Churrigueresque (;

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Churrigueresco''), also but less commonly "Ultra Baroque", refers to a

Spanish Baroque The arts of the Spanish Baroque include: *Spanish Baroque painting *Spanish Baroque architecture ** Spanish Baroque ephemeral architecture *Spanish Baroque literature **''Culteranismo'' **''Conceptismo'' * Spanish Baroque art ** Bodegón **Tenebri ...

style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the late 17th century and was used up to about 1750, marked by extreme, expressive and florid decorative detailing, normally found above the entrance on the main facade of a building.

Origins

Named after the architect and sculptor,

José Benito de Churriguera José Benito de Churriguera (21 March 1665, in Madrid – 2 March 1725, in Madrid) was a Spanish architect, sculptor and urbanist of the late-Baroque or Rococo style. He was born in Madrid to a Catalan cabinetmaker, gilder and altarpiece joine ...

(1665–1725), who was born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

and who worked primarily in Madrid and

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

, the origins of the style are said to go back to an architect and sculptor named

Alonso Cano Alonso Cano Almansa or Alonzo Cano (19 March 16013 September 1667) was a Spanish painter, architect, and sculptor born in Granada.cathedral at Granada, in 1667. A distant, early 15th century precursor of the highly elaborate Churrigueresque style can be found in the Lombard Charterhouse of Pavia, yet the sculpture-encrusted facade still has the Italianate appeal to rational narrative. Churrigueresque appeals to the proliferative geometry and it is an intense evolution of Baroque, influenced by the same Baroque.

Development

The development of the style passed through three phases. Between 1680 and 1720, the Churriguera popularized Guarino Guarini's blend of

Solomonic column The Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific classical order, although most examples have Corinthian or Composite c ...

s and

composite order The Composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order.Henig, Martin (ed.), ''A Handbook of Roman Art'', p. 50, Phaidon, 1983, In many versions the composite or ...

, known as "supreme order". Between 1720 and 1760, the Churrigueresque column, or

estipite The estipite column is a type of pilaster typical of the Churrigueresque Baroque style of Spain and Spanish America used in the 18th century. In the late Baroque period, many classical architectural elements lost their simple shapes and became in ...

, in the shape of an inverted cone or obelisk, was established as a central element of ornamental decoration. The years from 1760 to 1780 saw a gradual shift of interest away from twisted movement and excessive ornamentation towards neoclassical balance and sobriety. Among the highlights of the style, interiors of the

Granada Charterhouse Granada Charterhouse ( es, Cartuja de Granada) is a Carthusian monastery in Granada, Spain. It is one of the finest examples of Spanish Baroque architecture. The charterhouse was founded in 1506; construction started ten years later, and conti ...

offer some of the most impressive combinations of space and light in 18th-century Europe. Integrating sculpture and architecture even more radically,

Narciso Tomé Narciso Tomé (1690–1742) was a Spanish architect and sculptor of the late- Baroque or Rococo period. Tomé was born in Toro, Spain. With his brother, Diego, he sculpted the facade of the University of Valladolid in 1715. In 1721, he was named ...

achieved striking

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

effects in his ''Transparente'' for the

Toledo Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Toledo Cathedral, from Plaza del Ayuntamiento.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...

. Perhaps the most visually intoxicating form of the style was Mexican Churrigueresque, practiced in the mid-18th century by

Lorenzo Rodriguez Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

, whose masterpiece is the

Sagrario Metropolitano The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven ( es, Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María a los cielos) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mex ...

(1749–69) in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, New Spain.

Spain

The first of the Churriguera was

(1665–1725), who trained as a joiner of

altarpieces An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...

, drawing some very important for various churches of

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

and other cities in Spain. Some in Spain have gone and some remain only a sites: *

Nuevo Baztán Nuevo Baztán is a municipality southeast of Madrid, near Alcalá de Henares, Spain. It consists of a small historic centre and modern housing estates. The historic centre was designed as an industrial and housing complex laid out on a grid p ...

, Community of Madrid **Church of St Francisco Javier and Goyeneche Palace *Salamanca, Castile and León **Altarpiece of Convent of San Esteban **Choir of the New Cathedral. **Plaza Mayor, Salamanca, Plaza Mayor. **Capilla de la Vera Cruz (Salamanca), Capilla de la Vera Cruz **Colegio de Calatrava, Salamanca, College of Calatrava *Seville **Palace of San Telmo

Mexico

In Mexico, the Zacatecas Cathedral, Cathedral Basilica of Zacatecas, capital of Zacatecas state, and the Santa Prisca de Taxco, Templo de Santa Prisca, located in Taxco, Guerrero state are considered as masterpieces of Churrigueresque style. The building of Parroquia Antigua in Salamanca, Guanajuato, founded on August 24, 1603, was completed in the year 1690, and the Churrigueresque facade in 1740. The altarpiece of the church of San Francisco Javier (Museo del Virreinato, Tepotzotlán, National Museum of Viceroyalty) in Tepotzotlán, State of Mexico is also considered, along with its facade, one of the most important baroque churrigueresque works created by the Society of Jesus, Jesuits in New Spain. The Retablo de los Reyes, Altar de los Reyes of the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral and the facades of the Sagrario Metropolitano, by the Spanish architect Lorenzo Rodriguez, which is attached to the same Cathedral, are also representatives of the style.

The Philippines

It was late introduced in the Philippines. The best examples were the San Juan de dios Hospital in Intramuros, Daraga Church in Albay, and Tigbauan Church in Iloilo.

California Churrigueresque

California Churrigueresque is a revival style native to California, developed in the early 20th century by architects Bertram Goodhue and Carleton Winslow Sr. for the Panama-California Exposition, 1915 Panama-California Exposition, which helped popularize its use in Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California, and to a lesser extent the rest of the United States. Goodhue and Winslow developed the style after studying Churrigueresque and Plateresque ornamentation in Spanish Colonial architecture, Spanish Colonial buildings in Mexico. Many of the best examples of California Churrigeresque are located in Balboa Park (San Diego), Balboa Park in San Diego, the site of the Panama-California Exposition. Other notable buildings in this style include San Francisco's Mission San Francisco de Asís, Mission Dolores Basilica, the First Congregational Church of Riverside, Los Angeles's St. Vincent de Paul Church (Los Angeles, California), St. Vincent de Paul Church, and Beverly Hills City Hall.LA Curbed - Beverly Hills Landmarking 1932 Churrigueresque City Hall
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References

;Bibliography * Pevsner, Fleming and Honour, ''The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture'', Penguin Books, Middlesex, England, 1983 * Kelemen, Pal, ''Baroque and Rococo in Latin America'', Dover Publications Inc., New York, volumes I and II, 1967

External links

{{Architecture of Spain Churrigueresque architecture, Spanish Baroque architecture, Churrigueresque Baroque architectural styles, Churrigueresque Spanish Colonial architecture, Churrigueresque Architectural history