The Martyrdom of St. Maurice

The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice (1580-82), in the Royal Monastery of El Escorial, was painted as El Greco's most ambitious bid for Philip II's patronage — and became his greatest disappointment when the king rejected it. The painting depicts the Roman commander Maurice and his Theban Legion choosing martyrdom rather than sacrifice to pagan gods. Philip found El Greco's visionary style unsuitable for the Escorial's decoration, preferring the more conventional Italian manner, and the painting was placed in a secondary location.

The elongated figures and acidic, non-naturalistic colors demonstrate El Greco's mature rejection of conventional representation, with the foreground deliberation over martyrdom given more prominence than the actual execution in the background.