Kyriakos Theotokopoulos (El Greco) was trained as a post Byzantine religious icon painter in Crete and was influenced by the Cretian hagiographic school. He eventually abandoned this style. El Greco was a Spanish mannerist painter. In 1566 he went to Venice, Italy, where he remained until 1570 upon his departure for Rome. While in Venice, he was influenced by the paintings of Titan and Tintoretto (masters of the High Renaissance period). While in Rome, El Greco met several Spaniards associated with the church in Toledo, Spain; who enticed him with the prospect of becoming a court painter for Philip II of Spain. In 1576 he left Italy for a sojourn in Malta and arrived in Toledo in the spring of 1577. His dreams were shattered when, after submitting paintings to King Philip II for approval, he was denied a court commission. King Philip II found his work outlandish.
             El Greco was a prosperous man. He had a large house in Toledo, where he received members of the nobility and intellectual elite. He was a cultured humanist whose knowledge of languages gave him access to mainstream philosophical and literary works, with which his private library was stocked. Domenicos Theotokopoulos died in Toledo, Spain on April 7, 1614 and remains within the city at his burial site in Santo Domingo el Antiguo.
             The subject matter of John the Baptist leads me to notice, first, that John the Baptist is a very tall and slender man. His hair is not groomed, though. His facial expression suggests that he is contemplating salvation. His walking staff is in the shape of a cross. His clothing is that of an animal skin tied around his shoulder. He is in a pasture with sheep. One of them is sleeping on a rock next to him. The sky is sky-blue and the light, flat, flat-white clouds suggest a cool and mild climate. In the far distance behind him is a mountain covered with grass and capped with snow. There are also a few trees with ...