In this half-length painting by El Greco, Christ is illustrated rigidly posed with elongated features. He has his right hand raised in a blessing, while his left hand is placed on a sphere. The figure wears a red tunic, over which is a grey-blue cloak, both of which are full of folds. A bright light, which is a Byzantine-inspired halo, illuminates the figure’s head from behind. The dark grey-brown background has a slightly blue tone. The Greek initials of the painter, delta theta (which stand for Domenikos Theotokopoulos) are visible over the right shoulder of the figure.
There are at least four versions of this composition by El Greco, which were produced as part of larger groups of twelve Apostles with the Saviour. As art historian, Hugh Brigstocke has pointed out, this particular painting might also have originally belonged to a similar series (Brigstocke 1993, p.76–7). However, attempts by art historian August L. Mayer to reconstruct the entire group of paintings were unsuccessful (Brigstocke 1993, p.76–7). Art historian Harold E. Wethey disputes the notion that this painting is part of a larger series, instead stressing that it stands alone, citing an inventory that lists two items by El Greco called Head of the Saviour and Head of the Christ (Wethey 1962, pp. 71–2). Other versions of this painting exist in the El Greco Museum in Toledo where there is a similar half-length version, whereas another half-length length version can be found in Toledo Cathedral. The third version of this work is a half-length one exhibited in the Prado Museum in Madrid. According to Brigstocke, all of these versions are of inferior quality compared with this particular work (Brigstocke 1993, p.77).
The painting retains an excellent condition apart from some worn areas in the background and around Christ’s left hand (Brigstocke 1993, p.76). As Wethey argues, the fact that the painting is signed with the Greek initials delta theta certainly reveals that this is an original piece by El Greco (Wethey 1962, p.71). The distinctive freedom of the sketchy, dramatic contouring conceals an underlying geometrical structure, as art historian Leo Bronstein has observed (Bronstein 1951, p.19). The way that this composition is symmetrically arranged emphasises the unnaturally long proportions of the figure. The red pigment on Christ’s tunic is a cochineal glaze, a dye that El Greco used for decades. The qualities of this material are ideal for bringing realism into a painting’s textiles and allowing the central figure of this painting to be seen in three-dimensional illusion. The handling technique differs notably from that in the painting held by the Toledo museum, which is freely painted and taller in format and belongs to a very late El Greco series of Apostles (Brigstocke 1993, p.76). This work is not precisely dated, though art historians place it between 1594 and 1600.
This is work was made El Greco during the latter years of his career, when he moved from Crete to Toledo after spending some years in Venice and Rome. Nevertheless, both the iconography and the composition of The Saviour of the World recall El Greco’s youthful style, inspired by Byzantine-type paintings. The religious topic of the representation is strongly evocative of the Byzantine traditional iconography of the Pantokrator (Christ as Ruler of All). Christ is depicted both as the Saviour of the World and the Light of the World. The blessing gesture of his right hand – common in traditional Christian iconography – combined with his calm direct gaze, emphasize the symbol of Christ as ruler of all. The way his face is lit by a divine light which surrounds his head references verses in the Holy Bible in which Jesus is symbolized as the light who will lead people out of the darkness. Remarkably, the art historian David Davies notes that the addition of the sphere, which is most probably a Netherlandish influence, is innovative considering that in Byzantine paintings Jesus traditionally holds a gospel (Davies 2003, p.188).
Further reading
Leo Bronstein, El Greco, London 1951.
Harold Edwin Wethey, El Greco and his School, Princeton 1958, pp.71–2.
Paul Guinard, El Greco, Barcelona 1967, pp.39–57.
Hugh Brigstocke, Italian and Spanish Paintings in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh 1993, pp. 76–7.
David Davies. El Greco, exhibition catalogue, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and The National Gallery, London, 2003-4, pp.187–90.
Stella Sofokleous
The University of Edinburgh
November 2016