Editing El Greco (section)

==Life==

===Early years and family===
[[Image:Dormition El Greco.jpg|thumb|''[[Dormition of the Virgin (El Greco)|The Dormition of the Virgin]]'' (before 1567, [[tempera]] and gold on panel, {{nowrap|61.4 × 45 cm}}, Holy Cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin, [[Hermoupolis]], [[Syros]]) was probably created near the end of the artist's Cretan period. The painting combines post-Byzantine and Italian mannerist stylistic and iconographic elements.]]
Born in 1541, in either the village of [[Fodele]] or Candia (the Venetian name of Chandax, present day [[Heraklion]]) on [[Crete]],{{efn|There is an ongoing dispute about El Greco's birthplace. Most researchers and scholars give Candia as his birthplace.<ref name="PlTazSch">M. Lambraki-Plaka, ''El Greco{{snd}}The Greek'', 40–41<br />* M. Scholz-Hansel, ''El Greco'', 7<br />* M. Tazartes, ''El Greco'', 23</ref> Nonetheless, according to Achileus A. Kyrou, a prominent Greek journalist of the 20th century, El Greco was born in Fodele and the ruins of his family's house are still extant in the place where old Fodele was (the village later changed location because of pirate raids).<ref name="Helios" /> Candia's claim to him is based on two documents from a trial in 1606, when the painter was 65. Fodele natives argue that El Greco probably told everyone in Spain he was from Heraklion because it was the closest known city next to tiny Fodele.<ref>J. Kakissis, [http://www.boston.com/travel/articles/2005/03/06/the_root_of_the_matter__el_greco/ A Cretan Village that was the Painter's Birthplace]</ref>}} El Greco was descended from a prosperous urban family, which had probably been driven out of [[Chania]] to Candia after an uprising against the Catholic [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]] between 1526 and 1528.<ref name="Plaka41">M. Lambraki-Plaka, ''El Greco – The Greek'', 40–41</ref> El Greco's father, Geṓrgios Theotokópoulos ({{lang|el|Γεώργιος Θεοτοκόπουλος}}; {{abbreviation|d.|died}} 1556), was a merchant and [[tax collector]]. Almost nothing is known about his mother or his first wife, except that they were also [[Greeks|Greek]].<ref name="Scholz7">M. Scholz-Hansel, ''El Greco'', 7<br />* M. Tazartes, ''El Greco'', 23</ref> His second wife was a Spaniard.<ref name="SHelcholz7" /> El Greco's older brother, Manoússos Theotokópoulos (1531–1604), was a wealthy merchant and spent the last years of his life (1603–1604) in El Greco's Toledo home.<ref name="SHelcholz7">M. Scholz-Hansel, ''El Greco'', 7<br />*{{cite encyclopedia|title=Theotocópoulos, Doménicos|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia The Helios|year=1952}}</ref>

El Greco received his initial training as an [[icon]] painter of the Cretan school, a leading center of post-[[Byzantine art]]. In addition to painting, he probably studied the [[classics]] of [[ancient Greece]], and perhaps the Latin classics also; he left a "working library" of 130 volumes at his death, including the Bible in Greek and an annotated [[Vasari]] book.<ref>Richard Kagan in, J. Brown, ''El Greco of Toledo'', 45</ref> Candia was a center for artistic activity where Eastern and Western cultures co-existed harmoniously, where around two hundred painters were active during the 16th century, and had organized a [[painters' guild]], based on the Italian model.<ref name="Plaka41" /> In 1563, at the age of twenty-two, El Greco was described in a document as a "master" ("maestro Domenigo"), meaning he was already a master of the guild and presumably operating his own workshop.<ref>J. Brown, ''El Greco of Toledo'', 75</ref> Three years later, in June 1566, as a witness to a contract, he signed his name in [[Greek language|Greek]] as {{lang|el|μαΐστρος Μένεγος Θεοτοκόπουλος σγουράφος}} ({{lang|el-Latn|maḯstros Ménegos Theotokópoulos sgouráfos}}; "Master Ménegos Theotokópoulos, painter").{{efn|1=This document comes from the notarial archives of Candia and was published in 1962.<ref name="Mertzios297-308">K.D. Mertzios, ''Selections'', 29</ref> {{lang|vec|Ménego}} is the Venetian form of {{lang|el-Latn|Domḗnikos}}, and {{lang|el-Latn|sgouráfos}} is a Greek term for painter, a corruption of {{lang|el-Latn|zōgráfos}} ({{lang|el|ζωγράφος}}).<ref name="Cormack"/>}}

