Doménikos Theotokópoulos, most widely known as El Greco, was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. El Greco was a nickname, and the artist normally signed his paintings with his full birth name in Greek letters often adding the word Κρής, which means "Cretan" in Ancient Greek. October 1, 1541 – April 7, 1614; died at 72. Alive at the same time as William Shakespeare, René Descartes, Elizabeth I of England, Johannes Kepler, and Jacques Cartier. Wiki link