The animated essence of this stunning artwork by the renowned El Greco lies within the human and equine legs depicted. Positioned in the lower left quadrant of the painting, these legs embody a captivating combination of bone, sinew, and undulating contours. Through their simple repetition, they acquire an intriguing and peculiar quality that detaches them from their usual meaning, akin to the estrangement of a word uttered repeatedly.
El Greco conveys a profound message about the nature of reality and its impermanence. Nothing is concrete or solid in his portrayal; everything is subject to change and transience. This particular painting, standing over 6 feet tall, is held in the esteemed collection of the National Gallery of Art, with a smaller version found in the Art Institute of Chicago. Originally commissioned as an altarpiece for the San José chapel in Toledo, Spain, it portrays Martin of Tours, a 4th-century saint who transitioned from serving in the Roman army to becoming a Christian bishop in Tours. In the painting, Martin generously offers half of his cloak to a beggar while maintaining complete control over his white horse with just one hand on the reins. The beggar’s legs align with the three grounded legs of the horse, forging a visually harmonious connection.
An evocative interplay of rippling outlines resonates throughout the artwork, reflected not only in the legs but also in the beggar’s bare arm and bony chest. These contours seem to be bathed in an ethereal and elusive light, casting smoky shadows. El Greco masterfully renders these shadows with vibrant brushstrokes, exemplifying his distinct style from around 1600 until his death in 1614.
Divine intervention is a recurring theme in El Greco’s paintings. He offers viewers access to an alternative world through his quivering and billowing images. However, El Greco does not depict movement in a literal sense, tied to specific subjects or moments. Instead, he utilizes his understanding of change and transience to convey states of being outside our ordinary experience of the material world and its temporal constraints.
The painting of a saint dividing his cloak with a sword and giving half to a freezing beggar is not a frozen action or a fleeting instance frozen in time, akin to a photograph. It represents an ongoing process, a transformation, a religious event where two individuals open themselves to the currents of divine grace. El Greco aims for viewers to deeply perceive and feel this transformational power of compassion. To achieve this, he portrays Martin donning fashionable armor and includes a glimpse of Toledo, the saint’s hometown, visible through the horse’s legs, making the artwork relevant to contemporary audiences.
Simultaneously, El Greco transcends the everyday world by transporting viewers to a timeless space where forms echo and dissolve, only to regroup under the auspices of a profoundly new meaning. The painting invites contemplation of what this meaning might be—compassion, redemption, or perhaps something beyond the limitations of human words. Merely uttering these words is insufficient; El Greco, through the figure of Saint Martin, illuminates how to embody and live them fully.
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