El Greco (Candia, Crete, 1541 - Toledo, Spain, 1614)
The Holy Family with Saint Anne
ca. 1590-1595
Oil on canvas
Parish of St. Leocadia and St. Roman of Toledo
On loan to the Santa Cruz Museum, Toledo
Courtesy Archdiocese of Toledo


This Holy Family with Saint Anne or Saint Elisabeth revealing the sexual nudity of the sleeping Jesus is one of the Cretan painter’s most complex compositions, combining the themes of private devotion and portraits in a masterful way. The Virgin hugs her mother or cousin as she holds the Child, about whom the older woman is concerned, safely in her lap. The little St. John the Baptist asks for our silence as he offers fruit from a glass dish. Recent restoration work has uncovered the portrait of a superb unknown character dressed in green who had long been hidden by the background of clouds. 


Opening exhibition of the MOSTRA ESPANHA 2015