El Greco

El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos) was born in Candia, Crete (today Heraklion), in 1541. He received his initial training in Crete, and his early works show both Byzantine and Italian influences. In 1566 he moved to Venice and trained in Titian’s studio. In 1570 he relocated to Rome, where he remained for seven years. Around 1577 he spent several months in Madrid, where he painted mainly portraits, along with The Martyrdom of Saint Maurice for El Escorial. He then settled in cosmopolitan Toledo, the hometown of his partner, Jerónima de las Cuevas. Among the works he painted there are the altarpiece for Santo Domingo el Antiguo, The Disrobing of Christ (1577 – 79) for Toledo Cathedral, and The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (1586), which is considered his masterpiece. In 1591 – 92 he decorated the altarpieces of Talavera la Vieja, and between 1597 and 1599 he executed the anti-naturalistic compositions for the Chapel of Saint Joseph. He subsequently produced paintings for the Colegio de Doña María de Aragón and the altarpiece for the Hospital de la Caridad (1607). He also created works for the Hospital de Tavera in Toledo. Among his late paintings (1610 – 14) is Laocoön. He is regarded as one of the greatest painters of all time. He died in Toledo in 1614.