The State guarantees El Greco's crucified Christ with three million

The Ministry of Culture has granted the State guarantee for the painting “Crucified Christ” (1573) by Doménico Theotocópoli, El Greco, for a total economic value of three million euros (€3,000,000.00), for its exhibition at the El Greco Museum in Toledo. The measure is formalized through Order CLT/875/2026, of August 11, published in the Official State Gazette number 204, of August 20, 2026, in section III (Other provisions), page 115818.

The order, processed at the request of the Sub-directorate General of State Museums, is issued in accordance with the ninth additional provision of Law 16/1985, of June 25, on Spanish Historical Heritage, and Royal Decree 1680/1991, of November 15, which develops said provision regarding the State guarantee for works of cultural interest.

Scope and coverage of the guarantee

The State undertakes to indemnify for the destruction, loss, theft, or damage of the work, in accordance with the value and conditions expressed in the institution’s request. The coverage is exclusively limited to the painting, for the purposes of its exhibition within the permanent exhibition of the El Greco Museum, located at Paseo del Tránsito, s/n, Toledo, from October 1, 2026, to September 30, 2027.

Amounts not covered by the State guarantee, as provided for in article 6.2 of Royal Decree 1680/1991, must be insured by the requesting institution or by the providers of the work.

The work and its provider

The painting subject to the guarantee is an oil on panel by El Greco, dated 1573, measuring approximately 30.5 x 19.8 centimeters with inventory number DO 00002. The provider of the work is Unicaja Banco, SA, based in Málaga.

• Author: Doménico Theotocópoli, El Greco.
• Work: “Crucified Christ”, 1573.
• Technique: oil on panel.
• Dimensions: 30.5 x 19.8 cm.
• Provider: Unicaja Banco, SA (Málaga).
• Inventory No.: DO 00002.

Processing and conditions

The guarantee is granted following the favorable agreement of the Board for the Qualification, Valuation, and Export of Spanish Historical Heritage Assets, adopted at its plenary meeting on June 18, 2026, and the favorable reports from the State Attorney’s Office of the Ministry of Culture (July 13, 2026) and the Sub-directorate General of the Budget Office (July 28, 2026), with the auditing of the Delegated Comptroller’s Office in the Department.

The order establishes that, prior to the start of the guarantee, qualified technical personnel will prepare a comprehensive report on the state of conservation of the work, and that the requesting institution must send a certificate to the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts within forty-eight hours of the return of the work or the end of the guarantee. In the event of an extension of the exhibition, the guarantee may be extended at the request of the institution, subject to the approval of the Ministry of Culture. The order was signed in Madrid on August 11, 2026, by the Secretary of State for Culture, Jordi Martí Grau, acting on behalf of the Minister of Culture.

Relevance

The State guarantee allows a work of great patrimonial and cultural value, belonging to a private entity, to be safely exhibited in a public museum without the lender assuming the economic risk of its transport and exhibition. With this measure, the Greco Museum in Toledo will incorporate a key piece by the Cretan master into its permanent exhibition for one year, strengthening the city’s cultural offering and public access to one of the most significant works of Spanish pictorial heritage.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 204, August 20, 2026, Sec. III, p. 115818 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-17988).