El Greco
Adoration of the Name of Jesus

The earliest reference to the painting appears in Francisco de los Santos, Descripción . . . del Escorial, published in 1657, when it was in the sacristy of the Pantheon: ". . . commonly called the 'Glory of El Greco' on account of the Glory above, but there is also represented, below, Purgatory and Hell, and on the other side, the Church Militant, with an immense number of the Faithful in adoration, raising their hands and eyes to Heaven, and among them Philip II; in the middle of the Glory is the Name of Jesus adored by Angels . . . signifying the words of Saint Paul In Nomine Jesu omne genu, flectatur Caelestium, Terrestrium, & Infernorum [Philippians 2:10]."

The subject, then, is the Adoration of the Name of Jesus, a Jesuit counterpart of the Adoration of the Lamb, and incorporates the 'Church Militant', represented by the Holy League. The popular title, the "Dream of Philip II," is more recent.

The three members of the Holy League, Spain, Venice and the Papal States are represented by the three kneeling figures of Philip II, Doge Mocenigo and Pope Pius V, and the one prominent figure of the foreground group, kneeling in heroic pose, and holding a sword, can represent no other than the general in charge at Lepanto. It is an ideal representation, while the King, Pope and Doge are actual portraits.

The spirit of universal adoration is brilliantly conveyed. For the general arrangement of the painting, El Greco seems, appropriately, to have referred to his Allegory of a Christian Knight, of the Modena Triptych. The figures of the King, Pope, Doge and Juan of Austria take the place of the three Theological Virtues. The Jaws of Hell and the representation of Purgatory are very similar. The figure of Don Juan of Austria is inspired by Michelangelo.