Domenikos theotokopoulos el greco biography

Greek painter of the Spanish Renaissance (1541–1614)

This article is about the artist of the Spanish Renaissance. For other uses, see El Greco (disambiguation).

Doménikos Theotokópoulos (Greek: Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος, IPA:[ðoˈminikosθeotoˈkopulos]; 1 October 1541 – 7 April 1614),^[2] most widely known as El Greco (Spanish pronunciation:[elˈgɾeko]; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance.

El Greco was a nickname,^[a] and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters often adding the word Κρής (Krḗs), which means "Cretan" in Ancient Greek.

El Greco was born in the Kingdom of Candia (modern Crete), which was at that time part of the Republic of Venice, Italy, and the center of Post-Byzantine art. He trained and became a master within that tradition before traveling at age 26 to Venice, as other Greek artists had done.