Christ Holding the Cross

El Greco painted this in Toledo around 1600, and it does something unusual with a familiar subject. Christ does not stagger under the cross or grimace in pain. He gathers it in both arms and rests it on his shoulder, lifting his eyes to the sky with a calm, almost willing expression. The crown of thorns is there, drawn precisely, and a few drops of blood run down his neck, but the face shows no anguish. This was made for private devotion in Counter-Reformation Spain, where images were meant to move the viewer to prayer, and El Greco painted several close versions for exactly that use. The luminous halo behind the head is shaped like a diamond.