SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Born in Crete in 1541 and died in 1614, Domenico Theotokópoulos, known as Greco, developed a pictorial language that combined the Byzantine traditions of his native island with the innovations of the Renaissance in Venice and Rome. His path took him from Crete to these two Italian cities, where he spent nearly a decade, before settling in Toledo.
In that city, he built up a private clientele and pursued a career spanning several fields: portraiture, religious images intended for domestic devotion, and the decoration of large family altars and chapels. According to the Art Institute of Chicago, however, he did not succeed in securing the lasting support of the Archbishopric of Toledo or of Philip II.
The Art Institute notes that his figures often have highly expressive faces and gestures, paired with drapery painted in light, intense colours. These characteristics are described as recurring features of his work.
El soplon, dated 1570 to 1572, is held at the Museo di Capodimonte in Naples under inventory number Q192 (1930). The work’s description identifies it as depicting a boy lighting a candle with a burning stick and gives its dimensions as 60.5 × 50.5 cm.
Also among the listed works is Saint Martin and the Beggar, dated around 1597–around 1600.
In 2020, the Art Institute of Chicago presented the exhibition El Greco: Ambition and Defiance, from 30 July to 19 October.
This profile brings together identity references for El Greco and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
1 references are documented at Dobiaschofsky. Each record links to its source; the amounts are not a general valuation of the artist’s work.
These references are shown separately because of their attribution or lot composition. Each record states the reason.
Oil on wood
École de EL GRECO — Die Anbetung der Hirten.
Öl auf Holz
Schule
Catalogue period : 2017-11-10
School
Published result : 3000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 4800
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Documentation updated : 2026-10-19
