this essay is about a biography of a popular greek artist and scientist

Essay by amdJunior High, 8th gradeA+, August 2002

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El Greco

El Greco, meaning "The Greek", was born in Candia, now Crete, in 1541 and was named Domenikos Theotokopoulos. Details of his early life were not 100% accurate, but he probably studied painting in his native city.

About 1566, he went to Venice, where he stayed until 1570. Here, Tintoretto inspired him. He showed this by the use of his assimilation of Titianesque color and of Tintoretto's figural compositions and use of deep spatial recesses in the painting Christ Healing the Blind man. Further Italian inspiration came from Michelangelo during the years El Greco spent in Rome, from 1570 to 1576. It shows he admired Michelangelo in the work he did.

In Rome he met several Spaniards associated with the church in Toledo, who may have persuaded him to come to Spain. In 1576 he left Italy and arrived in Toledo in the spring 1577. Here, he worked on the Assumption of the Virgin, which marked the turning point in his art.

He had plenty works in Spain and each one was successful.

In 1586 El Greco painted one of his greatest masterpieces, The Burial of Count Orgaz, for the Church of Santo Tomé in Toledo. Here, in Toledo, he had a large house and he painted a picture of Toledo itself.

El Greco died in Toledo on April 7, 1614, and he was buried there in Santo Domingo el Antiguo. El Greco was a very creative, brilliant, and respected man and his work can be seen in museums everywhere, not just in the United States.

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