Facts about El Greco
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Crete's most famous artistic export signed his late works with the Greek name Domenikos Theotokopoulos in deliberate rejection of the Spanish surname adopted during his 37-year Toledo residency.
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X-rays of El Greco's paintings reveal he applied gold leaf beneath his paint layers, a technique he learned during his early career as a Byzantine icon painter in Crete.
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During his final years in Toledo, El Greco signed his paintings with the Greek inscription Domenikos Theotokopoulos, maintaining his original Cretan name despite spending 37 years in Spain.
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A single painting by El Greco sold for 81.9 million dollars at Christie's London in 2013, setting a record price for the Spanish master's work.
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The artist's El Espolio painting hung in Toledo Cathedral for over four centuries before moving to the Prado Museum in Madrid during the 20th century.
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Sixteen paintings by El Greco depicting Saint Francis of Assisi survive, reflecting the artist's deep spiritual engagement with this particular saint throughout his Toledo career.
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El Greco's son Jorge Manuel inherited his father's workshop upon his death in 1614 and continued operating the studio in Toledo for several decades, completing commissions and managing his father's artistic legacy.
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Approximately 300 paintings survive from El Greco's career, though he was extraordinarily prolific during his 37 years working in Toledo from 1577 until his death in 1614.
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Toledo's Cathedral commissioned El Greco to paint the altarpiece The Disrobing of Christ in 1577, a work that generated controversy among church officials who objected to his unconventional interpretation of religious subject matter.
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El Greco's paintings often featured elongated figures with proportions up to 40 percent longer than anatomically normal, a deliberate stylistic choice that became his artistic signature.
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Born in 1541 on the island of Crete, El Greco trained as an icon painter before moving to Venice and eventually settling in Toledo, Spain, where he developed his distinctive mannerist style.
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In 1586, El Greco completed View of Toledo, a monumental landscape painting measuring approximately 47.5 by 42.75 inches, now housed in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.