El+Greco

=El Greco=

Doménikos Theotokópoulos was a Greek painter, sculptor, and architect born in 1541in Crete, which was then part of the Republic of Venice. Crete and Venice were both centers of the art world and Doménikos had plenty of opportunity to train with master artists. Later he moved to Rome where he opened his own art workshop, this was common practice at the time - artists would be commissioned to do work for wealthy clients and train young artists.

In 1577 he moved to Toledo, Spain where he stayed there until his death. It was in Toledo that he earned his famous nickname, El Greco - Spanish for The Greek - and painted his most well known work. His style, which was very expressive and dramatic, was not well received during his time, but became very popular in the 1900s. Most artists are considered to belong to a certain "school" or "movement" that describes their style, the period of time, or compared them to other artists, but El Greco's work was so unlike anyone else's that scholars don't consider him a part of any school. El Greco was known for helping create Cubism and Expressionism which are two styles of art still popular today.