Spain / c. 1600–1610
Christ on the Cross
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Christ on the Cross as painting (Spain · c. 1600–1610).
El Greco (Spanish for "the Greek") was trained on his native island, Crete, as a painter of small-scale devotional images (icons). In the late 1560s he moved first to Venice, where he may have worked with Tintoretto (1518-1594), and then to Rome.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as oil on canvas and credits El Greco (Spanish, 1541–1614).
The museum's collection notes: El Greco (Spanish for "the Greek") was trained on his native island, Crete, as a painter of small-scale devotional images (icons). In the late 1560s he moved first to Venice, where he may have worked with Tintoretto (1518-1594), and then to Rome. Finally, he settled in Toledo, Spain. Tintoretto's influence is visible here in the colors and in the elongated figural proportions. The graphic depiction of blood, however, may reflect the Spanish interest in Christ's sufferings as a subject for meditation.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtChrist on the CrossOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.