14/11/2019
Doménikos Theotokópoulos was born 1 October 1541 in the village of Fodele west of Heraklion when the Kingdom of Candia was under the Venetian rule. The Cretan painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance was known by the nickname "El Greco", a reference to his Greek origin.
El Greco received his initial training as an icon painter of the Cretan school, a leading center of post-Byzantine art, in Crete, most probably at the Monastery of Valsamonero at the southern foot of Psiloritis near the village of Voriza.
In 1563, at the age of twenty-two, El Greco was already an enrolled master of the local guild, presumably in charge of his own workshop. He left for Venice a few years later, to pursue his career in Venice, and never returned to Crete.
In 1577, El Greco migrated to Madrid, then to Toledo, where he produced his mature works. At the time, Toledo was the religious capital of Spain and a populous city with "an illustrious past, a prosperous present and an uncertain future".
El Greco did not plan to settle permanently in Toledo, since his final aim was to win the favor of Philip and make his mark in his court. Indeed, he did manage to secure two important commissions from the monarch.
On 12 March 1586 he obtained the commission for The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, now his best-known work.
El Greco fell seriously ill in March 1614, and a month later, on 7 April 1614, he died. A few days earlier, on 31 March, he had directed that his son should have the power to make his will. Two Greeks, friends of the painter, witnessed this last will and testament (El Greco never lost touch with his Greek origins).
He was buried in the Church of Santo Domingo el Antiguo, aged 73.
