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 :. | St. John the Evangelist | St Sebastian | St Jerome as Cardinal | Self Portrait 1 | The Burial of the Count of Orgaz |
Related Artists:
Marco Zoppo
Cento 1433-Venice 1478
Juan Pantoja de la Cruz
(Valladolid, 1553 - 26 October 1608, Madrid) Spanish painter, one of the best representatives of the Spanish school of court painters. He worked for Philip II and Philip III. The Museo del Prado contains examples of his severe portraiture style. Juan Pantoja de La Cruz was, born 1553 in Valladolid. Very little is known of his formative years as a painter. He was a pupil of the court painter Alonso Senchez Coello in Madrid and he must have assisted his master in complying with his duties as painter of the Spanish King, Philip II. Pantoja probably continued to work in his master studio after completing his training. He married in 1585 beginning to paint for the court around that time. After Sanchez Coello's death in 1588, Pantoja took over his master workshop and became court painter to Philip II of Spain. Pantoja kept working for the court and the nobility, painting portraits of Prince Philip, the future Philip III, in 1592 and 1594. Among his most well known works is the portrait of Philip II wearing a cape and hat all in black, painted around 1594 for the Escorial. This portrait is one of the best representations of the idea of Spanish majesty, based on the remoteness of the monarch. On Philip II's death in 1598, Philip III confirmed Pantoja's status as court painter. When the court settled in Valladolid in 1601, Pantoja moved to the new capital, remaining in this city, several years.
Francesco Giuseppe Casanova
(1727-1803) was an Italian painter and a younger brother of Giacomo Casanova. Francesco Casanova Battaglia di cavalleria (oil on canvas, Louvre, Paris)Born in London, he trained in Venice under Francesco Guardi, then was a pupil of Francesco Simonini, a battle painter who took Borgognone as his model. Besides battle-pieces Casanova painted landscapes with figures and cattle, as well as pastoral subjects. He arrived in Paris in 1751, and went to Dresden in the following year, where he remained until 1757, spending his time in copying the finest battle-pieces of the famous Electoral Gallery. On his return to Paris he studied for a time under Charles Parrocel, and was received into the Academy in 1763. He exhibited at the Salon at intervals from that year till 1783, when he again quit France, going to Vienna, where he resided during the remainder of his life. Philip James de Loutherbourg was his pupil for a time.