GRECO, El
(b. 1541, Candia, d. 1614, Toledo)

Escutcheon with St Veronica's Veil

1579
Oil on wood, 90 x 130 cm
Private collection

The sudarium (the cloth with which Veronica wiped Christ's face on the way to Calvary) is shown like a precious object, surrounded by a carved frame that is held by two cherubs or putti. (The cherubs were carved by Juan Bautista Monegro (c. 1545-1621). The ensemble formed part of the elaborate frame of the main altarpiece for the Cistercian convent of Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo. Probably this was the last part of the altarpiece El Greco painted.

In the painting, El Greco created a hauntingly disembodied likeness, with Christ staring at the viewer in the fashion of a Byzantine icon.