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Lot Essay
This small, expressive painting was likely part of a series, known as an Apostolate (Apostolado), which would have included twelve additional paintings of the Apostles. Following the tradition of the Byzantine icon paintings of El Greco’s youth, the Savior is shown frontally, with his right hand raised in benediction and his left hand resting on a crystalline sphere representing Christ’s dominion over the universe. The bold, energetic handling of paint as well as the juxtaposition of intense hues of brilliant whites and deep reds are characteristic of El Greco’s late style, in which the artist used increasingly unblended brushstrokes to create an animated surface. Indeed, although none of the original commissions for El Greco’s Apostolates are known, the series have all been dated by scholars to the final stage of the artist’s career, between 1600 and his death in 1614 (see A.E. Pérez Sánchez, B.N. Prieto and R.A. Alonso, El Greco. Apostolados, exhibition catalogue, La Coruña, 2002, pp. 25 ff.). At this time, El Greco's work was very much in demand, and the artist often turned to his studio assistants to help him execute commissions. Consequently, the quality of individual paintings within a single Apostolate can vary, with some particularly strong works bearing El Greco’s signature, while others are clearly based on the master’s models but executed by another hand.
The subject of Christ in Benediction, sometimes also called Christ the Redeemer or Salvator Mundi, is one of the most celebrated and recognizable compositions in El Greco’s oeuvre, the most famous examples being the paintings from the two Apostolates in Toledo’s Cathedral and Museo del Greco. The present work derives from the Christ in Benediction paintings from these series, but presents Christ bust-length rather than three-quarter length, and moves the position of the celestial globe from the lower center to the lower right of the canvas. Typologically, the Stillman Christ belongs to a group of Apostolate paintings by El Greco and his studio that includes the versions in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh; the Galleria Parmeggiani, Reggio Emilia; the Museo de Cáceres; and the Museo de Belles Artes, Oviedo. The last of these, from the Apostolado of the Marquis of San Feliz (see ibid., no. 19, pp. 271-72) is typologically closest to the present work, as they both present Christ with his head slightly turned to his left and, most notably, depict the Savior in a red tunic without the blue mantle that he normally wears in El Greco’s paintings.
The relatively small dimensions of the Stillman Christ are nearly identical to the known works from the Arteche Apostolate, including the Saint Luke and Saint James the Greater (each 36.5 x 26 cm.) sold at Christie’s, Madrid, 5 October 2005, lots 4 and 5 (€1,199,200 and €997,600, respectively). The paintings from the Arteche series were probably still in El Greco’s studio at the time of the artist’s death, and were sold by Jorge Manuel to the Hospital Tavera in Toledo before 1624. They were then sold in 1631, most likely to Andrés Martínez Calvo, the Hospital’s chaplain who, perhaps not coincidentally, had served as executor of the estate of the wife of Jorge Manuel, El Greco’s son. By the early 20th century, the paintings were with the art dealer Sr. Arteche in Madrid, who broke up the series and sold them as individual pieces. Although several works from the Arteche series have been identified, the location of the Christ in Benediction remains unknown (see H.E. Wethey, El Greco and his School, II. Catalogue Raisonné, Princeton, 1962, p. 213-14).
The subject of Christ in Benediction, sometimes also called Christ the Redeemer or Salvator Mundi, is one of the most celebrated and recognizable compositions in El Greco’s oeuvre, the most famous examples being the paintings from the two Apostolates in Toledo’s Cathedral and Museo del Greco. The present work derives from the Christ in Benediction paintings from these series, but presents Christ bust-length rather than three-quarter length, and moves the position of the celestial globe from the lower center to the lower right of the canvas. Typologically, the Stillman Christ belongs to a group of Apostolate paintings by El Greco and his studio that includes the versions in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh; the Galleria Parmeggiani, Reggio Emilia; the Museo de Cáceres; and the Museo de Belles Artes, Oviedo. The last of these, from the Apostolado of the Marquis of San Feliz (see ibid., no. 19, pp. 271-72) is typologically closest to the present work, as they both present Christ with his head slightly turned to his left and, most notably, depict the Savior in a red tunic without the blue mantle that he normally wears in El Greco’s paintings.
The relatively small dimensions of the Stillman Christ are nearly identical to the known works from the Arteche Apostolate, including the Saint Luke and Saint James the Greater (each 36.5 x 26 cm.) sold at Christie’s, Madrid, 5 October 2005, lots 4 and 5 (€1,199,200 and €997,600, respectively). The paintings from the Arteche series were probably still in El Greco’s studio at the time of the artist’s death, and were sold by Jorge Manuel to the Hospital Tavera in Toledo before 1624. They were then sold in 1631, most likely to Andrés Martínez Calvo, the Hospital’s chaplain who, perhaps not coincidentally, had served as executor of the estate of the wife of Jorge Manuel, El Greco’s son. By the early 20th century, the paintings were with the art dealer Sr. Arteche in Madrid, who broke up the series and sold them as individual pieces. Although several works from the Arteche series have been identified, the location of the Christ in Benediction remains unknown (see H.E. Wethey, El Greco and his School, II. Catalogue Raisonné, Princeton, 1962, p. 213-14).