On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P00824
- Author
- El Greco (Spanish)
- Title
- The Trinity
- Chronology
- 1577-1579
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 300 cm x 179 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COLECCIONREAL
- Procedence
- Royal Collection
The Heavenly Father, with an
Eastern Miter on his head, holds
the body of Christ in his lap. The
dove of the Holy Ghost appears over
his head, while six young angels
surround the scene. Several
cherub's heads appear at Jesus'
feet and under God the Father's
robes.
Based on an engraving by Albrecht
Dürer, this was one of El Greco's
first commissioned pieces in
Toledo. The artist harmonizes the
concepts of drawing and color
respectively developed from Roman
and Venetian perspectives. The
different colors of the robes
emphasize the palette's contrasting
range of colors, which links it to
the work of Tintoretto. Echoes of
Michelangelo's work can also be
found in Jesus' vigorous
anatomy.
Painted for the attic of the main
altarpiece at the church of Santo
Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo, this
work was commissioned by Diego de
Castilla, Dean of Toledo and
executor of the will of María de
Silva, who was buried at the
convent there. In 1832, Fernando
VII acquired it from the sculptor,
Valeriano Salvatierra.
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