Painting and Sculpture

Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple (El Greco, New York)

Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple also referred to as The Cleansing of the Temple and The Purification of the Temple is a 1595–1600 Christian art painting by El Greco, now on exhibit in the Frick Collection in New York City. It depicts the Cleansing of the Temple, an event in the Life of Christ. This version of Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple was painted approximately four years before his death in 1614. It is thought to be one of his last major works during his many prolific years in Toledo, Spain. This theme consumed El Greco during his career as evidenced by the numerous versions of the painting still on display throughout the world. The Cleansing of the Temple is considered to be one of El Greco's best-known religious paintings. Three other copies of the painting exist and a faithful reproduction is on display in the National Gallery in London. The London version has recently been deemed as authentic by scholars in the field of visual arts. Two versions and another on loan from Madrid are titled Purification of the Temple. The version at the National Gallery in Washington is called Christ Cleansing the Temple and is considered to be the original version. The church that serves as the backdrop in this scene is located in Madrid's Saint Gines Church. El Greco was exploring his work in the background architecture as well as the biblical meaning of this subject matter.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸Baglioni Madonna
• ▸Cem (river)
• ▸Joaquín Sorolla

Uncatalogued shelf

Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.