Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. El Greco was a nickname, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters often adding the word (), which means "Cretan" in Ancient Greek.
El Greco was born in the Kingdom of Candia (modern Crete), which was at that time part of the Republic of Venice, and the center of Post-Byzantine art. He trained and became a master within that tradition before traveling at age 26 to Venice, as other Greek artists had done.J. Brown, El Greco of Toledo, 75–77 In 1570, he moved to Rome, where he opened a workshop and executed a series of works. During his stay in Italy, El Greco enriched his style with elements of Mannerism and of the Venetian Renaissance taken from a number of great artists of the time, notably Tintoretto and Titian. In 1577, he moved to Toledo, Spain, where he lived and worked until his death. In Toledo, El Greco received several major commissions and produced his best-known paintings, such as View of Toledo and Opening of the Fifth Seal.
El Greco's dramatic and expressionistic style was met with puzzlement by his contemporaries but found appreciation by the 20th century. El Greco is regarded as a precursor of both Expressionism and Cubism, while his personality and works were a source of inspiration for poets and writers such as Rainer Maria Rilke and Nikos Kazantzakis. El Greco has been characterized by modern scholars as an artist so individual that he belongs to no conventional school. He is best known for tortuously elongated figures and often fantastic or phantasmagorical pigmentation, marrying Byzantine traditions with those of Western painting.M. Lambraki-Plaka, El Greco – The Greek, 60
Although mostly ignored by his contemporaries, El Greco is considered one of the greatest painters in the history of art. Art critics have resolutely placed him among the best artists of all time, citing his originality, his power of expression, and his innovative use of form and colour. His works are seen as transcending and surpassing the artistic traditions from which they emerged and as having had a profound effect on generations of later artists, including Francisco Goya, Diego Velázquez, Eugène Delacroix, Édouard Manet, Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso, amongst many others.
Life
Early years and family
Born in 1541, in either the village of Fodele or Candia (the Venetian name of Chandax, present day Heraklion) on Crete, El Greco was descended from a prosperous urban family, which had probably been driven out of Chania to Candia after an uprising against the Catholic Venetians between 1526 and 1528.M. Lambraki-Plaka, El Greco – The Greek, 40–41 El Greco's father, Geṓrgios Theotokópoulos (; 1556), was a merchant and tax collector. Almost nothing is known about his mother or his first wife, except that they were also Greek.M. Scholz-Hänsel, El Greco, 7* M. Tazartes, El Greco, 23 His second wife was a Spaniard. El Greco's older brother, Manoússos Theotokópoulos (1531–1604), was a wealthy merchant and spent the last years of his life (1603–1604) in El Greco's Toledo home.M. Scholz-Hänsel, El Greco, 7*
El Greco received his initial training as an icon painter of the Cretan school, a leading center of post-Byzantine art. In addition to painting, he probably studied the classics of ancient Greece, and perhaps the Latin classics also; he left a "working library" of 130 volumes at his death, including the Bible in Greek and an annotated Vasari book.Richard Kagan in, J. Brown, El Greco of Toledo, 45 Candia was a center for artistic activity where Eastern and Western cultures co-existed harmoniously, where around two hundred painters were active during the 16th century, and had organized a painters' guild, based on the Italian model. In 1563, at the age of twenty-two, El Greco was described in a document as a "master" ("maestro Domenigo"), meaning he was already a master of the guild and presumably operating his own workshop.J. Brown, El Greco of Toledo, 75 Three years later, in June 1566, as a witness to a contract, he signed his name in Greek as (; "Master Ménegos Theotokópoulos, painter").
Most scholars believe that the Theotokópoulos "family was almost certainly Greek Orthodox",X. Bray, El Greco, 8* M. Lambraki-Plaka, El Greco – The Greek, 40–41 although some Catholic sources still claim him from birth. Like many Orthodox emigrants to Catholic areas of Europe, some assert that he may have transferred to Catholicism after his arrival, and possibly practiced as a Catholic in Spain, where he described himself as a "devout Catholic" in his will. The extensive archival research conducted since the early 1960s by scholars, such as Nikolaos Panayotakis, Pandelis Prevelakis and Maria Constantoudaki, indicates strongly that El Greco's family and ancestors were Greek Orthodox. One of his uncles was an Orthodox priest, and his name is not mentioned in the Catholic archival baptismal records on Crete.P. Katimertzi, El Greco and Cubism Prevelakis goes even further, expressing his doubt that El Greco was ever a practicing Roman Catholic.H.E. Wethey, Letters to the Editor, 125–127
Important for his early biography, El Greco, still in Crete, painted his Dormition of the Virgin near the end of his Cretan period, probably before 1567. Three other signed works of "Domḗnicos" are attributed to El Greco (Modena Triptych, St. Luke Painting the Virgin and Child, and The Adoration of the Magi).D. Alberge, "Collector Is Vindicated as Icon is Hailed as El Greco", The Times
Italy
