In Saint Sebastian (El Greco, 1576–1579), how is the An uncertain history and ownership discussed?
The precise details of the provenance of this particular work are, of necessity, based largely on conjecture. Based on stylistic clues and the available documentation, scholars have dated it to El Greco's first decade in Spain, or roughly 1576–79. Many scholars have suggested that as El Greco's first major commission in Spain, the decoration of three altarpieces in the convent Santo Domingo el Antiguo (Monastery of Saint Dominic of Silos (the Old))—as indicated by a contract signed a month after that for The Disrobing of Christ which would hang in the vestry of the Cathedral at Toledo—was obtained for him by Diego de Castilla, dean of the cathedral and father of El Greco's friend Luis it might be logically assumed that the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian was painted for the same patron. Indeed, the assumption, based on stylistic similarity and the historical timeline of the Cretan painter's career, seems to have obtained such currency that Johnathan Brown, for example, in his discussion of the Palencia Sebastian, simply notes that it was “possibly painted for Diego de Castilla” without further discussion. And yet, this assignment of patronage is not universally accepted. Providing an alternative theory of how the painting came to Palencia, Jesus San Martin Payo, based on his study of a sixteenth century manuscript by Dr. Ascencio Garcia on the history of the diocese of Palencia, suggests that the painting was originally owned by Don Juan Alonso de Cordoba the “right arm of the bishop don Juan Ramirez Zapata de Cardenas, patron of the chapel of San Jeronimo, and in whose sacristy” (brazo derecho del obispo don Juan Ramirez Zapata de Cardenas, patrono de la capilla de San Jeronimo, y en cuya sacristia) the painting by El Greco can currently be found. As Juan Ramirez Zapata de Cardenas served as Bishop of the diocese from 1570 until his death in 1577, this alternative theory would indicate that the Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian would actually predate El Espolio, or The Disrobing of Christ, which is generally considered the artist's first known Spanish work.
The Disrobing of Christ Diego de Castilla Monastery of Saint Dominic of Silos (the Old) El Greco El Espolio right Cathedral diocese of Palencia Saint Sebastian