# View of Toledo

**El Greco** (Spanish, 1541–1614)  
ca. 1599–1600  
Oil on canvas  
47 3/4 x 42 3/4 in. (121.3 x 108.6 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 29.100.6. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436575).

## About this work

Storm clouds churn over Toledo, the city where El Greco lived from 1577 until his death, and the green hills seem lit by an unearthly glow. He did not record the view literally: buildings such as the cathedral are shifted from their true positions and parts of the city are left out, so that the landscape becomes a portrait of the city’s spirit rather than a topographical record. Below the walls lie the bridge of Alcántara and the castle of San Servando. It is one of only two landscapes by El Greco to survive.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

El Greco painted this in about 1599–1600, aged about 58. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [El Greco](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/el-greco)

Spanish, 1541–1614; born in Iráklion (Candia); died in Toledo

El Greco, “the Greek”, was born in Crete and trained in the Byzantine icon tradition before studying Venetian painting and working in Rome. From 1577 he lived in Toledo, where his first major commission was the high altarpiece of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, to which The Assumption of the Virgin belongs. His mature style, with elongated figures, flickering light and acid colour, found few imitators in his time but was rediscovered with enthusiasm by modern painters.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Paintings
- The artist was about 58
- Real size: about 48 × 43 in (121 × 109 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 24 × 36 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 16th century
- Subjects: Buildings, Cities
- Colour: olive
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1098.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1098/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/view-of-toledo-met-436575).