How did El Greco portray Toledo in View of Toledo?

In his View of Toledo (c. 1599–1600), El Greco portrayed the city as a stormy, sinister, and impassioned landscape. Rather than providing a literal description, he demonstrated his characteristic tendency to dramatize the scene, utilizing dark, foreboding clouds to enhance the mood.1

To achieve his specific compositional goals, the artist rearranged the buildings within the painting. This work reflects the same atmospheric intensity found in the background of his earlier Crucifixion with Donors. By manipulating the city's appearance, El Greco moved beyond mere representation to create a highly individual and imaginative vision of Toledo.1