Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What books were included in El Greco’s library?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
El Greco
Burial of the Count de Orgaz, oil on canvas by El Greco, 1586–88; in the church of Santo Tomé, Toledo, Spain.
Inventories compiled after the death of El Greco confirm that he was a man of extraordinary culture and a true Renaissance humanist. His library reflected a broad range of interests, containing works in Greek, Latin, Italian, and Spanish.
The collection included:
- Major Greek authors (in the original Greek)
- The Bible (in Greek)
- Plutarch’s Lives
- Petrarch’s poetry
- Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso
- The proceedings of the Council of Trent
- Architectural treatises by Vitruvius, Giacomo da Vignola, Leon Battista Alberti, Andrea Palladio, and Sebastiano Serlio1
El Greco also prepared his own edition of Vitruvius, which included his own drawings, though that manuscript has since been lost.1