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Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus
Domenico Theotokopoulos (El Greco) • Painting, 1580, 55.1×33.8 cm
Description of the artwork «Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus»
El Greco had hard relationship with the Spanish royal court. Like any ambitious creator of that time, he aspired to become a court painter, so as to have enough commissions and funds. He got this chance in June 1579.
The huge royal palace, El Escorial, near Madrid was the most lucriferous place for artists. To decorate it, King Philip II selected the best of the best; for this purpose, fashionable Italian painters were called to the court, and Titian was among them. El Greco also strived to get into the circle of the elite: according to one version, this was the main reason why he arrived in Spain.
The Cretan decided to catch his luck during the king’s visit to the city of Toledo, where the artist lived. For his arrival, he painted a picture with the participation of the royal person, The Dream of Philip II also known as Allegory of the Holy League and Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus. El Greco managed to put so much on one canvas that all three names have their right to exist.
What does El Greco’s Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus painting consist of?
The composition is crowned with a three-letter monogram, derived from the abbreviation of the Greek spelling of the name Jesus (Ἰησοῦς — Ihsous), surrounded by a host of angels and saints. In this form, it has existed since the 9th century as a seal on the coins of the Byzantine Empire. Later, the Catholics began to use the IHS monogram to decorate various church utensils. And in the 16th century, these three letters were interpreted as Iesum Habemus Socium, which in Latin means “Jesus is our Companion” or more literarily, “God with Us”.
The lower left corner is left to the mercy of the one for whom, in fact, the whole picture was intended. King Philip II is depicted kneeling in the company of a venerable audience: Pope Pius V and Doge Alvise I Mocenigo, head of the Venetian Republic. On 25 May 1571, the three signed an agreement to create the Holy League, a military coalition of Catholic states to fight the Ottoman Empire, which sought to seize the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.
According to one version, El Greco timed the creation of the painting with the death of Don Juan of Austria, brother of Philip II, in 1578. Under his leadership, the troops of the Holy League defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto. Since the Turks were Muslims, they were considered infidels, and the war against them was also religious. The mouth of the mythical monster Leviathan, floating in the fiery hell in the right corner of the picture, devours the lost souls of heretics in huge numbers.
Have Did El Greco achieved this goal?
Yes and no. At first, he managed to arouse the interest of the king, and he arranged a personal meeting with him. It turned out that Titian himself had previously recommended the author of the painting dedicated to the crowned person. Refusing the invitation to paint the palace due to his old age, he wrote a letter to Philip II about his young and talented student from the island of Crete, who deserved to replace him in this important matter.
The ruler did not follow the advice of the eminent artist immediately and decided to put El Greco to the test, ordering him to paint The Martyrdom of St. Mauritius altarpiece for the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in 1580. With this work, things did not go well right away: the artist hesitated to complete the assignment, citing the lack of funds to purchase the necessary consumables. The monarch ordered to satisfy his needs and provide him with precious ultramarine, so that “the work could be performed with the perfection with which an artist in king’s service should work”.
Despite the amount of ultramarine used and the fact that the artistic merit of El Greco’s Martyrdom of Saint Mauritius is in no way inferior, and perhaps even better than his Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus that attracted the attention of the emperor, the painting failed to become the fateful canvas and fulfil the mission entrusted to it... The artist interpreted the religious scene too freely and devoted the foreground not to the very moment of the saint’s martyrdom, but to his conversation with his comrades, in which they decided to sacrifice their lives for the faith.
Philip II was very religious, and he was more interested in following the canons, rather than artistic heights. Therefore, the coveted job in Escorial went to the Italian Romulo Cincinnato (who remembers this name now?). And the ill-fated canvas took its place on one of the walls of the monastery, adjacent to the royal palace.
The original painting (140x110 cm), which gave El Greco his chance to make his dream come true, is still kept there. The artist also painted small copies of some of his works to keep in his studio. And the copy of Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus held by the National Gallery in London is one of them.
Written by Natalia Azarenko
The huge royal palace, El Escorial, near Madrid was the most lucriferous place for artists. To decorate it, King Philip II selected the best of the best; for this purpose, fashionable Italian painters were called to the court, and Titian was among them. El Greco also strived to get into the circle of the elite: according to one version, this was the main reason why he arrived in Spain.
The Cretan decided to catch his luck during the king’s visit to the city of Toledo, where the artist lived. For his arrival, he painted a picture with the participation of the royal person, The Dream of Philip II also known as Allegory of the Holy League and Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus. El Greco managed to put so much on one canvas that all three names have their right to exist.
What does El Greco’s Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus painting consist of?
The composition is crowned with a three-letter monogram, derived from the abbreviation of the Greek spelling of the name Jesus (Ἰησοῦς — Ihsous), surrounded by a host of angels and saints. In this form, it has existed since the 9th century as a seal on the coins of the Byzantine Empire. Later, the Catholics began to use the IHS monogram to decorate various church utensils. And in the 16th century, these three letters were interpreted as Iesum Habemus Socium, which in Latin means “Jesus is our Companion” or more literarily, “God with Us”.
The lower left corner is left to the mercy of the one for whom, in fact, the whole picture was intended. King Philip II is depicted kneeling in the company of a venerable audience: Pope Pius V and Doge Alvise I Mocenigo, head of the Venetian Republic. On 25 May 1571, the three signed an agreement to create the Holy League, a military coalition of Catholic states to fight the Ottoman Empire, which sought to seize the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.
According to one version, El Greco timed the creation of the painting with the death of Don Juan of Austria, brother of Philip II, in 1578. Under his leadership, the troops of the Holy League defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto. Since the Turks were Muslims, they were considered infidels, and the war against them was also religious. The mouth of the mythical monster Leviathan, floating in the fiery hell in the right corner of the picture, devours the lost souls of heretics in huge numbers.
Have Did El Greco achieved this goal?
Yes and no. At first, he managed to arouse the interest of the king, and he arranged a personal meeting with him. It turned out that Titian himself had previously recommended the author of the painting dedicated to the crowned person. Refusing the invitation to paint the palace due to his old age, he wrote a letter to Philip II about his young and talented student from the island of Crete, who deserved to replace him in this important matter.
The ruler did not follow the advice of the eminent artist immediately and decided to put El Greco to the test, ordering him to paint The Martyrdom of St. Mauritius altarpiece for the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in 1580. With this work, things did not go well right away: the artist hesitated to complete the assignment, citing the lack of funds to purchase the necessary consumables. The monarch ordered to satisfy his needs and provide him with precious ultramarine, so that “the work could be performed with the perfection with which an artist in king’s service should work”.
Despite the amount of ultramarine used and the fact that the artistic merit of El Greco’s Martyrdom of Saint Mauritius is in no way inferior, and perhaps even better than his Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus that attracted the attention of the emperor, the painting failed to become the fateful canvas and fulfil the mission entrusted to it... The artist interpreted the religious scene too freely and devoted the foreground not to the very moment of the saint’s martyrdom, but to his conversation with his comrades, in which they decided to sacrifice their lives for the faith.
Philip II was very religious, and he was more interested in following the canons, rather than artistic heights. Therefore, the coveted job in Escorial went to the Italian Romulo Cincinnato (who remembers this name now?). And the ill-fated canvas took its place on one of the walls of the monastery, adjacent to the royal palace.
The original painting (140x110 cm), which gave El Greco his chance to make his dream come true, is still kept there. The artist also painted small copies of some of his works to keep in his studio. And the copy of Adoration of the Holy Name of Jesus held by the National Gallery in London is one of them.
Written by Natalia Azarenko
