The Most El Greco Of El Grecos

The last stop of Javi's bracelet tour of the area that encompasses the Jewish Quarter was Santo Tome, a chapel on the Plaza del Conde.

We didn't make it into the main part of the chapel, as the attraction in Santo Tome is a simple, yet amazing one -- El Greco's famous painting The Burial of the Count of Orgaz.  One source calls it El Greco's most beloved painting, and it combines heaven and earth with just an incredibly richness of scene-setting art.

He painted it 253 years after the burial of Count Don Gonzalo Ruiz of Orgaz, who died in 1323.  El Greco included himself and his son in the painting, and there is rich detail in every part of the painting, which took nearly two years.

The painting is approximately 16 feet by 12 feet, and towers over the Count's grave.  It focuses on both the burial and the assumption of the count's soul into heaven.

In explaining the painting Javi did the smart thing.  When we got into the antechamber where the painting and grave is, the scene in front of the painting was chaos, as big tour groups were coming through and crowded around the painting.  Javi took us to the other end, sat us down, and pulled out his iPad.  He then called up the painting on screen, and walked us through the different elements of the painting, zooming in on each section as he talked about it.

Not only did his explanation allow us to fully understand the painting, but it was easy to follow along.  Instead of standing in the crowd, straining to hear Javi and hoping/failing to figure out what part of the painting details he was talking about, it was clear as could be.

Then, as we walked up to see the painting, the crowds parted (well, they left) and we were able to get right up to the rope by the grave and the painting.  The timing was perfect, AND we had the added advantage of knowing what we were looking at!  If our tour of El Prado included a similar explanation of the Bosch painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights, I would have gotten a lot more out of it.

After leaving Santo Tome, Javi pointed to some lunch options and we parted ways.  He's certainly one of the best tour guides we've had, if not the best, and I say that not just because he lugged our big bag up three flights of stairs in the heat at our apartment!

I tipped him well as a way of saying thanks.  Later, in our What's App text exchanges, he thanked me again.  I noted that while most of it was for the tour, five Euros was for taking our big bag up to the apartment!

This is NOT the El Greco painting

(but you figured that out).  It's a

view of the Tagus River, which

wraps itself around approximately

three-quarters of Toledo,

providing extra natural defense.

This is the painting.  As with all

these photos, click on the

picture to enlarge it.

El Greco in the middle.  He's one of

two in the painting to be looking

at the viewers of his art.  His son

is the other (bottom left in the 

full photo of the painting above).

The earthly burial.