El Greco

El Greco [The Greek] (Domenico Theotocopuli, ca.1541-1641) was born in Crete. He is believed to have moved to Venice, and to have studied with Titian and Tintoretto, and then to have visited Rome where he saw the work of Michelangelo and Raphael. By 1577 he had settled in Toledo in Spain where he received the name by which he is now known. El Greco's strong "spiritual inner vision" lends drama to his paintings of elongated figures and warm colours, and he is regarded as the founder of the school of Spanish national art.