Saint Martin and the Beggar by El Greco: what it depicts
Saint Martin and the Beggar by El Greco
A cloak cut in two
Martin, a young officer in gilded armour, reins in his white horse and draws his sword — not to fight, but to cut his cloak in two. Beside him stands a thin, naked beggar, reaching for the half being offered. According to his biographer Sulpicius Severus, Christ appeared to Martin that night in a dream wearing the same piece of cloak. The whole story of his conversion turns on this one gesture of charity.
Tall, bright and strange
The figures are painted in El Greco’s mature manner: elongated, with small heads and long limbs, set low against a sky of rolling cloud, with a tiny view of Toledo far below. The horse is almost too large for the canvas. The green of the cloak against the white horse and the gold armour is one of El Greco’s most vivid effects of colour.
The Chapel of San José
It was painted for the Chapel of San José in Toledo, along with a Madonna, and replaced there by a copy after it was sold. Peter Widener bought it for his collection in Pennsylvania, which his son gave to the National Gallery of Art in 1942.
Where it hangs
The canvas is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Widener Collection, and measures 194 by 103 centimetres.
About this print
Made from a 4,000-pixel photograph of the original, enough to print sharply at up to about 26 inches on its longest side.
Sources: National Gallery of Art, Washington (Widener Collection) · Wikidata Q6119366 · Wikimedia Commons
Who Made It
Created by El Greco. Painted in 1599. Oil on Canvas.
All Available Options
Below is a list of all available sizes and product types.
| Type | Size | Color | Price | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canvas | 10" x 20" (Vertical) | - | $53.18 | In Stock |
| Framed | 10" x 20" (Vertical) | Black | $101.29 | In Stock |
| Framed | 10" x 20" (Vertical) | Espresso | $101.29 | In Stock |
| Framed | 10" x 20" (Vertical) | White | $101.29 | In Stock |
Image: source, Public domain (work and photograph).
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