Most scholars believe that the Theotokópoulos "family was almost certainly [[Greek Orthodox]]",<ref>X. Bray, ''El Greco'', 8<br />* M. Lambraki-Plaka, ''El Greco – The Greek'', 40–41</ref> although some Catholic sources still claim him from birth.{{efn|The arguments of these Catholic sources are based on the lack of Orthodox archival [[baptism]]al records on Crete and on a relaxed interchange between Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic rites during El Greco's youth.<ref name="Hammerman">{{cite web|author=N. Hamerman|url=http://www.catholicherald.com/stories/bEl-Greco-Paintings-Lead-Toward-City-of-Godb,2888|title=El Greco Paintings Lead Toward "City of God"|work=catholicherald.com|date=12 April 2003|access-date=20 August 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926223909/http://www.catholicherald.com/stories/bEl-Greco-Paintings-Lead-Toward-City-of-Godb%2C2888|archive-date=26 September 2011}}</ref> Based on the assessment that his art reflects the religious spirit of [[Habsburg Spain|Roman Catholic Spain]], and on a reference in his last will and testament, where he described himself as a "devout Catholic", some scholars assume that El Greco was part of the vibrant Catholic Cretan minority or that he converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Roman Catholicism before leaving the island.<ref name="McGarrRom">S. McGarr, [http://www.tuppenceworth.ie/ArtsEnt/elgreco-st-francis-receiving-the-stigmata.htm St Francis Receiving The Stigmata]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070207103000/http://www.tuppenceworth.ie/ArtsEnt/elgreco-st-francis-receiving-the-stigmata.htm |date=7 February 2007 }},<br />* J. Romaine, [http://oldarchive.godspy.com/culture/El-Grecos-Mystical-Vision.cfm.html El Greco's Mystical Vision] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928100523/http://oldarchive.godspy.com/culture/El-Grecos-Mystical-Vision.cfm.html |date=28 September 2011 }}<br />* J. Sethre, ''The Souls of Venice'', 91</ref>}} Like many [[Byzantine scholars in the Renaissance|Orthodox emigrants]] to Catholic areas of Europe, some assert that he may have transferred to Catholicism after his arrival, and possibly practiced as a Catholic in Spain, where he described himself as a "devout Catholic" in his will. The extensive archival research conducted since the early 1960s by scholars, such as Nikolaos Panayotakis, [[Pandelis Prevelakis]] and Maria Constantoudaki, indicates strongly that El Greco's family and ancestors were Greek Orthodox. One of his uncles was an Orthodox priest, and his name is not mentioned in the Catholic archival baptismal records on Crete.<ref name="Katimertzi">P. Katimertzi, [https://web.archive.org/web/20051127194214/http://ta-nea.dolnet.gr/print_article.php?e=A&f=16585&m=R26&aa=1 El Greco and Cubism]</ref> Prevelakis goes even further, expressing his doubt that El Greco was ever a practicing Roman Catholic.<ref name="Wethey125-127">H.E. Wethey, ''Letters to the Editor'', 125–127</ref>

Important for his early biography, El Greco, still in Crete, painted his ''Dormition of the Virgin'' near the end of his Cretan period, probably before 1567. Three other signed works of "Domḗnicos" are attributed to El Greco (''[[Modena Triptych]]'', ''St. Luke Painting the Virgin and Child'', and ''[[The Adoration of the Magi]]'').<ref name="Alberge_1">D. Alberge, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2326011,00.html Collector Is Vindicated as Icon is Hailed as El Greco]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

