Christ is dying on the Cross, which stands out against a stormy sky. El Greco broke with tradition by placing two of his contemporaries, whose physical features he was fond of depicting, at the foot of the cross instead of the Virgin and Saint John. One of the figures, whose identity remains unknown, commissioned him to paint this devotional picture for a convent in Toledo. Christ's twisting body and the swirling clouds are trademarks of the painter's mannerist style.