El Greco
Laocoön
c.1610
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Photographed by Team C004570
He moved to Venice, and produce his early works that resemble that of Titian, whom he was said to have studied under. He was also influence by artists such as Tintoretto and Michelangelo, which had a profound effect on his composition. His life in Italy was obscure, by he is said to have left because he offered to paint over Michelangelo's the Last Judgment if Pontificate of Pius V messed it up while covering the nudity in it. It was considered an insult to Pius, and caused such resentment that he had to leave.
In c.1577, he moved to Toledo, Spain, where his style of loose brushwork emerged more clearly. He often used non normative colors, groupings, etc. in his artwork. The figures in his artwork often have elongated bodies, and many pieces contain a "horror vacui" or the dread of empty spaces. This manipulation of the human body is typical of Mannerist styles. And, as a result, art took as step back from realism, not towards the old classical styles, but more towards the fantastic. He died a wealthy man in Toledo on April 7, 1614.