Julian Romero de las Azanas and his patron St. Julian

Julian Romero de las Azanas and His Patron Saint Julian from around 1612-1614 in the Prado depicts a Spanish military commander kneeling before his patron saint in a devotional double portrait that combines portraiture with religious imagery. Julian Romero was a distinguished soldier who served Philip II in the Italian campaigns; the commissioning of this painting reflects the Spanish military aristocracy's practice of associating their earthly careers with celestial patronage. El Greco renders both figures with equal spiritual intensity — the saint no more supernatural than the kneeling soldier, the soldier no less devout than his heavenly patron. The work demonstrates El Greco's ability to honor his patron's social standing while maintaining his own uncompromising spiritual vision.

The composition pairs the kneeling soldier with the standing saint in a dramatic interplay of dark and light. El Greco's characteristic elongated figures and loose brushwork are tempered by the need for portrait likeness in the soldier's face.