Crossword Genius

Old painter broke leg on short, short fact-finding mission (2,5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

el greco

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'old painter' is the definition.
'el greco' can be an answer for 'painter' (thesaurus). I am unsure of the 'old' bit.

'broke leg on short short fact-finding mission' is the wordplay.
'broke' is an anagram indicator.
'on' becomes 're' ('on' can be mean 'with reference to').
'short short fact-finding mission' becomes 'co' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'leg' with letters rearranged gives 'elg'.
'elg'+'re'+'co'='EL GRECO'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for el greco that I've seen before include "Spanish painter born 1541 in Crete" , "He painted" , "Spanish artist born in Crete" , "Greek born Spanish painter" , "Sixteenth to seventeenth century Greek-born Spanish painter" .)

I've seen this clue in the Irish Times (Crosaire) and the Irish Times.
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