Toledo became El Greco’s home in Spain. Here he established himself as a leading painter, and he was made a citizen of the town. El Greco frequently used views of Toledo as the background in his paintings. In this work however, the city is the principal subject. The view is also one of the earliest pure landscapes in the history of European painting. El Greco shows us Toledo from the north, but he is less concerned with rendering an accurate topographic view of the city than with creating an expressive, emotional and individualistic portrait.

To the right, atop a hill, we can see the imposing royal palace, to its left, the bell tower of the cathedral. El Greco positions the palace and the cathedral close together thus alluding to the twin centres of power in Spain: church and crown. Spanning the river is Alcántara bridge, which was built by the Romans and is still in use.