''Christ on the Cross Adored by Two Donors'' is a c.1590 oil on canvas painting by El Greco, now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, Paris. Intended for a chapel in the

Hieronymite The Hieronymites, also formally known as the Order of Saint Jerome ( la, Ordo Sancti Hieronymi; abbreviated OSH), is a Catholic cloistered religious order and a common name for several congregations of hermit monks living according to the Rule o ...

monastery in Toledo, it was commissioned by one of the two figures shown beneath the cross in the places usually occupied by the Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist. These had previously been identified as the Covarrubias brothers, sons of the architect

Alonso de Covarrubias Alonso de Covarrubias ( Torrijos, Toledo 1488–1570) was a Spanish architect and sculptor of the Renaissance, active mainly in Toledo. Works Covarrubias' works include: His first work was associated with Antón Egas and Juan Guas, in a style t ...

, but now they are believed to be Dionisio Melgar on the left and an unknown inhabitant of Toledo (possibly Blas de Fuentechada or Pablo Rodríguez de Belalcázar) on the right. Melgar was a canon of the aforementioned monastery and may have been one of the commissioners. It was still in the monastery in 1715, but was acquired by

Louis Philippe of France Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

in the 19th century. It appeared in the 1908 autumn salon in Paris, where it was acquired by its present owners.

References

{{ACArt, country=ES El Greco category:1590s paintings category:Paintings by El Greco in the Louvre

See also

References