The exhibit proposes a look into the historical times in which El Greco is “rediscovered” by Bartolomé Cossío and shows the fundamental role played by Benigno Vega-Inclán with his unique homage to the Cretan artist creating this House Museum of El Greco in Toledo.

The idea for the show originated partly when the El Greco Museum closed temporarily for refurbishment. The opportunity arose to show the museum’s treasures in various Spanish cities and later in Mexico, and also to illustrate how the Museum had contributed to the process of recovering this artist’s figure.

After Domenikos Theotolopoulos, El Greco, died in April 1614 his work progressively fell into obscurity and he became increasingly perceived as a damned, extravagant and affected painter. His contemporaries and those who followed turned their backs on him. All this changed in 1908 when Bartolomé Cossío, a teacher in the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, conducted a complete study of all his work. El Greco again became a focus of attention; artists and scholars discussed his paintings and reflected on his avant-garde technique. And hence a legend began to emerge.

The notable role played by the Marquis of Vega-Inclán, art dealer and arts patron, must also be highlighted. He helped Cossío locate the Cretan artist’s paintings and, sharing the teacher’s enthusiasm, purchased a house located in the Jewish quarter of Toledo –very near where the artist’s house was supposed to have been- and turned it into a House Museum which he would later donate to the Spanish State. Next to the original dwelling a museum was built for exhibiting the paintings that had until then been kept in San Juan de los Reyes.

The collection of the House Museum is made up of the paintings which Vega-Inclán restored, excelling among them the Apostle set, a series on the twelve apostles presided by The Saviour. The collection also includes a small but exceptional group of portraits, such as of the Covarrubias brothers or certain examples of devotional painting.

This re-discovery process of El Greco was parallel to the creation of a collection of graphic documentation, generated by the photographer Mariano Moreno, documents which would become the germinating seed of the Archivo Español de Arte and a scholarly reference.

The exhibit proposes a look into the historical times in which El Greco is “rediscovered” by Bartolomé Cossío and shows the fundamental role played by Benigno Vega-Inclán with his unique homage to the Cretan artist creating this House Museum of El Greco in Toledo.

The idea for the show originated partly when the El Greco Museum closed temporarily for refurbishment. The opportunity arose to show the museum’s treasures in various Spanish cities and later in Mexico, and also to illustrate how the Museum had contributed to the process of recovering this artist’s figure.

After Domenikos Theotolopoulos, El Greco, died in April 1614 his work progressively fell into obscurity and he became increasingly perceived as a damned, extravagant and affected painter. His contemporaries and those who followed turned their backs on him. All this changed in 1908 when Bartolomé Cossío, a teacher in the Institución Libre de Enseñanza, conducted a complete study of all his work. El Greco again became a focus of attention; artists and scholars discussed his paintings and reflected on his avant-garde technique. And hence a legend began to emerge.

The notable role played by the Marquis of Vega-Inclán, art dealer and arts patron, must also be highlighted. He helped Cossío locate the Cretan artist’s paintings and, sharing the teacher’s enthusiasm, purchased a house located in the Jewish quarter of Toledo –very near where the artist’s house was supposed to have been- and turned it into a House Museum which he would later donate to the Spanish State. Next to the original dwelling a museum was built for exhibiting the paintings that had until then been kept in San Juan de los Reyes.

The collection of the House Museum is made up of the paintings which Vega-Inclán restored, excelling among them the Apostle set, a series on the twelve apostles presided by The Saviour. The collection also includes a small but exceptional group of portraits, such as of the Covarrubias brothers or certain examples of devotional painting.

This re-discovery process of El Greco was parallel to the creation of a collection of graphic documentation, generated by the photographer Mariano Moreno, documents which would become the germinating seed of the Archivo Español de Arte and a scholarly reference.