Summoned before the Spanish Inquisition in 1541, the painter El Greco was interrogated not because of suspected heresy, witchcraft, or a lapse of faith. The Church officials were offended by the way he painted the wings of angels.
According to the inquisitors, El Greco's angels were in opposition to canon law and the Holy Scriptures: They weren't painted so that the wings represented real angel wings at all. However, unlike other victims of the Inquisition, El Greco was able to successfully defend his actions. He presented his theories of form, purity, and grace so convincingly that the judges acquitted him and set him free. Perhaps under their black cowls, the representatives of the Church harbored an appreciation of art--as long as it wasn't too openly paganistic.
--World of the Odd and Awesome, Charles Berlitz
