Cardinal Fernando Niño de Guevara (1541–1609)ca. 1600
The cardinal sits in a high-backed chair, his crimson robes and lace rochet falling in shimmering folds, and looks out through round, horn-rimmed spectacles with a sharp, wary gaze. More about this work
About this work
The cardinal sits in a high-backed chair, his crimson robes and lace rochet falling in shimmering folds, and looks out through round, horn-rimmed spectacles with a sharp, wary gaze. Fernando Niño de Guevara served as Grand Inquisitor of Spain and later as archbishop of Seville, and El Greco paints him with an unsettling mix of splendour and tension: one hand grips the arm of the chair while the other hangs loosely. A slip of paper on the floor carries the artist’s signature in Greek. The flickering, almost electric brushwork in the silk is typical of El Greco’s mature style.
Written by Ochre Editions.
How it was made
- Oil paint
- Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.
El Greco
Spanish, 1541–1614 · Born in Iráklion (Candia); died in Toledo.
El Greco, “the Greek”, was born in Crete and trained in the Byzantine icon tradition before studying Venetian painting and working in Rome. From 1577 he lived in Toledo, where his first major commission was the high altarpiece of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, to which The Assumption of the Virgin belongs. His mature style, with elongated figures, flickering light and acid colour, found few imitators in his time but was rediscovered with enthusiasm by modern painters.
Written by Ochre Editions.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 29.100.5
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Paintings
- Department
- European Paintings
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
