Pietà

c. 1567 – 1570

Venice: a “disciple” of Titian

El Greco lived in Venice until 1570 and, according to a letter from his friend the miniaturist Giulio Clovio, was a “disciple” of Titian, who was by then over eighty but still vigorous. This may mean he worked in Titian's studio, or not; Clovio called him “a rare talent in painting”.

1570

Moving to Rome and the Palazzo Farnese

In 1570 El Greco moved to Rome; on Giulio Clovio's recommendation he was received as a guest at the Palazzo Farnese, which Cardinal Alessandro Farnese had made a centre of the city's artistic and intellectual life. There he met the Roman intellectual elite, including the scholar Fulvio Orsini, whose collection would later include seven paintings by him.

1570s

The quarrel with Michelangelo in Rome

El Greco singled out Correggio and Parmigianino for praise but did not hesitate to dismiss Michelangelo's Last Judgment, offering Pope Pius V to paint over the whole fresco in accord with the new and stricter Catholic thinking; later he said Michelangelo was a good man who did not know how to paint. In The Purification of the Temple he painted portraits of Michelangelo, Titian, Clovio and presumably Raphael, advancing a claim to rival them.

late 1572

His own workshop in Rome

At the end of 1572 El Greco opened his own workshop in Rome and hired the painters Lattanzio Bonastri de Lucignano and Francisco Preboste as assistants.

1572

Enemies in Rome: the quarrel with Farnese

Because of his unconventional beliefs and personality El Greco soon made enemies in Rome: the architect Pirro Ligorio called him a “foolish foreigner”, and Farnese, after a quarrel, obliged him to leave the palace. In 1572 the painter officially complained about it.

18 September 1572

Joining the Guild of Saint Luke in Rome

On 18 September 1572 El Greco paid his dues to the Guild of Saint Luke in Rome as a miniature painter.