El Greco

Doménikos Theotokópoulos was a Cretan-born artist so individual, he belongs to no conventional school. His contemporaries in Spain likely took one look at his name and said, "We're calling you 'The Greek'" (El Greco). He's famous for his dramatically elongated figures and fantastical colors, which married Byzantine traditions with Western painting. This unique style led to some amusing, though likely untrue, rumors. One theory, now known as the "El Greco fallacy," suggested he had a peculiar astigmatism that made him see the world stretched out. Another tale claims he brazenly offered to repaint Michelangelo's "Last Judgment," having once remarked that while Michelangelo was a good man, he "did not know how to paint." A bold statement from the man who would become a precursor to both Expressionism and Cubism.