The Isabelline style, also called the Isabelline Gothic (), or Castilian late Gothic, was the dominant

architectural style An architectural style is a classification of buildings (and nonbuilding structures) based on a set of characteristics and features, including overall appearance, arrangement of the components, method of construction, building materials used, for ...

of the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Castile, Castile and Kingd ...

during the reign of the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...

, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

in the late-15th century to early-16th century. The Frenchman Émile Bertaux named the style after Queen Isabella. It represents the transition between late Gothic and early

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

architecture, with original features and decorative influences of the Castilian tradition, the

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

, the

Mudéjar Mudéjar were Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period following the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for Mudéjar art, which was greatly influenced by Islamic art, but produced typically by Christian craftsmen for C ...

, and to a much lesser extent,

Italian architecture Italy has a very broad and diverse architectural style, which cannot be simply classified by period or region, due to Italy's division into various small states until 1861. This has created a highly diverse and eclectic range in architectural de ...

. The consideration or not of the Isabelline as a Gothic or Renaissance style, or as an Eclectic style, or as a phase within a greater

Plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish language, Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially Architecture, architectural, developed in Spanish Empire, Spain and its territories, which appeared ...

generic, is a question debated by historians of art and unresolved.

Overview

The Isabelline style introduced several structural elements of the Castilian tradition and the typical

flamboyant Flamboyant () is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.Encyclopedia Britannica, "Flamboyant style ...

forms of Flanders, as well as some ornaments of

influence. Many of the buildings that were built in this style were commissioned by the

or were in some way sponsored by them. A similar style called

Manueline The Manueline (, ), occasionally known as Portuguese late Gothic, is the sumptuous, composite Portuguese architectural style originating in the 16th century, during the Portuguese Renaissance and Age of Discoveries. Manueline architecture inco ...

developed concurrently in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. The most obvious characteristic of the Isabelline is the predominance of

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

and

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

motifs, especially the symbols of the yoke and arrows and the pomegranate, which refer to the Catholic Monarchs. Also characteristic of this period is ornamentation using beaded motifs of orbs worked in plaster or carved in stone. After the Catholic Monarchs had completed the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

in 1492 and started the colonization of the Americas, imperial Spain began to develop a consciousness of its growing power and wealth, and in its exuberance launched a period of construction of grand monuments to symbolize them. Many of these monuments were built at the command of the Queen; thus Isabelline Gothic manifested the desire of the Spanish ruling classes to display their own power and wealth. This exuberance found a parallel expression in the extreme profusion of decoration which has been called

. References to classical antiquity in the architecture of Spain were more literary, whereas in Italy, the prevalence of Roman-era buildings had given 'Gothic' a meaning adapted to Italian classicist taste. Until the Renaissance took hold in the Iberian peninsula, the transition from the 'Modern' to the 'Roman' in Spanish architecture had hardly begun. These terms were applied with a meaning different from what one would expect – the 'Modern', an originally Spanish style, referred to the Gothic and its rational efficiency,Maroto, J. ''Historia del Arte'', Casals, , pg. 195, citing, among others, to Diego de Sagredo ''Las Medidas del Romano'', 1526. while the 'Roman' was the neoclassical or emotional and sensualist style of the

Italian Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought ...

. Regardless of the spatial characteristics of the interiors, Gothic buildings utilized proven structural systems. The Gothic style in the Iberian Peninsula had undergone a series of changes under the influence of local tradition, including much smaller windows, which allowed the construction of roofs with substantially less pitch. This made for a truly original style, yet more efficient construction. Spanish architects, accustomed to their Gothic structural conventions, looked with some contempt on the visible metal braces that Italian architects were forced to put on their buildings' arches to resist horizontal thrust, while their own Gothic building methods had avoided this problem. The development of classical architecture in the Iberian Peninsula, as elsewhere, had been moribund during the centuries of building construction done in the Gothic tradition, and the neoclassical movement of the Italian Renaissance was late to arrive there. A unique style with modern elements evolved from the Gothic inheritance in Spain. Perhaps the best example of this

syncretistic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus ...

style is the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo; designed by the architect

Juan Guas Juan Guas (c. 1430-33 – c. 1496) was a Spanish artist and architect of Breton origin. He worked in a group of architects to create the Isabelline style. Born in Saint-Pol-de-Léon, he moved to Spain when he was young, and is often thought t ...

