# Christ Carrying the Cross [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [GRECO, El]() - Date: 1551-1600 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 108 x 78 cm ## Commentary El Greco treated the theme many times in Spain, there are seven closely <A onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/g/greco\_el/08/0811grec.html'\)" HREF="/html/g/greco\_el/08/0811grec.html">related versions</A> of this successful composition for private meditation. The earliest dates from soon after the Espolio, to which it is essentially related. The subject of the Espolio is not repeated, but the Christ becomes the prototype for the Christ Carrying the Cross. This is a signed, late version. The reason for the popularity of El Greco's devotional paintings is obvious. Not only are they brilliantly rendered; they also capture the piety and emotion of Counter-Reformation spirituality and provided a stimulus for prayer and devotion. ## 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]()