What's in a name?

Like me, you may never have heard of Domenikos Theotokopoulos.
Not only is the name a mouthful for non-native speakers of Greek, but it lacks something in the way of branding that 'El Greco', Spanish for 'The Greek', conjures up so admirably.

This wasn't one of my first thoughts as I wandered through the Boston's MFA special exhibition, but it did set me thinking about brand and image (as did the recent Annie Leibovitch photo of Miley Ray Cyrus aka Disney's Hannah Montana - but for different reasons - like exploitation).

The fact that El Greco was talented and that his paintings have an elongated, mystical and at times overpowering weight to them, would probably have counted for little without support and sponsorship, in his case from the Duke of Lerma and later Philip III.

El Greco also had some luck, albeit at the second attempt.

His first attempts to gain court acceptance did not find favor with Philip II - who might have been pre-occupied with four marriages, the inquisition, expelling all non-catholics from Spain and trying to invade England with his Armada - and El Greco returned to his home.

Later, after Domenikos Theotokopoulos painted an altarpiece, his work found favor and he became widely known as El Greco and one of the first branded artists.

I wonder if Miley would sooner be known as the brand Hannah Montana or more simply as Miley - certainly it appears that father Billy Ray and mother Tish are looking to alter the perception of their daughter.