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
Healing of the Man Born Blind (El Greco, Parma) Healing of the Man Born Blind (El Greco, Parma) Healing of the Man Born Blind is a c.1573 painting by El Greco, showing the healing the man blind from birth. It is now in the Galleria nazionale di Parma. It is signed at the bottom right-hand corner. It shows the artist returning to a theme he had first painted five years earlier, in a work now in Dresden. In the 17th century it is recorded as being in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, as shown by a seal on its reverse. It was most probably commissioned directly from the artist