Burial of the Count of Orgaz
| The Burial of the Count of Orgaz | |
|---|---|
| Spanish: El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz | |
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| Artist | El Greco |
| Year | 1586 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 480 cm × 360 cm (190 in × 140 in) |
| Location | Iglesia de Santo Tomé, Toledo, Spain |
The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (Spanish: El Entierro del Conde de Orgaz) is a painting by El Greco, a prominent Renaissance painter, sculptor, and architect of Greek origin. Widely considered among his finest works, it illustrates a popular local legend of his time. An exceptionally large painting, it is divided into two sections, heavenly above and terrestrial below, but it gives little impression of duality, since the upper and lower sections are brought together compositionally.
The painting has been lauded by art scholars, characterized, inter allia, as "one of the most truthful pages in the history of Spain", as a masterpiece of Western Art and of late Mannerism, and as the epitomy of Greco's artistic style.
The theme of the painting is inspired from a legend of the beginning of the 14th century. In 1312, a certain Don Gonzalo Ruiz, native of Toledo, and Señor of the town of Orgaz, died (his family later received the title of Count, by which he is generally and posthumously known). Don Gonzalo Ruiz was a descendant of the noble Palaiologos family, which produced the last ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. A pious Caballero, the Count of Orgaz was also a philanthropist, who, among other charitable acts, left a sum of money for the enlargement and adornment of the church of Santo Tomé (El Greco's parish church), where he wanted to be buried.
According to the legend, at the time the Count was buried, Saint Stephen and Saint Augustine descended in person from the heavens and buried him by their own hands in front of the dazzled eyes of those present. The event is depicted in the painting, with every detail of the work's subject described in the contract signed between Greco and the Church. The miracle is also mentioned in the Latin epitaphian inscription, set into the wall below the painting. Although Greco abided by the terms of the contract, he introduced some elements which "modernized" the legend, such as a series of features attributed to a 16th century customary funeral procession, the vestments of the two saints, as well as the depiction of eminent Toledan figures of his time. The "modernization" of the legend serves the didactic purpose of the painting, which, in accord with the Counter-Reformation doctrines, stresses the importance of both the worship of saints and of good deeds for the salvation of the soul.
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