco'', p. 100.] A figure dressed in black in the background points at Christ accusingly, while two others argue over who will have His garments. A man in green to Christ's left holds Him firmly with a rope and is about to rip off His robe in preparation for
his crucifixion. At the lower right, a man in yellow bends over the cross and drills a hole to facilitate the insertion of a nail to be driven through Christ's feet. The radiant face of the Savior is violently juxtaposed to the coarse figures of the executioners, who are amassed around Him creating an impression of disturbance with their movements, their gestures and lances.
[M. Lambraki-Plaka, ''El Greco-The Greek'', p. 53.]
Christ is clad in a bright red robe; it is on this red tunic that El Greco concentrated the full expressive force of his art. The purple garment (a metonymic symbol of the divine passion) is spread out in a light fold; only the chromatic couple of yellow and blue in the foreground raises a separate note which approaches, in power, the glorifying hymn of the red.
In the left foreground,
the three Marys
The Three Marys (also spelled Maries) are women mentioned in the canonical gospels' narratives of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, several of whom were, or have been considered by Christian tradition, to have been named Mary (the most co ...
contemplate the scene with distress. Their presence was objected to by the Cathedral authorities, since they are not mentioned as present at this point in the Gospels. Greco probably took this detail, with some others like the rope around Christ's wrists, from the account in the ''Meditations on the Passion of Jesus Christ'' by
Saint Bonaventure
Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher.
The seventh Minister Ge ...
. The placement of the tormentors higher than the head of Christ also was cited by the commissioners of the Cathedral in the arbitration process over the price.
In designing the composition vertically and compactly in the foreground El Greco seems to have been motivated by the desire to show the oppression of Christ by his cruel tormentors. The figure of Christ, robust, tall and tranquil, dominates the center of the composition which is built vertically like a wall.
El Greco chose a method of space elimination that is common to middle and late 16th-century
Mannerists. According to
Harold Wethey
Harold Edwin Wethey (April 10, 1902 ― September 22, 1984) was an American art historian and educator. From 1940 to 1972, Wethey was a professor of art history at the University of Michigan.
Career
Born in Port Byron, Wethey received a Bachel ...
, El Greco "probably recalled late Byzantine paintings in which the superposition of heads row upon row is employed to suggest a crowd".
Critical analysis
Wethey regards the painting as a "masterpiece of extraordinary originality".
The powerful effect of the painting especially depends upon his original and forceful use of colour. Something of the effect of the grand images of the
Saviour
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* Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years
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in
Byzantine art
Byzantine art comprises the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Empire, as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from the decline of Rome and lasted ...
is recalled; by this date the disrobing was a rare subject in Western art. The motif of the crowding round Christ suggests an acquaintance with the works of Northern artists, like
Bosch (the best collection of whose works belonged to Philip II); the figure preparing the
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
could be derived from the similar figure bending forward in
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...
's tapestry and
cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
of the Miraculous Draught of Fishes, which he would have known from Rome. This is, however, the last time that there are any hints of specific borrowings. The original
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
of gilded wood that El Greco designed for the painting has been destroyed, but his small sculpted group of the ''Miracle of St. Ildefonso'' still survives on the lower center of the frame.
Arbitration
![El_Greco_023](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/El_Greco_023.jpg)
The ''Disrobing of Christ'' was a subject of a dispute between the painter and the representatives of the Cathedral regarding the price of the work; El Greco was forced to have recourse to legal arbitration and eventually received only 350 ducats, when his own appraiser had valued it at 950. He was also supposed to remove some of the figures objected to, which he never did.
Variants
Despite the complaints of the commissioners of the Cathedral the painting was hugely successful; currently, more than 17 versions of the painting are known.
Two greatly reduced versions are generally accepted as from the hand of El Greco himself; possibly one may have been an
oil sketch
An oil sketch or oil study is an artwork made primarily in oil paint in preparation for a larger, finished work. Originally these were created as preparatory studies or modelli, especially so as to gain approval for the design of a larger commissi ...
study, or, more likely, a studio record of the composition. Other replica versions may also be in whole or part by the master himself. A 1581-1586 autograph or studio copy has been in the
Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon
The Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon (french: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon) is a municipal museum of fine arts in the French city of Lyon. Located near the Place des Terreaux, it is housed in a former Benedictine convent which was active during the 1 ...
since 1886.
A c.1600 variant of the work is in the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, Norway — this is attributed to the artist.
Another in the
Alte Pinakothek, Munich
The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pinako ...
is thought to be an autograph preparatory sketch for the main work.
A version is also on display at
Upton House in Warwickshire, England.
References
Sources
* Brown, Jonathan (ed.) (1982). "El Greco and Toledo", ''El Greco of Toledo'' (catalogue). Little Brown.
* Clark, Kenneth. ''Looking at Pictures''. New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1960
{{DEFAULTSORT:Disrobing of Christ, The
Paintings by El Greco
1570s paintings
Altarpieces
Toledo, Spain
Paintings depicting the Passion of Jesus
Paintings of the Virgin Mary
Paintings in Toledo, Spain
Paintings depicting Mary Magdalene
Paintings in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon
Torture in art