His early training as an icon painter in Greece, his subsequent study in Renaissance Venice and Rome, and his efforts, after arriving in Spain in 1577, to attract prominent patrons, all figure in El Greco's canvas, where both Eastern and Western traditions combine to transform his memorial into a cogent contemporary parable.
WSJ: El Greco's Masterpiece The Burial of the Count of Orgaz: A Vision of Faith | By Mary Tompkins Lewis