# Christ Carrying the Cross

**El Greco** (Spanish, 1541–1614)  
ca. 1577–87  
Oil on canvas  
41 5/16 x 31 1/8 in. (105 x 79 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975.1.145. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/459087).

## About this work

Christ embraces the cross against an empty sky, his eyes raised heavenward and his long, slender fingers resting lightly on the wood. El Greco strips away the crowd and the road to Calvary found in most depictions of the subject, leaving a single half-length figure for private meditation. The composition proved so popular that he and his workshop painted it many times; this version dates from his first decade in Spain. Look at the contrast between the calm face and the crown of thorns, and between the deep red robe and the dark wood of the cross.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

El Greco painted this in about 1577–87, aged about 33. It is now at The Met in New York.

### 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](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/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._

## Facts

- Type: Paintings
- The artist was about 33
- Real size: about 41 × 31 in (105 × 79 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 20 × 30 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 16th century
- Subjects: Christ, Bearing the Cross
- Colour: black
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1258.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1258/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/christ-carrying-the-cross-met-459087).