Christ Carrying the Cross (El Greco, New York) acquired as part of his collection by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it still hangs. It is on view in the Met museum's Gallery 818. Christ Carrying the Cross (El Greco, New York) Christ Carrying the Cross is a 1580 painting by El Greco, produced early in his Toledo period in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The picture depicts Christ's sacrifice for mankind as represented by his gentle embrace of the cross and his heavenward gaze. The artist frequently returned to the subject, as seen in works now in Madrid and Barcelona. Its
El Greco thought about Michelangelo, El Greco replied that "he was a good man, but he did not know how to paint". And thus we are confronted by a paradox: El Greco is said to have reacted most strongly or even condemned Michelangelo, but he had found it impossible to withstand his influence. Michelangelo's influence can be seen in later El Greco works such as the "Allegory of the Holy League". By painting portraits of Michelangelo, Titian, Clovio and, presumably, Raphael in one of his works ("The Purification of the Temple"), El Greco not only expressed his gratitude but also advanced the