===Italy===
[[File:El Greco - The Adoration of the Magi - Google Art Project (721007).jpg|thumb|''The Adoration of the Magi'' (1565–1567, {{nowrap|56 × 62 cm}}, [[Benaki Museum]], Athens). The icon, signed by El Greco ("Χείρ Δομήνιχου", Created by the hand of Doménicos), was painted in Candia on part of an old chest.]]
[[File:7222 Adoración de los Reyes Magos.jpg|thumb|''[[Adoration of the Magi (El Greco, 1568)|
Adoration of the Magi]]'', 1568, [[Museo Soumaya]], Mexico City]]

It was natural for the young El Greco to pursue his career in Venice, Crete having been a possession of the Republic of Venice since 1211.<ref name="Br" /> Though the exact year is not clear, most scholars agree that El Greco went to Venice around 1567.{{efn|According to archival research in the late 1990s, El Greco was still in Candia at the age of twenty-six. It was there where his works, created in the spirit of the post-Byzantine painters of the Cretan School, were greatly esteemed. On 26 December 1566 El Greco sought permission from the Venetian authorities to sell a "panel of the Passion of Christ executed on a [[gold background]]" ("un quadro della Passione del Nostro Signor Giesu Christo, dorato") in a lottery.<ref name="Cormack" /> The Byzantine icon by young Doménicos depicting the ''Passion of Christ'', painted on a gold ground, was appraised and sold on 27 December 1566 in Candia for the agreed price of seventy gold ducats (The panel was valued by two artists; one of them was icon-painter [[Georgios Klontzas]]. One valuation was eighty ducats and the other seventy), equal in value to a work by Titian or Tintoretto of that period.<ref name="Constantoudaki71" /> Therefore, it seems that El Greco traveled to Venice sometime after 27 December 1566.<ref name="Sethre90">J. Sethre, ''The Souls of Venice'', 90</ref> In one of his last articles, Wethey reassessed his previous estimations and accepted that El Greco left Crete in 1567.<ref name="Wetheyar" /> According to other archival material—drawings El Greco sent to a Cretan [[cartographer]]—he was in Venice by 1568.<ref name="Constantoudaki71">M. Constantoudaki, ''Theotocópoulos from Candia to Venice'', 71</ref>}} Knowledge of El Greco's years in Italy is limited. He lived in Venice until 1570 and, according to a letter written by his much older friend, the greatest miniaturist of the age, [[Giulio Clovio]], was a "disciple" of [[Titian]], who was by then in his eighties but still vigorous. This may mean he worked in Titian's large studio, or not. Clovio characterized El Greco as "a rare talent in painting".<ref name="Plaka42">M. Lambraki-Plaka, ''El Greco – The Greek'', 42</ref>

In 1570, El Greco moved to Rome, where he executed a series of works strongly marked by his Venetian apprenticeship.<ref name="Plaka42" /> It is unknown how long he remained in Rome, though he may have returned to Venice ({{circa|1575–76}}) before he left for Spain.<ref name="Mayer28">A.L. Mayer, ''Notes on the Early El Greco'', 28</ref> In Rome, on the recommendation of Giulio Clovio,<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Domenico Theotocopuli (El Greco)}}</ref> El Greco was received as a guest at the [[Palazzo Farnese]], which [[Cardinal Alessandro Farnese]] had made a center of the artistic and intellectual life of the city. There he came into contact with the intellectual elite of the city, including the Roman scholar [[Fulvio Orsini]], whose collection would later include seven paintings by the artist (''View of [[Mount Sinai|Mt. Sinai]]'' and a portrait of Clovio are among them).<ref name="Scholz19">M. Scholz-Hansel, ''El Greco'', 19</ref>

