El Greco

El Greco was of Greek decent but he embraced life as a Spaniard. El Greco's art epitomized the religious spirit and emotion of Spain during the late sixteenth century. There is no better example of this then in El Greco's most famous work, Burial of the Count of Orgaz. This work is not only the best example of El Greco's unique style but also a local tradition that shows the importance of the Church in Spain. Having seen this piece of art in its original location, I was taken over by the emotion, the unique style and history behind it. El Greco shows qualities of many art movements including Mannerism, Byzantine, Renaissance and Counter Reformation but he a certain style all unique to his own.

El Greco or Domenicos Theotocopoulos was born on the isle of Crete in the year 1541, which at the time was a part of the Republic of Venice. When he was young men, he traveled to Venice to learn and practice art. El Greco had spent some time in Titian's workshop, received some of his principles including the great use color. Later El Greco spent some time in Rome, where he met some church officials from Toledo. He decides to make a move the small Spanish town of Toledo, where he spent the rest of his life until 1614. El Greco showed his love for the town by painting a landscape of the Toledo, which was titled Toledo. He received most of his commissions from the church, which earned him a reputation among the local nobility. He then was able to produce numerous portraits for the nobility.

El Greco received a Byzantine influence from his early life in Crete. In his time in Italy, he received a great education in the Renaissance style, such as Michelangelo's shading in skin tones, Titian's color and the Mannerist