Original subtitles

[choir singing]

[orchestra playing Classical music]

Have you got them?

In here, but It'll cost you--

Come.

in the 16th century,

spain was a land of great art

and great intolerance.

the family arrogance of the ruling classes

forbade any outsider to step across

their aristocratic boundaries.

under the watchful eye of the spanish inquisition,

the people lived within the confines

of a strict set of rules.

the only defiance of the church

came from experimenters

regarded by the church as dabblers in black magic

to be sought out, imprisoned, and tortured.

No love for the agents Of the holy office, That one.

Who could blame A man for that?

What i've given you Is a fair price.

[squealing]

[ribbits]

[donkey braying]

We're from italy, My lord.

My master Has been commissioned By don diego de castilla.

Ah. So you are A painter, eh?

In rome they call him El greco.

So don diego will have you Paint us a few more madonnas

And saints And shining angels,

All poised In everlasting glory, eh?

I'm first instructed To paint

The assumption Of the virgin.

Maestro, i do not Doubt your words,

But if you are an artist Of such consequence,

Why choose to sleep In our marketplace?

There was a little Misunderstanding, sir. My master--

I quite understand.

It's just along here.

You'll like it, I'm sure.

There. That's my door. My magnificent palace.

Uh, leave The horses there. Come along.

Safer?

The holy office Is very inquisitive.

They hunt for heresies As industriously as Birds look for worms.

I don't think They'll find cause To cross my path.

We have a useful Saying here--

Keep out of The clutches Of the claw.

The claw?

Cardinal don fernando Nino de guevara,

The inquisitor general.

I'll be working For the church, Not against it.

Don diego de castilla.

Yes?

Don diego,

I am domenikos Theotokopoulos.

I beg your pardon?

The painter From rome, sir.

Your brother, Luis de castilla,

Arranged the commission On your behalf.

Oh, yes, yes, yes.

My good fellow, This is hardly The time or place.

I am just arrived, sir, At your invitation.

It is customary To pay one's respects.

If you need money For the night--

So your eye is set On the escorial.

You will find king philip A difficult master To please.

I'm advised He has a liking

For the supernatural And fantastic.

Any man who Commissions the work Of hieronymous bosch--

You are very Sure of yourself, Domenikos theotokopoulos.

I'm sure Only of my art.

And impulsive, too.

This place, Our entertainment This evening

Has certainly Put you in debt.

Your gestures Are charming, But too expensive.

Our contract Is my security.

And mine, too.

This morning i had Three new clauses Added.

The six paintings For the retablo major

And for the side altars

Must follow The preliminary sketches

You delivered To my brher.

And a further Stipulation--

You will paint the canvases With your own hands, Without assistance,

And not undertake Other work until They are completed.

And lastly,

You will not remove your Canvases from this city

To finish them Elsewhere.

But that's imprisonment.

Is it? Why?

To be trapped Here in toledo?

Is the prospect So disagreeable?

Frankly, yes.

Tonight you are Invited to our autosacramental.

The very spirit Of toledo

Governs Our morality plays.

I want to see Your enjoyment of it.

You see, my friend,

We already like you.

In turn, You must learn To like us...

And our city.

[drums playing]

[music playing]

[speaking foreign language]

[shouting]

Who's that over there?

Jeronima. Jeronima.

Yes, father.

Come with me.

Doña jeronima, Your servant.

My dear, we have here Domenikos theotok--

Greek names are devilish Tongue-twisters.

Theotokopoulos.

Exactly. The maestro Will be painting your Portrait for me.

When?

My dear girl, arrange It to suit yourself.

Come.

Jeronima: "as always, My heart is with you In toledo."

Ha ha ha!

"oh, what are you doing Today, my jeronima?"

Ohh.

"i am so very impatient For the sight of you

That i can neither Eat nor sleep."

Ha ha ha!

"even my fencing master Tells me i am no more use."

Oh, poor luis.

He's quite fading away.

Jeronima: i've always Wanted my husband to Be just that way--

Devoted and Wonderfully slim.

Maestro, A thousand pardons.

Ha ha ha!

Hope the maestro Doesn't mind Waiting.

And don't you think... [indistinct]

[laughter]

Your head round More to me.

Maestro, i get very Tired of looking at you.

Then merely pretend I don't exist.

That shouldn't be Difficult for you.

Are you always Disagreeable with Your sitters?

Whenever they Deserve it.

And did your roman Ladies of quality

Ever deserve it?

Rome is a sophisticated Capital, my lady.

Our problem here Is a provincial one.

Maestro, you forget That until recently,

Toledo was the Capital of spain.

Precisely 17 years ago.

Mm-hmm. And i was 3.

Now i understand What drove your poor King to madrid.

[women laughing]

Stop that at once. Come back into the house.

Oh.

Doña jeronima...

If you want me to Paint your portrait,

Tomorrow you will Have to pose alone.

Alone?

But, my lady, You know very well

Your father gave Clear instructions--

Enough, zaida.

I don't see The point of that.

You see, my lady, this Model had manners enough To stand still.

[choir singing hymn]

Ah, we are pleased To welcome you.

Your excellency Is most kind.

Eminence, gentlemen...

May i present to you The painting of The burial of count orgaz

By domenikos Theotokopoulos.

I trust you sought

Father felix De paravicino's Helpful advice

Concerning the official Attitude to such A concept as this?

I experienced no need For such guidance.

My inspiration--

A painter Of religious pictures

Always requires guidance From the church.

Inaccuracies of color And sacrilegious Exaggerations

Are easily perpetrated.

I appreciate that, Your eminence.

Moreover, Such errors Are punishable.

