Description of the attraction
Almost in the center of the Jewish quarter of Toledo there is a small, unpretentious and unremarkable church of Sao Tome at first glance. Like many others, this church was rebuilt from a mosque after the liberation of Toledo from the Arab conquerors by King Alfonso VII. Built in the Mudejar style, the Church of Sao Tome is notable for its original brick-built bell tower, which retains the appearance of a Muslim minaret.
The church has three naves in plan, intersected by a transept. The beautiful church altars are made in the Baroque and Plateresque styles. The main attraction of this church, which tourists and art connoisseurs from all over the world come here to see, is the magnificent painting "The Burial of Count Orgaz" located in one of the chapels, painted by the hand of the outstanding artist El Greco. This masterpiece of world painting is one of the main works of the artist.
The canvas was painted in 1576 especially for the church of Sao Tome and was never exported outside of it. The subject of the painting is the legend of the burial of Don Gonzalo Ruiz de Toledo, Count Orgaz, by Saints Stephen and Augustine. The picture is also notable for the fact that the painter in most of its characters depicted his contemporaries. In the image of a knight on the left side of the canvas, the artist himself is depicted, and in the small page drawn next to us we recognize his ten-year-old son Jorge Manuel, from whose pocket a handkerchief with the boy's date of birth is peeking out. On the other side of the picture, the famous architect of the time, Alonso Covarrubias, is depicted in profile.
