It sounded like El Greco was being a bit arrogant. While visiting Rome in 1570, he snipped that if Michelangelo's fresco "Last Judgment" in the Sistine Chapel were destroyed, he would paint a better one.

Actually, his point was that everyone should be humble: Even the greatest masterpieces could be improved upon, and one could always do better.

His attitude shaped him as an artist who blended the mysticism of Byzantine art with Western painting to forge a unique, personal style that's influenced generations of painters.

The elongated, nearly abstract figures El Greco (1541-1614) painted are regarded by some as forerunners of modern art. His intense vision and powerful religiosity directly inspired a generation of Spanish artists who were patronized by the Catholic Church.

"He was restless, strange . . . there's always a frenetic, edgy fervency in his work," said Joseph Rishel, curator of European painting for the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The museum has six El Greco paintings in its collection.

He was also a hugely prolific painter who produced hundreds of canvases that reflected his never-ending quest for perfection.

Born Domenikos Theotokopoulos on the southern Greek island of Crete, El Greco, son of a merchant and tax collector, grew to maturity during a turbulent time when Europe was locked in a life and death struggle with the Ottoman Empire. His childhood was marked by the heavy influence of Christian doctrine and tales of pitched battles against the Turks.

This imbued him with an intense religious feeling and haunting intensity. He also appeared to have good business sense and realized the importance of finding patrons to underwrite his work.

As a youth, he was interested in more than painting. He was an avid reader of classical and contemporary literature. He also showed from the start an openness to new ideas and that he wasn't wedded to the past.

El Greco began his career painting icons by candlelight in the Cretan town of Candia, his birthplace. At the time, Crete was a possession of the Italian city-state of Venice. The constant stream of Italians to Crete opened him to new artistic currents that were then sweeping Italy. He left for Venice in 1568 to learn more about Western painting techniques.

El Greco showed that he was a quick learner who adapted easily to new painting styles.

"He just came marching into Venice at prime time," Rishel said. "He gets accepted when great painters like Tintoretto are going like gangbusters. It's like going from Kansas to New York in 1955. This is remarkable given that El Greco was born in Crete and spent a long time studying a very introspective Byzantine manner of painting."

Great Venetian painters, such as Titian, recognized the young Greek artist's talent and let him work in their studios.

El Greco examined their paintings to learn from them. His portraits and other works reflected the period's rich colors and flowing styles.

Yet he always added his own touches. He showed constant inventiveness in the use of color and light. Unlike many painters, he preferred to show his subjects in artificial light — a throwback to the time he painted Greek icons by firelight. He showed his figures clutching candles or posing near flickering flames. This made them glow in a way different from a portrayal in sunlight.

In 1571, El Greco left Venice for Rome and entered more rarefied art circles. There he encountered a new painting style called Mannerism. It rejected realistic portrayals in favor of subjective interpretations that often were only an idea in the artist's mind. Mannerism's swirling colors and compressed forms were exemplified by the work of Michelangelo and other masters.

El Greco refused to copy them. Instead, he adopted his own style of Mannerism. In Rome, the elongated human figures that surfaced in his Venetian paintings became longer and more pronounced, twisting and turning with animated intensity.

Confident in his ability, El Greco left Italy for Spain around 1577 to find patrons who'd pay more for his work. He settled in Toledo, then the country's religious capital, and embarked on his most successful period.

In Spain, patrons gave him the affectionate moniker El Greco, medieval Castilian for "The Greek."

El Greco's work at this time included "The Assumption of the Virgin," painted around 1577 to decorate El Escorial, the palace of King Philip II. Another is "The Burial of Count Orgaz," painted in Toledo in 1586.

His famous "View of Toledo," completed in 1609 toward the end of his career, is a stylized landscape of the city where he spent his final years. Some say it anticipates the Impressionists of the 1800s in its hypnotic use of colors such as violet and emerald green. Others say it's in a category all its own.

He used his paintings to reflect his strong emotions; these he tried to transfer directly to canvas. His Spanish paintings radiate the hope of a better life to come — the souls of the departed rise toward a sky filled with angels and saints.

In his notes, El Greco often referred to himself as an artist-philosopher guided by inner religious principles. One famous story said he sat in a darkened room on a bright summer day so he could focus better on his "inner light."

El Greco also abhorred those who considered painting a mere craft akin to making furniture. He argued strongly that painting should be regarded as an art on a par with literature, drama and poetry.

His crusade was often a struggle. When El Greco completed his first major work in Spain, "The Disrobing of Christ," he was paid about 50 ducats (roughly $3,750 in gold today). The gilded frame he commissioned would've fetched about $42,750 in today's market.

His presence in Spain also lent force to an artistic revolution led by the Catholic Church. As the church responded to the Protestant Reformation, it enlisted artists such as El Greco to paint works that reinforced the image of the sacraments, the saints and the Virgin Mary.

He worked constantly, filling the cathedrals and great houses of Spain with paintings and frescoes. This inspired future Spanish artists.


BY DOUG TSURUOKA