El Greco's unique style

Born in Crete Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος (Doménikos Theotokópoulos), went to Venice at the age of 26 years old. El Greco, a nickname in reference to his Greek origin, was recognized last century as a talent of his own without matches:

"El Greco's elongated figures, ever straining upward, his intense and unusual colors, his passionate involvement in his subject, his ardor and his energy, all combine to create a style that is wholly distinct and individual."

Right: Mary Magdalen in Penitence,1585-90
Left: A Boy Blowing on an Ember to Light a Candle,1570-1572

The subject of a boy blowing on an ember appears frequently as a subsidiary element in subject pictures in mid-sixteenth-century Venetian painting.