Born in 1541 on the Isle of Crete (under Venetian dominion since the XVIIIth century). Until 1570 he stayed in Venice at the school of Tiziano Vecellio. Then in 1576 he went to Spain, perhaps trying to escape the Plague that had caused the death of his great teacher. In 1577, he was in Toledo and received many important commissions, among them those of the works for Santo Domingo el Antiguo and the “El Espolio” (“Disrobing of Christ”) of the Cathedral. He also made many paintings following requests that arrived from different parts of Spain and the Court, including San Mauricio del Escorial in 1580. Some of his most important works from this period are: “Burial of the Count of Orgaz” in 1586; works made for the School of Doña Maria de Aragon in Madrid in 1596; and the decoration of the Church of Illescas from 1603-1605.
He died on 7 April 1614 and was buried in Santo Domingo el Antiguo.
El Greco associated the legacy left by the Florentines and Venetians with the direct and rustic influence of the Byzantine tradition. Domenicos Theotokopoulos – as was his real name – was one of the most famous archetypes of Mannerism and the idea was ridiculously sustained for centuries that he deformed his images due to a defect in his sight. His works do not decry facts, rather they are allegories that try to gather all our emotional capacities.
He loved the works of Michelangelo and elevated his human and divine inspirations.
