El Greco been ideal for El Greco. Through Clovio and Orsini, El Greco met Benito Arias Montano, a Spanish humanist and agent of Philip; Pedro Chacón, a clergyman; and Luis de Castilla, son of Diego de Castilla, the dean of the Cathedral of Toledo. El Greco's friendship with Castilla would secure his first large commissions in Toledo. He arrived in Toledo by July 1577, and signed contracts for a group of paintings that was to adorn the church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo and for the renowned . By September 1579 he had completed nine paintings for Santo Domingo, including
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