St John the Evangelist

Executed in oil on canvas, the work measures 99.7 cm in height and 78 cm in width. Stylistically aligned with Mannerism, its palette features crimson and yellow-green drapery set against a cloudy background, emphasizing the spiritual through sharply lit passages. The apostle is rendered in half-length, holding a chalice from which a small dragon emerges, a visual reference to the legend of his survival after drinking poison. The handling is rapid and sketch-like, with swift, precise brushwork that heightens the luminous, otherworldly atmosphere.

The composition’s formal qualities, elongated proportions, vivid yet unnatural color contrasts, and the interplay of light, reflect El Greco’s late-period manner, reinforcing the painting’s devotional character.

Executed during El Greco's final period in Toledo, this oil on canvas is dated variously to circa 1605 or specifically to 1609. Some scholarship suggests the work was commissioned by Cardinal Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas for the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Toledo, noting its strong compositional similarities to a version of the same subject held in that cathedral.

The painting entered the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid in 1921. It arrived at the museum as a bequest from the private collection of the collector César Cabañas Caballero.

The work St John the Evangelist by El Greco is held at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. It bears the inventory number P00968 and entered the museum in 1921 as part of the collection of César Cabañas Caballero. The painting has been exhibited in the museum's permanent collection displays and was included in a 1921 donation exhibition marking its accession.

The painting was created around 1605 during El Greco's final period in Toledo, Spain, and entered the Museo del Prado collection in 1921 from the private collection of César Cabañas Caballero. It depicts Saint John the Evangelist holding a chalice with a small dragon, referencing his survival of a poisoned cup of wine in prison, and exemplifies the Mannerist style through its use of crimson and greenish-yellow tones, rapid brushwork, and spiritual atmosphere. The work is closely related to another version of the same subject in Toledo Cathedral, sharing compositional elements such as a cloudy background and half-figure presentation of the apostle.

It was commissioned during this period by Cardinal Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas for the Cathedral of Toledo.

Created around 1605, this oil painting by El Greco portrays Saint John the Evangelist. Executed during the artist’s final years in Toledo, the work now forms part of the collection at Madrid’s Museo del Prado, where it has been displayed since its donation in the early twentieth century.