El Greco
El Greco, although spent most of his life in the Tolera area of Spain, he was Greek by birth – this was what my Arts teacher kept on repeating and repeating to us during our class this morning. It just can’t let out of my mind. Well, certainly, he was a Greek. His name alone means “The Greek” in the Castilian language.
El Greco was first trained as an icon painter and studied formallyin an art school under the influence of Titian and Tintoretto. El Greco was guided by religious influences and so he referred himself as an artist-philosopher. His works portrayed images that are conceived in the mind, pure colors, and incandescent light – all of them depicting Byzantine and Mannerist influences. And although he primarily worked for religious purposes, he also had some portraits of high quality wherein themes were not limited to his belief system.
El Greco was also an architect and a sculptor.
