Portrait of a Cardinal

El Greco painted Cardinal Fernando Nino de Guevara around 1600, during his years in Toledo. Guevara was the Grand Inquisitor of Spain, and El Greco gave him a portrait that is equal parts authority and unease. The cardinal stands full-length, facing the viewer, dressed in red robes and a red biretta. His spectacles sit on his nose, an unusual detail in a formal portrait. His right hand grips the arm of a chair, his left holds a paper. Behind him, a green curtain hangs at the left and an archway opens at the right. The canvas is roughly 44 by 63 inches, portrait format. The reds are deep and varied, from the scarlet of the robes to the darker red of the chair. El Greco had been in Toledo since 1577 and was the city's leading painter. He received commissions from the cathedral, the religious orders, and the intellectual elite. Guevara sat for this portrait in 1600, shortly before his appointment as Archbishop of Seville. The portrait was probably painted for the cardinal's private rooms. Spanish portraiture of the early 1600s was formal and severe. El Greco's portrait of Guevara belongs to the same tradition as the later portraits by Velazquez of Spanish courtiers and clerics. The spectacles are a striking choice. They humanize the cardinal while also suggesting the watchfulness required of an Inquisitor. Oil on canvas, 112 by 160 centimeters. El Greco painted the red robes in broad, energetic strokes, building the fabric in ridges of paint. The face is more carefully worked, with the eyes and mouth rendered in sharp detail. The spectacles are painted with thin, precise strokes. This portrait works in a study, library, or office. The deep reds and greens suit a room with dark wood, leather, and brass. The 18x24 framed version in a black frame gives the cardinal's figure enough presence. The 16x20 works in a smaller space. The painting is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession number 29.100. This is a public domain artwork, sourced from Wikimedia Commons. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 24x36 inches, framed or unframed. The image is printed at full resolution with no cropping.