Portrait of Dominican (or Trinitarian) Friar

El Greco's Portrait of a Dominican (or Trinitarian) Friar of around 1597 depicts a member of one of the mendicant religious orders with the penetrating psychological directness that distinguished his portraiture from conventional ecclesiastical representation. El Greco's Spanish period portraits of clergy and scholars are among the most psychologically compelling religious portraits in Western art, and his ability to suggest inner spiritual life through facial expression and posture gave his religious subjects an intensity that went beyond professional documentation.

El Greco renders the friar with his characteristic elongated proportions and luminous flesh tones against a dark background, using restrained color to focus attention on the subject's spiritual intensity.