Rosso Fiorentino
Rosso Fiorentino was an Italian Mannerist painter whose angular figures, expressive brushwork, and striking colors challenged High Renaissance conventions.
Painter
El Greco
El Greco was a Greek-born painter who worked in Italy and Spain, combining elongated figures and visionary light in a distinctive late Mannerist style.
El Greco quick facts
El Greco’s quick facts trace his path from Crete through Venice and Rome to Toledo, where he developed a distinctive religious painting style.
| Full name | Doménikos Theotokópoulos |
|---|---|
| Born | 1541 (or 1540) · Candia (Heraklion), Venetian Crete |
| Died | 1614 · Toledo, Spain |
| Nationality | Greek-born; active in Italy and Spain |
| Movements | Late Mannerism (individual Greek, Italian, and Spanish synthesis) |
| Paint types | Oil paint · Egg tempera |
| Other media | — |
| Other materials | — |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Wood (early oil panels) |
| Painting methods | Used loose oil brushwork, heightened color contrasts, and deliberately elongated forms departing from observed proportions |
| Common subjects | Biblical visions, saints, religious altarpieces, Toledo cityscapes, portraits, and dramatic skies |
| Notable works | View of Toledo · The Vision of Saint John · Christ Healing the Blind · Christ Carrying the Cross |
Sources: The Met: View of Toledo, oil on canvas, The Met: The Vision of Saint John, oil on canvas, The Met: Christ Healing the Blind, oil on canvas, The Met: El Greco's Byzantine, Venetian, and Spanish career, and National Gallery of Greece: The Entombment of Christ, egg tempera with oil.
Paint types used by El Greco
El Greco painted in oil on canvas for religious scenes and city views; one early panel combines egg tempera with oil, as the National Gallery records.
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Oil paint
The Met catalogs View of Toledo (c. 1600–10) and The Vision of Saint John as oil on canvas. In the landscape, sharply contrasting greens and a storm-lit sky turn a recognizable city view into an expressive scene. The same medium appears in his large religious paintings and portraits.
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Egg tempera
The National Gallery in Athens records The Entombment of Christ as egg tempera combined with oil on a wood panel. This early mixed-medium work reflects El Greco’s Byzantine training before his later oil paintings on canvas. The record explicitly names the egg binder, distinguishing it from generic tempera.
Sources: The Met: View of Toledo, oil on canvas; The Met: The Vision of Saint John, oil on canvas; The Met: Christ Healing the Blind; The Met: El Greco’s career and painting; National Gallery of Greece: The Entombment of Christ, egg tempera and oil on panel
Painting surfaces used by El Greco
El Greco’s canvases carry elongated religious figures and city views, while museum records identify wood panels in early paintings and works.
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Canvas
El Greco’s major paintings, including View of Toledo and The Vision of Saint John, are documented as oil on canvas. The support carries both expressive landscapes and large religious compositions. Museum records identify canvas across several representative works, distinct from the wood panel used for his early egg-tempera painting.
Sources: The Met: View of Toledo, oil on canvas, The Met: The Vision of Saint John, oil on canvas, The Met: Christ Healing the Blind, oil on canvas, The Met: El Greco's Byzantine, Venetian, and Spanish career, National Gallery of Greece: The Entombment of Christ, egg tempera with oil.
Painters similar to El Greco
Rosso's restless figures and Pontormo's intense color offer Mannerist comparisons, though El Greco developed his own Spanish religious idiom.
Pontormo
Pontormo was a Florentine Mannerist painter known for charged religious subjects, unconventional spaces, and intense, sometimes startling color.