Saint Martin and the Beggar (El Greco)
El Greco · 1597
The story
Saint Martin and the Beggar is a painting by the Greek mannerist painter El Greco, painted c. 1597–1599. It depicts a legend in the life of Christian saint Martin of Tours, in which the saint cut off half his cloak to clothe a beggar.
Part of a triptych commissioned for a private chapel, the paintings Saint Martin and the Beggar and The Virgin and Child with Saints Martina and Agnes remained in the chapel in the Spanish city of Toledo, until 1907, when they were sold to the American collector Peter Widener. They were later incorporated into the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
El Greco painted smaller versions of large commissioned paintings, which he could then sell independently. El Greco's smaller version of St Martin and the Beggar is now in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
- Artist
- El Greco
- Date
- 1597
- Collection
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., United States
- Movement
- Mannerism
- Medium
- oil paint, canvas
- Size
- 193.5 × 103 cm
Story adapted from the Wikipedia article and its contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Explore related paintings
- Laocoön (El Greco) by El Greco
- Opening of the Fifth Seal by El Greco
- The Burial of the Count of Orgaz by El Greco
- The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest by El Greco
- View of Toledo by El Greco
- A Young Girl Reading by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Guess famous paintings in the free daily art puzzle →
Enable JavaScript to play the interactive puzzle. Your progress stays on this device.