Unlike other Cretan artists who had moved to Venice, El Greco substantially altered his style and sought to distinguish himself by inventing new and unusual interpretations of traditional religious subject matter.<ref name="Mann89">R.G. Mann, ''Tradition and Originality in El Greco's Work'', 89</ref> His works painted in Italy were influenced by the [[Venetian Renaissance]] style of the period, with agile, elongated figures reminiscent of Tintoretto and a chromatic framework that connects him to Titian.<ref name="Br" /> The Venetian painters also taught him to organize his multi-figured compositions in landscapes vibrant with atmospheric light. Clovio reports visiting El Greco on a summer's day while the artist was still in Rome. El Greco was sitting in a darkened room, because he found the darkness more conducive to thought than the light of the day, which disturbed his "inner light".<ref name="Acton82">M. Acton, ''Learning to Look at Paintings'', 82</ref> As a result of his stay in Rome, his works were enriched with elements such as violent [[perspective (graphical)|perspective]] vanishing points or strange attitudes struck by the figures with their repeated twisting and turning and tempestuous gestures; all elements of Mannerism.<ref name="Plaka42" />

[[File:Musée de Capodimonte - Le Gréco, portrait de Giulio Clovio, en 1571-572 -01.jpg|left|thumb|''Portrait of Giorgio [[Giulio Clovio]]'', the earliest surviving portrait from El Greco (1571, [[oil on canvas]], {{nowrap|58 × 86 cm}}, [[Museo di Capodimonte]], [[Naples]]). In the portrait of Clovio, friend and supporter in Rome of the young Cretan artist, the first evidence of El Greco's gifts as a [[portrait]]ist are apparent.]]

By the time El Greco arrived in Rome, [[Michelangelo]] and [[Raphael]] were dead, but their example continued to be paramount, and somewhat overwhelming for young painters. El Greco was determined to make his own mark in Rome defending his personal artistic views, ideas and style.<ref name="ScholzTazartes">M. Scholz-Hänsel, ''El Greco'', 20<br />* M. Tazartes, ''El Greco'', 31–32</ref> He singled out [[Correggio]] and [[Parmigianino]] for particular praise,<ref name="Kimmelman">M. Kimmelman, [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A04E1DB173CF930A35753C1A9659C8B63 El Greco, Bearer Of Many Gifts]</ref> but he did not hesitate to dismiss Michelangelo's ''Last Judgment'' in the [[Sistine Chapel]];{{efn|Mancini reports that El Greco said to the Pope that if the whole work was demolished he himself would do it in a decent manner and with seemliness.<ref name="Scholz">M. Scholz-Hänsel, ''El Greco'', 92</ref>}} he extended an offer to [[Pope Pius V]] to paint over the whole work in accord with the new and stricter Catholic thinking.<ref name="Scholz20">M. Scholz-Hänsel, ''El Greco'', 20</ref> When he was later asked what he thought about Michelangelo, El Greco replied that "he was a good man, but he did not know how to paint".<ref name="Plaka47-49">M. Lambraki-Plaka, ''El Greco – The Greek'', 47–49</ref> However, despite El Greco's criticism,<ref name="BrahamG">A. Braham, ''Two Notes on El Greco and Michelangelo'', 307–310<br />* J. Jones, [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2004/jan/24/1 The Reluctant Disciple]</ref> Michelangelo's influence can be seen in later El Greco works such as the ''Allegory of the Holy League''.<ref name="Boubli217">L. Boubli, ''Michelangelo and Spain'', 217</ref> By painting portraits of Michelangelo, Titian, Clovio and, presumably, Raphael in one of his works (''The Purification of the Temple''), El Greco not only expressed his gratitude but also advanced the claim to rival these masters. As his own commentaries indicate, El Greco viewed Titian, Michelangelo and Raphael as models to emulate.<ref name="Scholz20" /> In his 17th century ''Chronicles'', [[Giulio Mancini]] included El Greco among the painters who had initiated, in various ways, a re-evaluation of Michelangelo's teachings.<ref name = "Tazartes32"/>

