The Immaculate Conception (El Greco, Toledo) The Immaculate Conception (El Greco, Toledo) "The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception" is a painting of the Immaculate Conception by El Greco. The work on the painting began in 1607 and was completed in 1613. It is owned by the church of San Nicolás de Bari in Toledo. It is displayed, however, in the Museo De Toledo. El Greco immersed himself in the Italian Renaissance during his stay in Venice and Rome, which allowed him to experiment with the opposing "colore" and "disegno" techniques for size. Afterwards, El Greco relocated to Toledo in 1577, and this move signified the beginning
El Greco of Spanish mysticism". He believes that in El Greco's mature works "the devotional intensity of mood reflects the religious spirit of Roman Catholic Spain in the period of the Counter-Reformation". El Greco also excelled as a portraitist, able not only to record a sitter's features but also to convey their character. His portraits are fewer in number than his religious paintings, but are of equally high quality. Wethey says that "by such simple means, the artist created a memorable characterization that places him in the highest rank as a portraitist, along with Titian and Rembrandt". El Greco painted many of