Born in Candia, Crete, in 1541 and died in Toledo in 1614, Domenikos Theotokopoulos was formed in the late Byzantine tradition of the icon. Already a master in 1563, he joined Venice in 1567. There he learned the color, oil, perspective and anatomy of the Venetian Renaissance, without erasing the frontality or spiritual power of his first training. After a trip through Italy, he stayed in Rome, attended the circle of Cardinal Farnese and entered the Academy of Saint Luke in 1572. After a trip through Italy, he stayed in Rome, attended the circle of Cardinal Farnese and entered the Academy of Saint Luke in 1572. In 1577. After a trip through Italy, he stayed in Rome, attended the circle of Cardinal Farnese and entered the Academy of Saint Luke in 1572. In 1577, he reached Spain and received orders in Toledo from L'Expolio for the cathedral and altarpieces of Santo Domingo el Antiguo. He remained in the city until his death. His language remained transforms: stretched figures, ascending gestures, contracted spaces, bursts of white light and acidic colors give the visible mental intensity. Portraits, like those of Jeronimo de Cevallos or unknown gentlemen, are on the contrary based on a severe economy: dark background, strawberry, gaze and hands. The saints of the apostolates are distinguished by attribute, color and temperament. The Crossbearing concentrates suffering in the face raised and the hands placed on the wood; the Resurrection, Pentecost and Crucifixion display bodies driven by vertical movement. El Greco also designs complete altarpieces combining painting, sculpture and architecture. workshop, in which his son Jorge Manuel participates, produces variants and series for religious and private clients. Long considered extravagant, the master will be rediscovered by romantics and then by modern artists. The "Le Greco" selection notably compares Saint Eugene and The Carrying of the Cross. His reading favors the story.
In El Greco, elongation does not distance the body from reality: it transforms it into a vector of light, thought and momentum.