Because of his unconventional artistic beliefs (such as his dismissal of Michelangelo's technique) and personality, El Greco soon acquired enemies in Rome. Architect and writer [[Pirro Ligorio]] called him a "foolish foreigner", and newly discovered archival material reveals a skirmish with Farnese, who obliged the young artist to leave his palace.<ref name="Tazartes32">M. Tazartes, ''El Greco'', 32</ref> On 6 July 1572, El Greco officially complained about this event. A few months later, on 18 September 1572, he paid his dues to the [[Guild of Saint Luke]] in Rome as a [[Portrait miniature|miniature]] painter.<ref name="Brown">Brown-Mann, ''Spanish Paintings'', 42</ref> At the end of that year, El Greco opened his own workshop and hired as assistants the painters Lattanzio Bonastri de Lucignano and Francisco Preboste.<ref name="Tazartes32" />

===Spain===

====Move to Toledo====
[[File:Domenikos Theotokópoulos, called El Greco - The Assumption of the Virgin - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[Assumption of the Virgin (El Greco)|The Assumption of the Virgin]]'' (1577–1579, oil on canvas, {{nowrap|401 × 228 cm}}, [[Art Institute of Chicago]]) was one of the nine paintings El Greco completed for the [[Monastery of Saint Dominic of Silos (the Old)|church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo]] in Toledo, his first commission in Spain.]]

In 1577, El Greco migrated to Madrid and then to Toledo, where he produced his mature works.<ref name="Tazartges36">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Greco, El|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|year=2002}}<br />* M. Tazartes, ''El Greco'', 36</ref> At the time, Toledo was the religious capital of Spain and a populous city{{efn|Toledo must have been one of the largest cities in Europe during this period. In 1571 the population of the city was 62,000.<ref name="Plaka43-44" />}} with "an illustrious past, a prosperous present and an uncertain future".<ref name="Kagan">Brown-Kagan, ''View of Toledo'', 19</ref> In Rome, El Greco had earned the respect of some intellectuals, but was also facing the hostility of certain [[art criticism|art critics]].<ref name="Tazartes36">M. Tazartes, ''El Greco'', 36</ref> During the 1570s the huge monastery-palace of [[El Escorial]] was still under construction and [[Philip II of Spain]] was experiencing difficulties in finding good artists for the many large paintings required to decorate it. Titian was dead, and Tintoretto, [[Paolo Veronese|Veronese]] and [[Anthonis Mor]] all refused to come to Spain. Philip had to rely on the lesser talent of [[Juan Fernández de Navarrete]], of whose ''gravedad y decoro'' ("seriousness and decorum") the king approved. When Fernández died in 1579, the moment was ideal for El Greco to move to Toledo.<ref>Trevor-Roper, Hugh; ''Princes and Artists, Patronage and Ideology at Four Habsburg Courts 1517–1633'', Thames & Hudson, London, 1976, pp. 62–68</ref>

Through Clovio and Orsini, El Greco met [[Benito Arias Montano]], a Spanish humanist and agent of Philip; [[Pedro Chacón]], a clergyman; and [[Luis de Castilla]], son of [[Diego de Castilla]], the dean of the [[Cathedral of Toledo]].<ref name="Plaka43-44">M. Lambraki-Plaka, ''El Greco – The Greek'', 43–44</ref> El Greco's friendship with Castilla would secure his first large commissions in Toledo. He arrived in Toledo by July 1577, and signed contracts for a group of paintings that was to adorn the [[Monastery of Saint Dominic of Silos (the Old)|church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo]] in Toledo and for {{lang|es|[[El Espolio]]}}.<ref name="Irving">{{cite web|author=M. Irving|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1827701.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106102500/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1827701.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 November 2012|title=How to Beat the Spanish Inquisition|work=[[The Independent]], archived at highbeam.com|date=9 February 2004|access-date=20 August 2011}}</ref> By September 1579 he had completed nine paintings for Santo Domingo, including ''The Trinity'' and ''The Assumption of the Virgin''. These works would establish the painter's reputation in Toledo.<ref name="Brown" />

