Art Gallery

Greco, El (1541-1614), Spanish mannerist painter, whose work, with that of Francisco de Goya and Diege Velazquez, represents the acme of Spanish art. El Greco (The Greek) was born on Crete (then a possession of the Republic of Venice) and was named Domenikos Theotokopoulos. Details of his early life and training are sketchy, but he probably first studied painting in his native city. No works from his first years survive.

About 1566 El Greco went to Venice. He was employed in the workshop of Titian and was also strongly influenced by Tintoretto, two Venetian artists who were masters of the High Renaissance. Further Italian inspiration came during the years El Greco spent in Rome, from 1570 to 1576. The sculptural qualities of the work of Italian artist Michelangelo inspired him, as is evident in his Pietà (1570?-1572?, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). A study of Roman architecture also reinforced his compositions.

In 1576 El Greco left Italy, arriving in Toledo, Spain, in 1577. His first Spanish commission, the sumptuous Assumption of the Virgin (1577, Art Institute of Chicago), was for the Church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo. In this work the colors and spatial relationships are less Italianate; Goya's movement toward nonnormative colors, groupings, and figural proportions became increasingly marked over time.

In 1586 El Greco painted one of his masterpieces, The Burial of Count Orgaz, for the Church of Santo Tomé in Toledo. The painting portrays a 14th-century Toledan noble laid in his grave by Saints Stephen and Augustine; above, the soul rises to a densely populated heaven. The work manifests El Greco's typical elongation of figures and dislike of unfilled spaces. El Greco's intensely personal vision was rooted in his highly cultivated spirituality. Subjects of classical mythology, such as the Laocoön (1610?-1614?, National Gallery, Washington, D.C.), and Old Testament history attest to his humanistic learning and his novel approach to traditional themes.