The Martyrdom of St Maurice

Although declined to place El Greco’s Martyrdom of St Maurice on the altar of the Escorial church, for which it had originally been intended. Instead, he had a new painting on the same subject executed by Romulo Cincinnato. Since both works have survived, we can gain a good idea of the king’s points of criticism. Surprisingly, there is a great conformance between the two pictures in terms of composition, so we may assume that Cincinnato was asked follow El Greco’s model. A difference, on the other hand, is seen in Cincinnato’s stronger emphasis on the execution scene, which has been brought into the foreground.