This 15th Century Artist Challenged Michelangelo & Inspired Picasso

Edition #14 - Prophet of Modernism El Greco

Can you imagine an artist who challenged Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel better than him?

Shockingly yes, there was one.

But when this artist died, he lost his artistic identity in the annals of time.

In the modern era, his compositions enamored painters like Picasso and Paul Cézanne. The more art historians and researchers delved into his eccentric and contemporary painting style, the more he became famous.

I’m talking about the forgotten artist of the high renaissance period — Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos, widely known as El Greco.

The modern world reclaimed him as its own and titled him the ‘Prophet of Modernism’.

When El Greco had disagreements with the Church in Rome and could not get great commissions like the Sistine Chapel, he moved from Rome to Spain and painted in Toledo until he died in 1613.

Let’s look into 5 of El Greco’s masterpieces and how he inspired iconic painters like Picasso.