El Greco's Masterpiece: Martyrdom of Saint Maurice

El Greco's Masterpiece: The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice

El Greco's painting, The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice, depicts the martyrdom of the Roman general Maurice and his entire legion for refusing to participate in the sacrifices to pagan gods.

Composition and Style

The unique, novel, and complex composition of the painting gives it a special attraction. In the foreground, Greco-Roman generals are shown discussing their predicament. They do so while enveloped in a supernatural atmosphere, where their gestures and attitudes denote a position of mystical acceptance.

In the background, using a curious perspective serpentinata, all the members of the Theban Legion are placed. Some are decapitated, while others await their fate. This synchronous vision blurs chronological development, confusing past and future, and denying the dimension of time. This reinforces the supernatural, idealized, mystical, and unearthly sense that El Greco unfolds in the scene.

Heavenly and Earthly Realms

As in many of his paintings, the earthly scene seamlessly merges with a degree of glory in the floating clouds. Angels joyfully await the future martyrs, holding palms in their hands. The angels are depicted in violent foreshortening, allowing for a perfect correlation between both the heavenly and earthly levels.

Spiritual Idealization

The earthly level of this work is less real than in El Greco's previous works, precisely because it is imbued with a strong spiritual and idealized sense. This is evident in the deformation of the characters, the gracefulness of their gestures, the stylization of their bodies, and the white light radiating from them, like rising flames. These elements perfectly symbolize their deep spirituality, faith, and belief in the mystical vision of martyrdom. They are, on the other hand, characteristic features of Mannerist painting.

Mannerist Elements and Compositional Rhythm

We can also add to this the cool colors and the dance-like positions of the generals in the foreground. They are perfectly interrelated not only through their gestural expression but also through a more subtle and nimble rhythmic line provided by the arms, hands, and even fingers of all of them. This is a true marvel of delicacy and formal compositional perfection.

Commission and Rejection by King Felipe II

The painting, as mentioned, was commissioned by King Felipe II. It represented a lost opportunity for El Greco to become a painter to the king's court. The truth is that the work, as conceived, did not please the monarch. The issue of martyrdom is not highlighted in the foreground but relegated to the background, a very Mannerist feature. Instead, the purely spiritual aspect of the event is emphasized. The king also disliked the cold colors and the Mannerist remnants, which he considered heterodox. For these reasons, and because El Greco's character opposed accepting any amendments that did not come from him, the king withdrew from further assignments, leaving the painter outside the Court.