# The Holy Family [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [GRECO, El]() - Date: 1551-1600 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 106 x 87,5 cm ## Commentary The Holy Family c. 1585 Oil on canvas, 106 x 87,5 cm The Hispanic Society of America, New York It was only after El Greco moved to Spain that he treated the theme of the Madonna and Child in both half-length and full-length format, however, he invariably included St Joseph, in keeping with the new prominence the saint was given in Counter-Reformation theology. The painting of the Hispanic Society of America is one of El Greco's finest paintings and his earliest treatment of the theme. It served as the point of departure for a <A onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/g/greco\_el/10/1004grec.html'\)" HREF="/html/g/greco\_el/10/1004grec.html">larger canvas</A> in the Hospital of St John the Baptist in Toledo \(Tavera Hospital\), in which the composition was enriched by the inclusion of St Anne to the left of the Virgin. ## Related artworks - [A Boy Blowing on an Ember to Light a Candle \(Soplón\)]() - [A Lady in a Fur Wrap]() - [A Prelate]() - [A View of Toledo \(detail\)]() - [A View of Toledo]() - [Adoration of the Shepherds \(detail\)]() - [Adoration of the Shepherds]() - [Adoration of the Shepherds]() - [Allegory of the Camaldolese Order]() - [Altarpiece]() - [An Allegory with a Boy Lighting a Candle in the Company of an Ape and a Fool \(Fábula\)]() - [An Allegory with a Boy Lighting a Candle in the Company of an Ape and a Fool \(Fábula\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()