The Virgin of Charity (El Greco) The Virgin of Charity (El Greco) The Virgin of Charity (Spanish - "La Virgen de la Caridad") is a 1597-1603 painting by El Greco. It was part of a commission to paint five works for the high altarpiece of the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad in the Spanish town of Illescas, Toledo, gained through the mediation of his son Jorge Manuel Theotocópuli. It still hangs in the Santuario. Three of the other works still hang in the church ("Coronation of the Virgin", "Nativity" and "Annunciation"), whilst the fifth is in the National Museum of Art of Romania ("Marriage
El Greco may mean he worked in Titian's large studio, or not. Clovio characterized El Greco as "a rare talent in painting". In 1570, El Greco moved to Rome, where he executed a series of works strongly marked by his Venetian apprenticeship. It is unknown how long he remained in Rome, though he may have returned to Venice (c. 1575–76) before he left for Spain. In Rome, on the recommendation of Giulio Clovio, El Greco was received as a guest at the Palazzo Farnese, which Cardinal Alessandro Farnese had made a center of the artistic and intellectual life of the city. There