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

The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (detail)

1586-88
Oil on canvas
Santo Tomé, Toledo

El Greco's most famous representation of the relationship between Heaven and Earth is The Burial of the Count of Orgaz. In the lower half there is a realistic representation of a burial service with contemporary mourners. Above the mourners' head, an angel spirals heavenwards bearing the soul of the count, in the insubstantial form of a child, to face its private judgment. The celestial vision is characterized by a pronounced elongation and flattening of the painting, following the practice of Pontormo and Tintoretto before him.