The Immaculate Conception (El Greco, Toledo) of his vital role in the Spanish Renaissance movement. He left behind a circle of like-minded individuals in Italy, mostly scholars and fellow artists, who shared the belief that a "virtuoso", or a true artist, was one that surpassed basic craftsmanship into the realm of artistic imagination. However, this Italian mutual ideology and treatment of artists was not echoed in Toledo, Spain.In hopes of becoming a reputed and well-represented artist in Spain, El Greco aimed to be recognized by King Phillip II. Royal patronage would have ensured a secure transition to Spain, and could possibly have helped him to move
Posthumous fame of El Greco such texts, in time developed into "madness". In 1838 the Spanish Museum of king Louis-Philippe was inaugurated at the Louvre on January 7, 1838. In 1835 Louis-Philippe had sent Baron Isidore Justin Séverin Taylor to Spain, in order to purchase, on his account, a representative group of works from the Spanish School. Taylor enriched the king's collection with nine paintings by El Greco: four with religious motifs, four portraits and an Evangelist. Among 450 paintings by 85 Spanish painters, the French public was able to see typical works of El Greco for the first time. During this period the idea