The Laokoön, with a view of Toledo in the background, is one of the artist's most unusual pictures, his secular masterpiece. It is a work of great compositional dynamism and pictorial virtuosity. It might be viewed as a summing-up of El Greco's lengthy journey across the Mediterranean region. There is a namely legend according to which Toledo was founded by two strangers from the eastern Mediterranean, the Trojans Telemon and Brutus. This legend must certainly have held a great appeal for El Greco. The view of Toledo appears also in other works of this period, such as the View and Plan of Toledo and the Christ in Agony on the Cross.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 33 minutes): Johann Sebastian Bach: Magnificat in D major, BWV 243

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	The Annunciation 1600s Oil on canvas, 128 x 83 cm Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio	587*907 True Color 124 Kb
	Christ in Agony on the Cross 1600s Oil on canvas, 104 x 62 cm Art Museum, Cincinnati	524*900 True Color 108 Kb
	View and Plan of Toledo c. 1610 Oil on canvas, 132 x 228 cm Museo de El Greco, Toledo	1220*700 True Color 166 Kb
	View and Plan of Toledo (detail) c. 1610 Oil on canvas Museo de El Greco, Toledo	1017*905 True Color 149 Kb
	View and Plan of Toledo (detail) c. 1610 Oil on canvas Museo de El Greco, Toledo	850*1041 True Color 158 Kb
	Apostle St Andrew c. 1610 Oil on canvas, 70 x 53,5 cm Szépmûvészeti Múzeum, Budapest	758*1004 True Color 148 Kb
	The Adoration of the Shepherds c. 1610 Oil on canvas, 144,5 x 101,3 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York	980*1446 True Color 186 Kb
	Laocoön 1610 Oil on canvas, 142 x 193 cm National Gallery of Art, Washington	889*700 True Color 122 Kb
	Laocoön (detail) 1610 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington	900*1224 True Color 186 Kb
	Laocoön (detail) 1610 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington	1104*950 True Color 147 Kb
	Laocoön (detail) 1610 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington	900*1223 True Color 179 Kb
	Laocoön (detail) 1610 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington	650*1555 True Color 123 Kb