Monasterio de Santo Domingo el Antiguo (Monastery of Saint Dominic the Old), Toledo

Monastery of Saint Dominic the Old is a Cistercian convent founded in the 6th century by King Alfonso VI after his reconquest of the city in 1085.

In July 1577, when El Greco came up from Rome to sign contracts for a group of paintings for the convent, he saw a refurbished Mudejar structure. The walls had Ionic pilasters; there was a dome, supported by pendentives, two courtyards, and a brick cloister. It was not impressive. He set to work.

By 1579 he had completed a total of nine paintings for Santo Domingo, including the "Disrobing of Christ," "The Trinity," and "The Assumption of the Virgin." Seven canvases were for the high altar and two for the side altars.

At the present day, the paintings remaining in the monastery are Saint Bernard, Saint Benedict, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, The Holy Trinity, the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Assumption of the Virgin, and Resurrection. The Disrobing of Christ is now at Toledo Cathedral.

El Greco settled in Toledo and produced most of his work there. He had a son, Jorge, who also was a painter. El Greco died in 1614, and his body lies in the crypt beneath the church. The Monastery museum houses other works of art, but none, like those of El Greco.