1. By Sarah Brown

2.  came from an urban family  El Greco was claimed to be Greek Orthodox  El Greco’s family probably been driven out of Fodele or Candia to Candia after an uprising against the Venetians between 1526 and 1528  Greco's father(Geórgios Theotokópoulos)was a merchant and tax collector  Nothing is know about Greco mother or first wife. 

3.  El Greco received his initial training as an icon painter of the Cretan school.  In addition to painting, he probably studied the classics of ancient Greece, and perhaps the Latin classics.

4. This painting was made for a side altar of the church of Saint John the Baptist outside the walls of Toledo. Originally El Greco's painting was referred to as Profane Love. He had doubts about the title and changed it to the Opening of the Fifth Seal. The Metropolitan Museum, where the painting is kept.

5. El Greco died on April 7 1614