On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P02874
- Author
- El Greco (Spanish)
- Title
- The Holy Visage
- Chronology
- 1590-1595
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 71 cm x 54 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- No
- Entrance
- COMPRA
- Procedence
- Acquisition, 1944
An image of the Holy Visage.
According to legend, When Christ
was on his way to Calvary during
the Passion, Saint Veronica dried
his face with a cloth on which his
image miraculously remained.
Despite the fact that there is no
mention of Veronica in the Gospel,
the Church pays homage to her since
the third century.
Christ's intense gaze overcomes the
traditional hieratic attitude of
Byzantine icons and brings the
miracle much closer to us in the
composition, in keeping with the
ideals propagated by the
Counter-Reformation.
This work was acquired with funds
from the legacy of the Count of
Cartagena in 1944.
