Portrait of Diego de Covarrubias y Leiva (El Greco) Portrait of Diego de Covarrubias y Leiva (El Greco) Portrait of Diego de Covarrubias y Leiva (Spanish: Retrato de Diego de Covarrubias y Leiva ) is a painting by El Greco, from 1600. It is an oil on panel 68 cm x 57 centimeters. It is on display at the El Greco Museum, Toledo in Spain. After his apprenticeship in Venice and Rome, El Greco, turned to the production of portraits, among which is this half-length bust on an undefined background. El Greco did not have to meet in person the theologian Diego de Covarrubias, he died the same year
El Greco custom of identifying a man by designating a country or city of origin was a common practice. The curious form of the article ("El") may be from the Venetian dialect or more likely from the Spanish, though in Spanish his name would be "". The Cretan master was generally known in Italy and Spain as "Dominico Greco", and was called only after his death El Greco (). b. According to a contemporary, El Greco acquired his name, not only for his place of origin, but also for the sublimity of his art: "Out of the great esteem he was held