Art of El Greco like a vision, all of the buildings painted glistening white. According to Wethey, in his surviving landscapes, "El Greco demonstrated his characteristic tendency to dramatize rather than to describe". Professor Nicos Hadjinicolaou notes the manner in which El Greco could adjust his style in accordance with his surroundings and stresses the importance of Toledo for the complete development of El Greco's mature style. Wethey asserts that "although Greek by descent and Italian by artistic preparation, the artist became so immersed in the religious environment of Spain that he became the most vital visual representative of Spanish mysticism". The same scholar
El Greco custom of identifying a man by designating a country or city of origin was a common practice. The curious form of the article ("El") may be from the Venetian dialect or more likely from the Spanish, though in Spanish his name would be "". The Cretan master was generally known in Italy and Spain as "Dominico Greco", and was called only after his death El Greco (). b. According to a contemporary, El Greco acquired his name, not only for his place of origin, but also for the sublimity of his art: "Out of the great esteem he was held