, its Gothic ideals are expressed more in the construction than in the design of the interior space, as the relationship with original

French Gothic French Gothic architecture is an architectural style which emerged in France in 1140, and was dominant until the mid-16th century. The most notable examples are the great Gothic cathedrals of France, including Notre-Dame Cathedral, Reims Cathed ...

building techniques had receded with the passage of time. In the Isabelline style, decorative elements of

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

origin were combined with Iberian traditional elements to form ornamental complexes that overlaid the structures, while retaining many Gothic elements, such as

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

s and pointed arches. Isabelline architects clung to the Gothic solution of the problem of how to distribute the weight burden of vaults pressing on pillars (not on the walls, as in the Romanesque or Italian Renaissance styles): that is, by propping them up with

flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of a ramping arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall ou ...

es. After 1530, although the Isabelline style continued to be used and its decorative ornaments were still evolving,

Spanish architecture Spanish architecture refers to architecture in any area of what is now Spain, and by Spanish architects worldwide, influencing mainly areas of what was once part of the Spanish Empire. The term includes buildings which were constructed within t ...

began to incorporate Renaissance ideas of form and structure.

Main architects

*Egas Cueman *Enrique Egas * Simón de Colonia

List of notable Isabelline structures

* Iglesia conventual de San Pablo in

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

* Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo * Royal Chapel of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

*Iglesia de Santa María la Real in

Aranda de Duero Aranda de Duero is a city and municipality, capital of the Ribera del Duero comarca, in the south of the province of Burgos, in Castile and León, Spain. It has a population of roughly 33,000 people and lies on the River Duero. Description T ...

Colegio de San Gregorio The Colegio de San Gregorio is an Isabelline style building located in the city of Valladolid, in Castile and León, Spain, it was formerly a college and now is housing the National Museum of Sculpture. This building is one of the best examples ...

in Valladolid *Monastery of Santo Tomás in

Ávila Ávila ( , , ) is a Spanish city located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m a ...

* Miraflores Charterhouse in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populous municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of th ...

* Palacio del Infantado in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

*Facade of the Palacio de Jabalquinto in Baeza * Monastery of San Jerónimo el Real in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

*The defunct Abbey of Santa Engracia of Zaragoza * Casa del Cordón in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

File:Iglesia del monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, Toledo, España.jpg, View of the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo. File:Aranda de Duero, Iglesia de Santa María la Real, fachada principal.jpg, Facade of Iglesia de Santa María la Real in

File:Guadalajara - Palacio del Duque del Infantado 3.jpg, Palacio del Infantado in Guadalajara, Spain. File:Guadalajara - Palacio del Duque del Infantado 2.jpg, Courtyard of the Lions of the Palacio del Infantado in Guadalajara, Spain. File:Antigua Catedral de Segovia. Claustro.jpg, Cloister designed by

in Segovia File:Spain Andalusia Malaga BW 2015-10-24 16-12-02.jpg, Iglesia del Sagrario in Málaga File:Burgos Catedral PM 74068 E.jpg, Detail of the Isabelline exterior decoration in the Constable's chapel of the

Cathedral of Burgos The Cathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos () is a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary located in the historical center of the Spain, Spanish city of Burgos. Its official name is the Holy Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica Church of St Mary of ...

. File:Cartuja de Miraflores 1.jpg, Miraflores Charterhouse in Burgos. File:MadridAgosto201320100101000011SAM 3038.jpg, San Jerónimo el Real in Madrid File:Valladolid Colegio de San Gregorio 799.jpg, Patio Grande courtyard of the

in Valladolid

Notes and references

* Chueca Goitia, Fernando: ''Historia de la arquitectura española'', two volumes. Diputación de Ávila, 2001.

External links

{{Gothic architecture * Gothic architecture Catholic architecture Spanish Golden Age Architectural history fr:Plateresque#Formes diverses du plateresque

Overview

Main architects

List of notable Isabelline structures

See also

Notes and references

External links