這幅畫作題材選自天主教的聖人、杜爾（Tours）主教聖馬丁的生平故事，四世紀一個寒冷的冬日，當時駐軍於高盧（今法國）的聖馬丁在路旁遇到一位寒冷受凍的乞丐，便將斗篷割予他，當晚耶穌基督穿著那片他割下的斗篷，在夢裡對著圍繞著祂的天使讚揚聖馬丁的善行，也讓聖馬丁成為信徒眼中「仁慈」的象徵。

畫家艾爾‧葛雷柯（El Greco, 1514-1614）將場景從四世紀的法國亞眠（Amien）改為當時的西班牙托雷多（Toledo）地區，穿著當代盔甲的騎士聖馬丁騎在高大的白馬上，與乞丐兩人近乎佔滿了整幅畫面，身後的托雷多景致顯得如此遙遠，而垂直修長的構圖設計，也讓觀者不由地對聖人產生崇敬之情。

葛雷柯來自希臘克里特島，看著拜占庭聖像畫成長，也曾到威尼斯向提香（Titian, ca. 1488/1490-1576）學習色彩的運用，同時也是在威尼斯、羅馬等地受到了當時義大利矯飾主義的影響，1577年他來到西班牙托雷多，定居於此，以充滿個人特色、極為修長人物形體、鮮亮的色彩描繪宗教、肖像、風景等繪畫作品，為西班牙繪畫開啟了全新的藝術局面。

【聖馬丁與乞丐】原作被懸掛在西班牙多雷托聖約瑟禮拜堂的祭壇上（現藏於華盛頓國家畫廊），並廣受歡迎，因此工作坊接到多件複製委託案，奇美博物館典藏作品便為其中之一，尺寸較原作小，但仍捕捉到以誇張變形手法拉長的人物形象，用光影明暗塑造出體積感及鮮明豐富的色彩皆是葛雷柯專有的獨特風格。(沈榕品)

El Greco(1541-1614) came from Crete, Greece, where he grew up observing the Byzantine icons. Later in Venice, Italy, he learned the use of colors from Tiziano Vecellio (Titian) and was also influenced by the prevalent Mannerism in Venice and Rome. In 1577, he settled down for good in Toledo, the religious capital of Spain. Utilizing such stylish traits as elongated figures, distortions, use of light in contrast to create dimension, and vibrant colors, El Greco initiated a new perspective for Spanish painting.

The subject of this painting was adapted from the 4th century story. On a cold wintry day, Saint Martin, who was then still a soldier stationed in Gaul (now France), out of mercy he cut his military cloak in half for a freezing beggar at the roadside to keep him warm, demonstrating the classic theme of Charity among Catholic beliefs. In the artist’s imagination, Saint Martin wears a suit of armor of the 16th century and the scene is reset to Toledo. The whole picture is nearly filled with the figures of Saint Martin on his white horse and the beggar; the remoteness of Toledo in the background and the vertically designed structure create a sense of awe for the saint among the viewers. The original was an altar painting at the Chapel of Saint Joseph, Toledo (now in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.). As the painting became popular, El Greco’s studio received commissions to duplicate the painting and the present piece is a work of duplication.(Rong pin SHEN)