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| El Greco |
El Greco was born on the island of Crete and trained as an icon painter. At the age of 26, wishing to widen his artistic horizons, he travelled to Venice and Rome where he studied under Titian, before settling in Toledo, which at the time was the ecclesiastical capital of Spain. There, he led a successful career as a painter of altarpieces and portraits.
After his death, El Greco's work fell into obscurity. It was not until the late 19th century that artists and critics renewed interest in his individual manner of expression. El Greco's liberation of form, light and colour inspired artists such as Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock.
El Greco died on April 7, 1614.