The Vision of Saint John (The Opening of the Fifth Seal)
c. 1608–1614 · Oil on canvas · The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- El Greco (1541–1614)
- Year
- c. 1608–1614
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 222.3 × 193 cm
- Collection
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Movement
- Renaissance
Saint John the Evangelist, in a long blue robe, kneels at the left and throws up his arms towards a turbulent sky, while behind him naked figures, the souls of martyrs, rise and reach for the yellow, green and red robes that putti hand down to them. The subject is from Revelation 6:9–11, the opening of the fifth seal, when the souls beneath the altar cry out for justice and are given white robes. El Greco painted the canvas in his last years, about 1608–1614, for a side altar of the church of the Hospital of Saint John the Baptist outside the walls of Toledo, and it was left unfinished at his death. The upper part was cut away and lost in a damaging restoration in 1880. The painter Ignacio Zuloaga bought it in 1897 and showed it to visitors in Paris; Picasso saw it there while working on Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, and it is often cited as an influence on that picture. The Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired it in 1956.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A kneeling saint in pale blue with raised arms under grey storm cloud, elongated figures in ochre and green, for a study or stair wall at 24×36 in black. A charcoal or deep green wall; it pairs with The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Renaissance painting
- Era
- 17th century (c. 1608–1614)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Vision of Saint John (The Opening of the Fifth Seal) in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Vision of Saint John (The Opening of the Fifth Seal) painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