In my capacity Of grand inquisitor,

I must ruthlessly Exterminate All heresies,

Be they nurtured In the mind Or on canvas.

An expolio.

An expolio, maestro.

But i command you This time

Not to deny yourself The guidance Of father felix.

The composition Will be narrow And vertical.

Centrally, A majestic christ

Surrounded by-- Yet isolated from-- The surging mob.

Nothing grotesque Or cruel.

I have a natural Abhorrence of cruelty

In any shape or form.

Come on. Come on.

[women giggling]

[sighs]

[indistinct]

Yes, of course.

My lady, you're sitting For a portrait, not an icon.

I happen to have Pins and needles.

In crete, didn't They teach you respect?

Respect?

It depends. For what?

Well, in toledo, We like to be Civilized.

Our greek civilization Is nearly 4,000 years old.

I can't think why You ever left.

I was an underdog.

In crete, i was born Under latin oppression.

I had to go seek My fortune in the land Of my oppressors--

In venice, where i found The studio of old titian,

Where he gave me The key to this.

Then why did you Go to rome?

To search.

To find my own Brand of truth.

But in rome,

I became A captive again.

You see, i was expected To conform

To a patron who was Benevolent if one Followed the rules.

But i had to speak My mind.

I did.

And now you are here, Looking for more Impartial patronage.

Your escorial will Need many fine paintings.

Then you must Despise yourself

For being made to Waste time on this Little portrait.

No. No painter Despises himself

For finding Something lovely.

I'm fortunate.

Your face already Lives here on my canvas.

A young spanish lady

Whose large eyes Could be so tender.

My pins and needles Have gone.

Go on.

[playing]

[theotokopoulos Playing lute]

How soon the light Leaves us.

These narrow streets Seem to hide from the sun.

You still feel A stranger here?

Candia's all sunlight And color.

I've always Lived near the sea,

In crete, Then venice.

Even in rome, I knew ostia was just Across the fields.

Because it's landlocked,

Toledo is introverted.

So are the lives Inside it.

How little You understand us.

I understand My feelings.

There's something Oppressive here.

Your buildings Are like prisons.

You decorate them Inside to hide the bars.

First, this Is a spanish city.

And you can Never forget it.

It explains your intense Preoccupation with Religion and death

And social ostentation.

Aristocrats cannot help Being aristocrats.

Your aristocrats Surround themselves With snobbish etiquette,

Silly regulations, Absurd rules,

And gradually Suffocate...

Just as You're suffocating, Doña jeronima.

You are quite wrong.

In your scheme Of things, each man Must know his place

And never trespass.

You are trespassing now.

No, you're the one Who's trespassing

[laughter]

[speaking foreign Language]

You work too hard.

Corpus christi Will soon be with us. This must be ready.

Don diego has already Advised the king.

Does royal patronage Really mean so much To you?

As escorial painter is An established person, Someone of consequence.

There can be No argument about that.

You surprise me. Most painters merely Wish to paint,

Marry their model, Breed children, And go on painting.

That's exactly My problem.

Then we must find you A beautiful wife.

I think I already have.

Felix, i'm Not a pastry cook,

And she's certainly not A butcher's daughter.

Then if matters Are as i suspect,

You will Harm a young lady

And ruin Your own future.

Felix, as a priest,

How can you make Such an intolerably Snobbish statement?

As your friend, i have No other alternative.

As a priest, I know my place.

As a toledan, I know yours.

You may wish for it, Even fight for it,

But you won't succeed In mixing oil with water.

Believe me, Domenikos.

But that's ridiculous.

I'm an educated man.

I speak five languages.

I've traveled.

Felix, i'm not A pastry cook.

I know.

I need her, felix.

If i love this girl, Truly, honorably,

And if she loves me,

No family Could refuse us.

They can and will, Quite bluntly.

In toledo, A gentleman can become An acceptable artist,

But it doesn't follow

That An artist can become An acceptable gentleman.

Don't tempt fate, Domenikos.

But i must.

Then i will pray For you, my friend.

Jeronima!

[bells ring]

[choir singing Indistinctly]

♪ hallelujah ♪

♪ hallelujah ♪

I'm happy For your success.

Once away from rome, I knew nothing could Stop you.

Domenikos, I must be the one To congratulate you.

Well, Don't let's criticize The eternal city.

Pignarelli Is over there.

Pignarelli?

Mm-hmm.

What's he Doing here?

Clinging to his majesty Like the leech he is.

Not as a painter?

Oh, god forbid.

Ah, our genius, El greco.

And how fares Our refugee from the wrath Of the farenese?

In rome, we are Still apologizing For your rudeness

Concerning Buonarroti's talent.

I do not regret My criticisms.

His majesty Holds michelangelo In the highest esteem.

Pray, do not Speak ill of him In the king's presence.

I do not intend to.

And if you choose To curb your tongue,

The king Need never learn of The opinion i hold.

How very trusting.

Naturally, My dear maestro,

We will permit your talent To speak for itself.

♪ hallelujah ♪

♪ hallelujah ♪

[singing in latin]

Absolutely, sire.

I believe in Maestro greco's art

More than my own.

You, conte,

What is your opinion?

Both in form And in color,

An exquisite Concept.

Of course, The symbolic, Mystic aspects

Require Consideration.

We have considered them And like them.

Maestro, we accordingly Desire to favor you

By commissioning you To portray the martyrdom

Of the much devoted San mauricio

And his followers Of the thebian legion.

Your work, If found acceptable,

Will grace our monastery Of the escorial.

You honor me, Sire.

[organ playing]

[choir singing Indistinctly]