El Greco Art

El Greco (c. 1541–1614), born Domenikos Theotokopoulos, was as Spanish painter, Architect, and Sculptor, whose works became definitive of the Spanish Renaissance. He was born in Crete, in the Republic of Venice. When he was around his mid 20s, El Greco studied painting under Titian, who was a respected painter of that time. He later moved to Toledo, Spain, at the age of 35 and continued creating art. The artistic works he created in Spain somehow became the benchmarks of Cubism and Expressionism. His creative pieces were widely criticized for depicting elongated and seemingly troubled figures that were often religiously inclined. However, these paintings earned him respect several years later. In 1572, he established a studio in Rome, but it wasn't successful. He fired some criticism at Michelangelo's artistic capabilities, leading to widespread disdain and criticism against him by the Roman art fraternity. In 1576, El Greco decided to leave Rome for Spain. He settled in Toledo, Spain, where he created several masterpieces and landed several high profile jobs. His first high profile job was offered by Diego de Castilla who was Toledo Cathedral's dean. That led another commissioning from the dean, for "The Disrobing of Christ" (1579). That however marked the last work he did for the dean due to the fee he demanded. His career in Toledo became quite successful regardless. His 1597 art "View of Toledo" is regarded as the very first landscape in Spanish artwork. That's also believed to be his only landscape art that's still available in its original. El Greco’s works influenced Picasso's artistic life. Besides his art inspiring later painters, they also inspired people who weren't painters such as Nikos Kazantzakis and Rainer Maria Rilke, who were both writers. Even with all the great works, his fame didn't match his abilities, and was only recognized 250 years later as a true master. Laminated, prints and Framed El Greco art still sell today and are found in museums, collections, and galleries.