Saint Andrew

El Greco's Saint Andrew from around 1610 depicts Christ's first apostle, who according to tradition was crucified on an X-shaped cross — the 'crux decussata' that became his attribute. Andrew was a fisherman of Galilee whom Jesus called before his brother Peter, and his cult was particularly strong in Spain, where the House of Habsburg venerated him. El Greco's late saint figures achieve a visionary intensity through their elongated proportions, ecstatic upward gazes, and the supernatural luminosity that replaces conventional shading. By 1610, El Greco was in his late sixties and his style had reached its most spiritually concentrated expression, abandoning all earthly naturalism for a direct rendering of mystical states.

El Greco's late style is characterized by dramatically elongated proportions, flickering brushwork, and an otherworldly palette of cool blues, grays, and flashes of warm color. The figure seems to dissolve into light and shadow, with bold, visible strokes creating a sense of spiritual energy and transcendence.