Cardinal Fernando Niño de Guevara (1541–1609)
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
67 1/4 x 42 1/2in. (170.8 x 108cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
29.100.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the piercing gaze of *Cardinal Fernando Niño de (1541–1609)*, a masterful portrait by El Greco (Domenikos Theotok), painted around 1600. This oil-on-canvas work, measuring 67¼ × 42½ inches, captures the Spanish cardinal—Grand Inquisitor under King Philip III—in a moment of stern authority. El Greco, a Greek-born artist who thrived in Toledo, Spain, infuses the canvas with his signature Mannerist style: elongated proportions, dramatic chiaroscuro lighting, and vibrant, almost otherworldly colors that evoke spiritual intensity amid the Counter-Reformation era. The portrait's significance...