El Greco did not plan to settle permanently in Toledo, since his final aim was to win the favor of Philip and make his mark in his court.<ref name="Lambraki45">M. Lambraki-Plaka, ''El Greco – The Greek'', 45</ref> Indeed, he did manage to secure two important commissions from the monarch: ''Allegory of the Holy League'' and ''Martyrdom of [[St. Maurice]]''. However, the king did not like these works and placed the St Maurice altarpiece in the [[chapter-house]] rather than the intended chapel. He gave no further commissions to El Greco.<ref name="Scholz40">M. Scholz-Hansel, ''El Greco'', 40</ref> The exact reasons for the king's dissatisfaction remain unclear. Some scholars have suggested that Philip did not like the inclusion of living persons in a religious scene;<ref name="Scholz40" /> some others that El Greco's works violated a basic rule of the [[Counter-Reformation]], namely that in the image the content was paramount rather than the style.<ref name="Plaka45">M. Lambraki-Plaka, ''El Greco – The Greek'', 45<br />* J. Brown, ''El Greco and Toledo'', 98</ref> Philip took a close interest in his artistic commissions, and had very decided tastes; a long sought-after sculpted Crucifixion by [[Benvenuto Cellini]] also failed to please when it arrived, and was likewise exiled to a less prominent place. Philip's next experiment, with [[Federico Zuccari]] was even less successful.<ref>Trevor-Roper, op cit pp. 63, 66–69</ref> In any case, Philip's dissatisfaction ended any hopes of royal patronage El Greco may have had.<ref name="Brown" />

====Mature works and later years====
[[File:El Greco - The Burial of the Count of Orgaz.JPG|thumb|left|''[[The Burial of the Count of Orgaz]]'' (1586–1588, oil on canvas, {{nowrap|480 × 360 cm}}, [[Church of Santo Tomé, Toledo|church of Santo Tomé]], Toledo), now El Greco's best known work, illustrates a popular local legend. An exceptionally large painting, it is clearly divided into two zones: the heavenly above and the terrestrial below, brought together compositionally.]]

Lacking the favor of the king, El Greco was obliged to remain in Toledo, where he had been received in 1577 as a great painter.<ref name="Pijoah">J. Pijoan, ''El Greco – A Spaniard'', 12</ref> According to [[Hortensio Félix Paravicino]], a 17th-century Spanish preacher and poet, "Crete gave him life and the painter's craft, Toledo a better homeland, where through Death he began to achieve eternal life."<ref name="Berg">L. Berg, {{cite web|url=http://www.kaiku.com/greco.html|title=El Greco in Toledo|work=kaiku.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090528102057/http://kaiku.com/greco.html|archive-date=28 May 2009 |access-date=20 August 2011}}</ref> In 1585, he appears to have hired an assistant, [[Italian painter]] Francisco Preboste, and to have established a workshop capable of producing [[altar]] frames and statues as well as paintings.<ref name="Gudiol">Brown-Mann, Spanish Paintings, 42<br />* J. Gudiol, ''Iconography and Chronology'', 195</ref> On 12 March 1586 he obtained the commission for ''[[The Burial of the Count of Orgaz]]'', now his best-known work.<ref name="Tazartes49">M. Tazartes, ''El Greco'', 49</ref>

The decade 1597 to 1607 was a period of intense activity for El Greco. During these years he received several major commissions, and his workshop created pictorial and sculptural ensembles for a variety of religious institutions. Among his major commissions of this period were three altars for the Chapel of San José in Toledo (1597–1599); three paintings (1596–1600) for the Colegio de Doña María de Aragon, an [[Augustinians|Augustinian]] monastery in Madrid, and the high altar, four lateral altars, and the painting ''[[Saint Ildefonsus (El Greco, Illescas)|St. Ildefonso]]'' for the Capilla Mayor of the Hospital de la Caridad (Hospital of Charity) at [[Illescas, Toledo|Illescas]] (1603–1605).<ref name="Br" /> The minutes of the commission of ''[[The Immaculate Conception Paintings by El Greco|The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception]]'' (1607–1613), which were composed by the personnel of the municipality, describe El Greco as "one of the greatest men in both this kingdom and outside it".<ref name="Gudio252">J. Gudiol, ''El Greco'', 252</ref>

