No other painter of Greek descent shares the renown of Domenikos Theotokopoulos, universally known as "El Greco". Evidently classic and irrefutably modern, his visionary work is continuously rediscovered and reevaluated as a paradigm of genius, originality and innovation.
Although often cited as a Spaniard, and even considered by some to be a quintessential Spanish artist, Theotokopoulos was born in Crete, where he spent at least the first two decades of his life and received his original artistic training as an icon painter. He never rejected his origins, and signed his works in his full name in Greek.
It was probably in Italy that he began to be referred to as il Greco (the Greek), most likely by people who found his long family name difficult to remember or pronounce. Later, in Spain, he would also be called "the Greek", i.e. el Griego. It was only posthumously that the byname "El Greco" really took hold; its eclectic quality indeed reflects the plurality of his identity: a Spanish article and an Italian adjective are used to designate someone as "the Greek".