Jesus stripped of his garments

By about 1600 this scene was one of the most sought-after images in Spain. Some 20 years earlier El Greco had painted Christ being stripped of his robe before the crucifixion for the sacristy of Toledo Cathedral, and that picture, known as El Espolio, made his name. Demand was such that his Toledo workshop turned out repetitions for other churches and private patrons, and this is one of them. It keeps the heart of the design: Christ in a burning red robe, hemmed in and pressed on every side by soldiers and onlookers, his eyes turned up and away from them. The exact hand here is unknown, which is why it carries no name, though it comes straight out of El Greco's circle.