Dominikos Theotokopoulos “El Greco” (October 1, 1541 – April 7, 1614)
He was born near Heraklion in Crete, which at the time was under Venetian occupation, as opposed to the majority of the Greek lands at the time, which were under Ottoman Turk occupation. He was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance
Brought up on the classics of Ancient Greece and inspired by Byzantine traditional artwork, he had a keen eye for art at an early age. With many of his early works created in Crete.
He first moved to Venice to pursue this career, later moving to Spain to continue his work and where most of his works would be created.
He is considered one of the greatest artists of World History, being a major contributor and influencer of The Renaissance.
He would come to be known throughout Western Europe and the Rest of the World as “El Greco” (The Greek) even if he actually signed his artwork using his full name – Dominikos Theotokopoulos.
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