El Greco painting from Syros to Toledo
One of the early paintings by old master Domenikos Theotokopoulos, a religious icon currently held on the Greek island of Syros, is to be loaned to the Santa Cruz Museum in Toledo, Spain for an exhibition starting on March 14.
The exhibition, entitled "The Greek of Toledo," marks the 400th anniversary since the death of the painter widely known as El Greco.
The largest exhibition ever organised on El Greco's work, collecting 75 paintings by the master from museums throughout the world, it will run until June 14 as part of events for 'El Greco Year' in both Greece and Spain.
Throughout the exhibition, visitors to Toledo will also have the opportunity to admire his works in other locations in the city, in addition to the museum, such as the Toledo Cathedral, San Jose chapel, Santo Tome Church, Tavera Hospital and the monastery of Santo Domingo el Antiguo.
The painting will only stay in Toledo for roughly one month, however, returning to Syros on April 14 in time for the Easter holiday on April 20. The exhibition organisers have also promised to put it on display in a special display case with the right microclimate for its preservation.
The "Dormition of the Virgin" painting was discovered in a church of the same name in the island's main town Ermoupolis and represents the earliest period of the Renaissance painter's work, the so-called 'Cretan' period, dating back to 1562-1564 when he was still on his home island of Crete. The painting's origins were discovered in 1983 by the culture ministry's archaeologist Giorgos Mastoropoulos, who discovered the painter's signature on the religious painting.