Between 1607 and 1608 El Greco was involved in a protracted legal dispute with the authorities of the Hospital of Charity at Illescas concerning payment for his work, which included painting, sculpture and architecture;{{efn|El Greco signed the contract for the decoration of the high altar of the church of the Hospital of Charity on 18 June 1603. He agreed to finish the work by August of the following year. Although such deadlines were seldom met, it was a point of potential conflict. He also agreed to allow the brotherhood to select the appraisers.<ref name="Engass205">Enggass-Brown, ''Italian and Spanish Art, 1600–1750'', 205</ref> The brotherhood took advantage of this act of good faith and did not wish to arrive at a fair settlement.<ref name="Fernádez172-184">F. de S.R. Fernádez, {{lang|es|De la Vida del Greco}}, 172–184</ref> Finally, El Greco assigned his legal representation to Preboste and a friend of him, Francisco Ximénez Montero, and accepted a payment of 2,093 [[ducat]]s.<ref name="Tazartes56">M. Tazartes, ''El Greco'', 56, 61</ref>}} this and other legal disputes contributed to the economic difficulties he experienced towards the end of his life.<ref name="Tazartes61">M. Tazartes, ''El Greco'', 61</ref> In 1608, he received his last major commission at the Hospital of [[Saint John the Baptist]] in Toledo.<ref name="Brown" />

[[File:El Expolio, por El Greco.jpg|thumb|''[[The Disrobing of Christ]]'' ({{lang|es|El Espolio}}) (1577–1579, oil on canvas, {{nowrap|285 × 173 cm}}, Sacristy of the [[Toledo Cathedral|Cathedral]], Toledo) is one of the most famous [[altarpiece]]s of El Greco. El Greco's altarpieces are renowned for their dynamic compositions and startling innovations.]]

El Greco made Toledo his home. Surviving contracts mention him as the tenant from 1585 onwards of a complex consisting of three apartments and twenty-four rooms which belonged to the [[Marquis de Villena]].<ref name="Helios">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Theotocópoulos, Doménicos|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia The Helios|year=1952}}</ref> It was in these apartments, which also served as his workshop, that he spent the rest of his life, painting and studying. He lived in considerable style, sometimes employing musicians to play whilst he dined. It is not confirmed whether he lived with his Spanish female companion, Jerónima de Las Cuevas, whom he probably never married. She was the mother of his only son, [[Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli|Jorge Manuel]], born in 1578, who also became a painter, assisted his father, and continued to repeat his compositions for many years after he inherited the studio.{{efn|Doña Jerónima de Las Cuevas appears to have outlived El Greco, and, although the master acknowledged both her and his son, he never married her. That fact has puzzled researchers, because he mentioned her in various documents, including his last testament. Most analysts assume that El Greco had married unhappily in his youth and therefore could not legalize another attachment.<ref name="Br" />|name=J}} In 1604, Jorge Manuel and Alfonsa de los Morales gave birth to El Greco's grandson, Gabriel, who was baptized by Gregorio Angulo, governor of Toledo and a personal friend of the artist.<ref name="Tazartes61" />

During the course of the execution of a commission for the [[Hospital de Tavera]], El Greco fell seriously ill, and died a month later, on 7 April 1614. A few days earlier, on 31 March, he had directed that his son should have the power to make his will. Two Greeks, friends of the painter, witnessed this [[last will and testament]] (El Greco never lost touch with his Greek origins).<ref name="Scholz81">M. Scholz-Hansel, ''El Greco'', 81</ref> He was buried in the Church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, aged 73.<ref name="HispTaz">Hispanic Society of America, ''El Greco'', 35–36<br />* M. Tazartes, ''El Greco'', 67</ref>