Portrait of a Trinitarian Friar

Domenikos Theotokopoulos, called El Greco Greek, 1541–1614 Portrait of a Trinitarian Friar, ca. 1609 Oil on canvas This painting of an unknown friar, who holds a case with spectacles, is one of El Greco’s last portraits. Although his expression is cool and detached, the friar’s robes are painted with energetic brushstrokes. This dynamic drapery conveys an intensity that perhaps symbolizes his religious devotion. In all of his portraits, El Greco emphasizes the sitters’ presence by depicting them in somber attitudes against sparse backgrounds. While today El Greco is known primarily for his religious paintings, in his own time he was recognized as a portraitist. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, 52-23

painting by El Greco (Museum: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art)