Christ Blessing, The Saviour of the World

Before he was El Greco, the Greek, Domenikos Theotokopoulos trained as an icon painter on Crete, and around 1600, settled by then in Toledo, that early training still shows here. Christ faces us head on, one hand raised in blessing, the way a Byzantine Pantocrator stares out from a golden church dome. This is the central figure of an apostolado, a set showing Christ together with his twelve apostles, and El Greco and his workshop painted several such series for the churches and hospitals of Toledo. One small choice stands out. Instead of the book of scripture that such figures usually hold, this Christ rests his hand on a clear crystal globe, the world itself, catching the light.