Altarpiece of Saint Martin - The Mass of Saint Gregory

The Mass of Saint Gregory depicts the legendary vision that appeared to Pope Gregory the Great during the celebration of Mass — Christ rising from the altar as the Man of Sorrows, his wounds visible, surrounded by the instruments of the Passion. The vision was understood as proof of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and it became one of the most important devotional images of the late medieval period, its widespread reproduction in prints and panels correlating with the late medieval obsession with indulgenced images. Its inclusion in the Saint Martin Altarpiece at the Goya Museum reflects the broad Eucharistic devotional programme that large retablos were expected to contain.

Oil or tempera on panel. The Mass of Saint Gregory juxtaposes the liturgical setting — altar, cope-clad celebrant, assisting clergy — with the supernatural apparition above. The instruments of the Passion displayed around the Man of Sorrows provide a visual encyclopaedia of Passion devotion within a single compositional field.