Laocoön
Image courtesy of
The National Gallery of Art, U.S.A
Real Name:
Domenikos Theotokopoulos
Nationality:
Greek
Movement or School:
Mannerism
Education:
El
Greco is said to have studied under Titian.
Other artists
such as Tintoretto and Michelangelo also influenced him and had a profound
effect on his composition.
Life/Lifestyle:
He
was born in what is now Iráklion, Crete (El Greco means "the
Greek"). He moved to Venice,
and produced his early works which resemble those of Titian.
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
died a wealthy man in Toledo on April 7, 1614.
Contribution to Portraits and Figures:
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.
Famous Pieces:
Laocoön
