Saint Martin and the Beggar
1597–1599 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- El Greco (1541–1614)
- Year
- 1597–1599
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 193.5 × 103 cm
- Collection
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
- Movement
- Renaissance
Saint Martin of Tours, as a young Roman soldier in gold-inlaid armour on a white horse, cuts his green cloak in two with his sword to share it with a nearly naked beggar standing beside him; behind them a low view of Toledo and the river opens under a bright blue sky with clouds. The legend tells that Christ appeared to Martin that night wearing the half cloak. El Greco received the commission on 9 November 1597 from the Chapel of Saint Joseph in Toledo, a private chapel founded by the Ramírez family, and painted it with a companion altarpiece, The Virgin and Child with Saint Martina and Saint Agnes, for side altars there. Both stayed in the chapel until 1906, when they were sold to the Philadelphia collector Peter A. B. Widener. El Greco also made a smaller replica of the composition, now in the Art Institute of Chicago, to sell on its own. The painting came to the National Gallery of Art in Washington in 1942 with the Widener Collection.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A young saint in gilded armour on a white horse sharing his green cloak under bright blue sky, for a hallway or landing at 24×36 in natural wood. A pale blue or white wall; it pairs with The Charging Chasseur (An Officer of the Imperial Horse Guards Charging).
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Renaissance painting
- Era
- 16th century (1597–1599)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cream & beige
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- hallway or entryway, home office, living room, dining room, dorm 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. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
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 Saint Martin and the Beggar in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Saint Martin and the Beggar painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
