Greek-born Spanish Mannerist Painter, 1541-1614 Considered a representative of late Renaissance Spanish art, El Greco was actually born in Greece, on the island of Crete. After studying in Venice under Titian, El Greco settled in Toledo, Spain in 1577. At the time he was wildly popular, his emotionally religious paintings being just the ticket for the hometown of the Spanish Inquisition. After his death his work was largely ignored until the beginning of the 20th century; now he considered one of the inspired geniuses of Western art. His distinctive style features bold shapes and colors, with elongated and slightly distorted figures. In Toledo El Greco was in constant demand and liked living large: he maintained a private orchestra to accompany his meals.  Related Paintings of El Greco :. | Apostles Peter and Paul | assumption of the virgin | st, bernardino of siena | adoration of the shepherds | Jeronimo de Cevallos |
Related Artists:
Francisco Rizi
Spanish painter, 1614-1685
Harvey T. Dunn
American, 1884-1952
Blanchet, Louis-Gabriel
French Painter, 1705-1772 French painter, active in Rome. He won second place in the Prix de Rome competition in 1727 and thereafter settled in Rome, where he enjoyed the patronage of Nicolas Vleughels, Director of the Acad?mie de France, and the Duc de Saint-Aignan (1684-1776), who at that time was French Ambassador to the Holy See. In 1752 Blanchet painted the Vision of Constantine (Paris, Louvre), a copy of Giulio Romano's fresco in the Sala di Costantino in the Vatican. He was, however, principally a portrait painter. His portrait of Tolozan de Montfort (1756; Lyon, Mus. B.-A.) is a fine example of his elegant, rather nervous style and his distinctive use of colour. In the same year Blanchet executed a portrait of the contemporary painter Johann Mandelberg (1730-86; Copenhagen, Kon. Dan. Kstakad.). Other surviving works of his include St Paul (signed and dated 1757; Avignon, Mus. Calvet) and his full-length portrait of P. P. Lesueur and E. Jacquier (1772; Nantes, Mus. B.-A.).