El Greco and his style of art

DOMENIKOS THEOTOCOPOULOS (EL GRECO) 1541-1614 Domenikos Theotokopoulos was the last and perhaps the greatest mannerist of all time. Born on the island of Crete, Domenikos Theotokopoulos acquired the name El Greco, the Greek, in Italy and Spain. He was first trained in the Venetian School by an unknown Cretanian artist still working under the Byzantine tradition. After working as an icon painter, he left Crete in 1568 to study western-style painting in Venice. There he was …

…ll into obscurity and, after its rediscovery in the last century, was often misunderstood. El Greco has been called a prophet of modern art, a mystic, and even a man whose sight was distorted by astigmatism, all misconceptions that have clouded understanding of his distinctive but deliberate style. No matter how much recognition he got in Spain he never forget his Byzantine background; he signed his paintings in Greek, right to the last one.