St. James the Less
Artist
Domenikos Theotokopoulos "El Greco"
Greek, active in Italy and Spain, 1541 - 1614
Dateca. 1595
Place of OriginToledo, Spain
Place of BirthCrete, Greece
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsStretcher: 24 3/4 × 19 3/4 in. (62.9 × 50.2 cm)
Frame Dimensions: 34 5/8 × 30 in. (87.9 × 76.2 cm)
Frame Dimensions: 34 5/8 × 30 in. (87.9 × 76.2 cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineThe Hyde Collection Trust, 1952
Object number1971.18
On View
On viewCollections
DescriptionThis image of St. James the Less was part of a series of half-length paintings of Christ blessing surrounded by the twelve Apostles, by El Greco and/or his workshop. Multiple versions of the set of thirteen canvases survive; the particular set from which this James comes is called the Henke Apostles, after the collector Don Alberto Henke in Seville, Spain, the owner of the group from 1900 to 1930. - European Paintings & Sculpture
The figure’s identification as St. James is mostly through the process of elimination, as the other Apostles in the series carry identifying attributes. While commonly in the other versions of the series James wears blue and yellow while holding a book and sometimes a fuller’s stick (the object of his martyrdom), here his hands remain empty of attributes and, most unusually, his robes are blue over rose. James is also sometimes identified by his likeness to Christ, as St. Paul called him "the Lord’s brother" (Galatians 1.19), a reference to their close relationship. But several art historians have proposed James may function as a self-portrait of the artist.
El Greco’s unique style blends the distortions found in Italian Mannerism with the linear spirituality found in Byzantine icons. His figures characteristically appear disembodied: gaunt, almost fleshless, they move with a sense of immateriality, with strangely elongated limbs and expressive hands. Here James’ body appears lost inside his voluminous drapery, his expressive left hand seemingly detached from his shoulder and upper arm.
Text by Penny Howell Jolly, Professor Emerita of Art History, Skidmore College, February 2026Exhibition HistoryNew York, Institute of Fine Arts, Dec. 23 - Mar. 29, 1952. (Many of the works were solicited by Wildenstein and Co).ProvenanceSeville, Spain, Galeria Lopez y Canaveral
Seville, Spain, Collection Don Alberto Henke
New York, NY, Lilienfield Galleries
1949, Glens Falls, NY, Mrs. Charlotte P. Hyde
1952, Glens Falls, NY, The Hyde Collection Trust
