The Burial of Count Orgaz, from a Legend of 1323, 1586-88
El Greco
This is one of my favorite paintings ever it is called The Burial of Count Orgaz, from a Legend of 1323, 1586-88, painted by El Greco. I saw it when I was visiting Spain. It depicts a legend from 1312 about the funeral of the Count Orgaz. When I was in Spain a man told me about the secrets hidden in this painting that are not mentioned in many art history text books. The two men holding his body are St. Stephen and St. Augustine. St. Augustine is the one on the left. If you look carefully the picture on the bottom of his robe is a picture of St. Augustine’s death- being stoned to death. (That’s how we know that’s him). The boy next to St. Augustine, pointing to the dead body is the artist’s son (El Greco). El Greco liked to put his family members in the paintings. I am pretty sure Le Greco did not want to paint this painting, and since he had to, he decided to put his family in the painting. If you look above St. Augustine’s head there is a man waving towards the viewer. There is Le Greco him self! The world above is the entry to heaven. The women in the red and blue is the Virgin Mary however Le Greco painted her to look exactly like his wife. The man to the right of the Virgin Mary is John the Baptist. Below them is an angle holding a transparent baby. It is supposed to represent the Count Orgaz’s spirit being reborn into heaven. The cloud tubes leading up into the picture represent the “birth canals.” At the top of the birth canals is Christ. The last thing I remembered that the man told me was to look at the man holding the keys in the sky. What are they for? The answer is: for the gate leading to heaven. But why are there 2 keys? The answer is that Le Greco went according to the Bible. In the bible it says “the keys to heaven.” Since the word in the Bible was plural, he made 2 keys. That’s all I know about the painting but I am sure there are many other cool hidden facts in it!
This is one of my favorite paintings ever it is called The Burial of Count Orgaz, from a Legend of 1323, 1586-88, painted by El Greco. I saw it when I was visiting Spain. It depicts a legend from 1312 about the funeral of the Count Orgaz. When I was in Spain a man told me about the secrets hidden in this painting that are not mentioned in many art history text books. The two men holding his body are St. Stephen and St. Augustine. St. Augustine is the one on the left. If you look carefully the picture on the bottom of his robe is a picture of St. Augustine’s death- being stoned to death. (That’s how we know that’s him). The boy next to St. Augustine, pointing to the dead body is the artist’s son (El Greco). El Greco liked to put his family members in the paintings. I am pretty sure Le Greco did not want to paint this painting, and since he had to, he decided to put his family in the painting. If you look above St. Augustine’s head there is a man waving towards the viewer. There is Le Greco him self! The world above is the entry to heaven. The women in the red and blue is the Virgin Mary however Le Greco painted her to look exactly like his wife. The man to the right of the Virgin Mary is John the Baptist. Below them is an angle holding a transparent baby. It is supposed to represent the Count Orgaz’s spirit being reborn into heaven. The cloud tubes leading up into the picture represent the “birth canals.” At the top of the birth canals is Christ. The last thing I remembered that the man told me was to look at the man holding the keys in the sky. What are they for? The answer is: for the gate leading to heaven. But why are there 2 keys? The answer is that Le Greco went according to the Bible. In the bible it says “the keys to heaven.” Since the word in the Bible was plural, he made 2 keys. That’s all I know about the painting but I am sure there are many other cool hidden facts in it!
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