On 9 November 1597, El Greco signed a contract to execute a series of paintings for the newly built Capilla de San José (Chapel of Saint Joseph), Toledo. The Chapel was dedicated to Saint Joseph, Saint Teresa's favourite Saint - 'the Father of my Soul' - for it was the original intention of the founder, Martin Ramírez (d. 1595) to build a chapel for her (d. 1582). The contract specified that El Greco was to paint the altarpieces himself and design and gild the frames. The centrepiece of the decorative scheme was to be a painting of Saint Joseph and the Infant Christ with The Coronation of the Virgin above it. These two paintings, set in an altarpiece in a Palladian style designed by El Greco, though its surroundings were altered by Baroque additions around 1665, are still in situ; recent cleaning has revealed their masterly quality. In addition, El Greco was commissioned to paint two side altarpieces. Saint Martin and the Beggar hung on the left-hand side of the main altar, while The Virgin and Child with Saints Martina and Agnes was placed directly opposite, on the right-hand side of the altar, where they remained until they were sold in 1906 to the American collector Peter A. B. Widener. Two sculptures, of David and Solomon, situated on either side of the main altar, were possibly also designed by El Greco.

In the contract the date of August 1598 was set for completion, however, the decoration was completed only at the end of 1599.

The commission for the Capilla de San Jose was one of the most important undertaken by El Greco since Santo Domingo el Antiguo in 1577-79. Conceived on a much smaller scale than the Santo Domingo commission, it demonstrates his ability to execute pictorial schemes suited to his patrons' taste and religious aspirations. The chapel's visual harmony and complex religious iconography served as a prototype for later commissions such as those for the church of the Hospital de la Caridad at Illescas in 1603-05 and the Oballe Chapel in the parish church of San Vicente in 1607.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	Altarpiece 1597-99 Oil on canvas, in gilded frame Capilla de San José, Toledo	820*1136 True Color 186 Kb
	St Joseph and the Christ Child 1597-99 Oil on canvas, 289 x 147 cm Capilla de San José, Toledo	387*800 True Color 73 Kb
	St Joseph and the Christ Child c. 1600 Oil on canvas, 109 x 56 cm Museo de Santa Cruz, Toledo	650*1329 True Color 142 Kb
	St Martin and the Beggar 1597-99 Oil on canvas, 193 x 103 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington	800*1489 True Color 185 Kb
	St. Martin and the Beggar c. 1604 Oil on canvas, 104 x 60 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington	596*1050 True Color 124 Kb
	The Virgin and Child with St Martina and St Agnes 1597-99 Oil on canvas, 193 x 103 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington	750*1350 True Color 177 Kb
	The Virgin and Child with St Martina and St Agnes (detail) 1597-99 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington	900*1228 True Color 151 Kb