Signed on 18 March 1586, the contract between Núñez and El Greco laid down specific iconographic demands, stipulated that the artist would pay for the materials, and provided for the delivery of the work until Christmas 1587. Greco must have worked at a frantic pace, and finished the painting between late 1587 and the spring of 1588. A long debate between the priests and the painter followed in relation to the value of the latter's work, for which the contract stipulated that it would be determined by appraisal.* M. Lambraki-Plaka, "A Tribute to El Greco", 75</ref> Initially intransigent, Greco eventually compromised and settled for the lower first "expert estimate", agreeing to receive 13,200 reales.* M. Lambraki-Plaka, "A Tribute to El Greco", 75* F. Philipp, "El Greco's Entombment", 77</ref>