The 1586 painting, Burial of the Count of Orgaz is considered El Greco’s greatest work, which he created during his later mannerist phase of the High Renaissance. Mannerist paintings are known for their exaggerated proportions of figures and structures and the use of very intense colors.

The painting is large, almost 16’ by 12’, oil on canvas divided into two halves with the Count being buried by Saints Stephan and Augustine, per local legend, in the lower half and in the upper half his soul, depicted as a child, is transported to heaven.

The painting was commissioned by El Greco’s parish priest, Andres Nunez de Madrid, to remind Orgaz’s relatives that they were obligated by the Count’s will to provide a yearly donation to his church in Toledo, Spain.

Source: El Greco by Michael Scholz-Hansel, 2016, Taschen. Graphic: Burial of the Count of Orgaz by El Greco, Public Domain