El Greco, the Spanish Artist

El Greco is the name of one of Mannerism's most well-known artists. Born in 1541 as Domenikos Theotokopoulus on the island of Crete, El Greco's paintings represented a change from naturalism to mannerism.
Crete was a dependency of Venice, so it is highly likely that El Greco moved to Venice to pursue art studies. He remained in Venice from August 1568 to the fall of 1570, when he moved to Rome. While tradition holds that he was an apprentice of Titian, this is highly unlikely, even though his works were influenced by the colors and 'free handling of paint' by the artists in Venice.
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