El Greco, the artist

Biography
Domenikos Theotokopoulos, or El Greco (meaning “The Greek”) as he later became known, was born in Crete in 1541. Details of his early life and training are sketchy, but he probably first studied painting in his native city. He was an intellectual man, whose taste for classical and contemporary literature seems to have developed in his youth. Around 1566, El Greco went to Venice, where he remained until 1570. He acquired much inspiration from the High Renaissance style that was popular there and from his “mentor,” Titian. Further inspiration came during the years El Greco spent in Rome, from 1570 to 1576. There he met several Spaniards associated with the church in Toledo, who may have persuaded him to come to Spain. In 1576 he left Ital...