It was natural for the young El Greco to pursue his career in Venice, Crete having been a possession of the Republic of Venice since 1211. Though the exact year is not clear, most scholars agree that El Greco went to Venice around 1567. Knowledge of El Greco's years in Italy is limited. He lived in Venice until 1570 and, according to a letter written by his much older friend, the greatest miniaturist of the age, Giulio Clovio, was a "disciple" of Titian, who was by then in his eighties but still vigorous. This may mean he worked in Titian's large studio, or not. Clovio characterized El Greco as "a rare talent in painting".M. Lambraki-Plaka, El Greco – The Greek, 42
In 1570, El Greco moved to Rome, where he executed a series of works strongly marked by his Venetian apprenticeship. It is unknown how long he remained in Rome, though he may have returned to Venice () before he left for Spain.A.L. Mayer, Notes on the Early El Greco, 28 In Rome, on the recommendation of Giulio Clovio, El Greco was received as a guest at the Palazzo Farnese, which Cardinal Alessandro Farnese had made a center of the artistic and intellectual life of the city. There he came into contact with the intellectual elite of the city, including the Roman scholar Fulvio Orsini, whose collection would later include seven paintings by the artist (View of Mt. Sinai and a portrait of Clovio are among them).M. Scholz-Hänsel, El Greco, 19
Unlike other Cretan artists who had moved to Venice, El Greco substantially altered his style and sought to distinguish himself by inventing new and unusual interpretations of traditional religious subject matter.R.G. Mann, Tradition and Originality in El Greco's Work, 89 His works painted in Italy were influenced by the Venetian Renaissance style of the period, with agile, elongated figures reminiscent of Tintoretto and a chromatic framework that connects him to Titian. The Venetian painters also taught him to organize his multi-figured compositions in landscapes vibrant with atmospheric light. Clovio reports visiting El Greco on a summer's day while the artist was still in Rome. El Greco was sitting in a darkened room, because he found the darkness more conducive to thought than the light of the day, which disturbed his "inner light".M. Acton, Learning to Look at Paintings, 82 As a result of his stay in Rome, his works were enriched with elements such as violent perspective vanishing points or strange attitudes struck by the figures with their repeated twisting and turning and tempestuous gestures, all elements of Mannerism.
By the time El Greco arrived in Rome, Michelangelo and Raphael were dead, but their example continued to be paramount, and somewhat overwhelming for young painters. El Greco was determined to make his own mark in Rome defending his personal artistic views, ideas and style.M. Scholz-Hänsel, El Greco, 20* M. Tazartes, El Greco, 31–32 He singled out Correggio and Parmigianino for particular praise,M. Kimmelman, El Greco, Bearer Of Many Gifts but he did not hesitate to dismiss Michelangelo's Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel; he extended an offer to Pope Pius V to paint over the whole work in accord with the new and stricter Catholic thinking.M. Scholz-Hänsel, El Greco, 20 When he was later asked what he thought about Michelangelo, El Greco replied that "he was a good man, but he did not know how to paint".M. Lambraki-Plaka, El Greco – The Greek, 47–49 However, despite El Greco's criticism,A. Braham, Two Notes on El Greco and Michelangelo, 307–310* J. Jones, The Reluctant Disciple Michelangelo's influence can be seen in later El Greco works such as the Allegory of the Holy League.L. Boubli, Michelangelo and Spain, 217 By painting portraits of Michelangelo, Titian, Clovio and, presumably, Raphael in one of his works (The Purification of the Temple), El Greco not only expressed his gratitude but also advanced the claim to rival these masters. As his own commentaries indicate, El Greco viewed Titian, Michelangelo and Raphael as models to emulate. In his 17th century Chronicles, Giulio Mancini included El Greco among the painters who had initiated, in various ways, a re-evaluation of Michelangelo's teachings.
Because of his unconventional artistic beliefs (such as his dismissal of Michelangelo's technique) and personality, El Greco soon acquired enemies in Rome. Architect and writer Pirro Ligorio called him a "foolish foreigner", and newly discovered archival material reveals a skirmish with Farnese, who obliged the young artist to leave his palace.M. Tazartes, El Greco, 32 On 6 July 1572, El Greco officially complained about this event. A few months later, on 18 September 1572, he paid his dues to the Guild of Saint Luke in Rome as a miniature painter.Brown-Mann, Spanish Paintings, 42 At the end of that year, El Greco opened his own workshop and hired as assistants the painters Lattanzio Bonastri de Lucignano and Francisco Preboste.
Spain
Move to Toledo
In 1577, El Greco migrated to Madrid and then to Toledo, where he produced his mature works.* M. Tazartes, El Greco, 36 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".Brown-Kagan, View of Toledo, 19 In Rome, El Greco had earned the respect of some intellectuals, but was also facing the hostility of certain art critics.M. Tazartes, El Greco, 36 During the 1570s the huge monastery-palace of El Escorial was still under construction and Philip II of Spain was experiencing difficulties in finding good artists for the many large paintings required to decorate it. Titian was dead, and Tintoretto, Veronese and Anthonis Mor all refused to come to Spain. Philip had to rely on the lesser talent of Juan Fernández de Navarrete, of whose gravedad y decoro ("seriousness and decorum") the king approved. When Fernández died in 1579, the moment was ideal for El Greco to move to Toledo.Trevor-Roper, Hugh; Princes and Artists, Patronage and Ideology at Four Habsburg Courts 1517–1633, Thames & Hudson, London, 1976, pp. 62–68