One hundred and fifty drawings were listed in the inventory of El Greco's possession after his death, however, very few of them survived. We know that El Greco considered drawing an activity fundamental importance for an artist. He used drawings to try out poses and test the dynamics of his subjects so as to achieve visual harmony with other elements of a much larger composition.

Preview	Picture Data	File Info	Comment
	St John the Baptist 1577 Pen and brown ink with brown and grey wash, heightened with white on paper, 136 x 55 mm Private collection	400*970 True Color 72 Kb
	St John the Evangelist 1577 Pen and brown ink with brown wash, heightened with white on paper, 136 x 50 mm Private collection	400*1010 True Color 72 Kb
	St John the Evangelist c. 1577 Black chalk with traces of white, on yellowish paper, 255 x 155 mm Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid	650*1039 True Color 90 Kb
	Study for St John the Evangelist and an Angel 1596-99 Pen and pale-brown ink and wash on off-white paper, 337 x 210 mm J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles	650*1028 True Color 80 Kb