El Greco House-Museum

The El Greco House Museum

The Toledo audio-guided tour presents you with the El Greco House Museum, which gathers a large part of the works painted by the artist in Toledo, in a period dwelling.

In the footsteps of the Cretan painter

The artist did not really live in this house, his own being a little further away, but it is here that the major part of his Toledan works is exhibited, in a setting evoking his way of life. The museum owes its existence to the Marquis of la Vega-Inclán, a patron who introduced to Spain this fashion of museums mixing art and historical reconstitution; it opened in 1911. The one nicknamed El Greco for his Cretan origins was actually called Domínikos Theotokópoulos. Born in present-day Heraklion, he began as a painter of Byzantine icons, stayed in Venice with Titian, then in Rome, before arriving in Spain under Philip II, in the heart of the Golden Age.

What there is to see

The El Greco House Museum gathers a rich collection of canvases by the master, in a period dwelling that restores the atmosphere of the Toledo of the Golden Age. One discovers there the singular genius of the painter, between Byzantine, Venetian and Spanish influences. It is an essential stage for art lovers, in the heart of the former juderia.

Practical information

The El Greco House Museum is in the former juderia of Toledo. It can be visited according to hours to be checked on site; access to the collections is generally subject to a charge.

Did El Greco live in the House Museum?

No: his house was a little further away, but the museum exhibits his works in a period dwelling evoking his life in Toledo.

What is the real name of El Greco?

Domínikos Theotokópoulos, nicknamed El Greco because of his Cretan origins.