El Greco

El Greco (1541-1614) was a famous Spanish Renaissance painter of fantasy style, born on the Greek island of Crete as Dominicus Theotocopoulos, who settled in Toledo after travelling around Italy. El Greco has been widely known as a great painter in medieval Spain, a portrait painter who was particularly adept at religious painting and produced numerous altarpieces for churches in Toledo and elsewhere. Despite this success, the painter had a succession of monetary problems in his later years. After his death, Géricault's reputation declined and his work was dismissed as 'absurd and unworthy of mention'. It was in the 19th century that his distinctive and charming style of painting finally gained widespread recognition in art history. His works are fantastically composed, with a fantasy structure and bold, novel colours, giving them a fantastic effect. Major works include The Madonna and St. Martin, Landscape with Toledo, Taking Off the Veneer of Christ, and La Ocon. Six volumes are planned for The Eternal Painter series, the second in the series after Da Vinci and Rembrandt.

· This book follows the twists and turns of El Greco's life, from Italy, Venice, Rome and Spain, as his styles merge and eventually become his own. The masterpieces included in this book, such as The Noble Man with His Hand on His Chest and The Stripping of Christ, provide a glimpse of the artist's changing style.

· The external commentary on El Greco included in the book provides a more three-dimensional view of the artist.

· An alphabetical index of works is included for quicker and more precise access to the content of interest.