1. By David Shelton EL GRECO

2. El Greco was born approximately around 1541 in Crete, which then was apart of the Republic of Venice. He soon moved to Toledo, Spain were he lived for the rest of his life and produce all of his best paintings! LOCATION

3. Moving on to Rome, El Greco opened a workshop and spent a great deal of time developing his style, using elements of both Mannerism and the Venetian Renaissance. The artist gained acknowledgement for his highly expressive and visionary religious works and rarely ventured away from this genre. This is Renaissance art because it shows the landscape in motion. (View of Toledo to the left) PAINTINGS

4. Nothing is known about his mother or his first wife, a Greek woman. El Greco's older brother, Manoussos Theotokopoulos (1531 - December 13, 1604), was a wealthy merchant and spent the last years of his life (1603- 1604) in El Greco's Toledo home. El Greco was descended from a prosperous urban family, which had probably been driven out of Chania to Candia after an uprising against the Venetians between 1526 and 1528. FAMILY

5. It was not until after his death that El Greco's work was truly appreciated. Since the 18th century it has been valued by scholars and artists alike and has proved a great source of inspiration for many modern painters. El Greco had over 50,000 followers! EL GRECO’S FOLLOWERS

6. Greco was born around 1541 in Crete, which was then part of the Republic of Venice. Around age 35, he moved to Toledo, Spain, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life, producing his best-known paintings. El Greco was born Domenikos Theotokopoulos on the island of Crete, which was at the time a Venetian possession. El Greco died in April 7, 1614 BACK GROUND INFORMATION

7. CITATIONS http://www.biography.com/people/el-greco-9319123 http://www.elgreco.net/ http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grec/hd_grec.htm