E l G reco (1541–1614)

Abstract

Abstract El Greco (i.e. “The Greek”) was a famous painter, architect and sculptor. His original name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos. He was born in Handakas (Heraklion) in Crete, Greece in 1541 and died in Toledo, Spain in 1614. Until 1567 he worked in Crete as a post‐Byzantine icon painter and then moved to Italy. He stayed in Venice from 1567 to 1570 and in Rome from 1570 to 1576. His works painted in Italy were influenced by the Venetian Renaissance style of the period, with agile, elongated figures reminiscent of Tintoretto, and a chromatic framework that connects him to Titian's workshop, where he was employed. In Italy he was transformed to a western painter, influenced by Bassano, Baroccio, Veronese, and other famous painters of the era.