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

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

of the Crown of Castile during the reign of the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being bot ...

, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon 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 ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

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

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

, the

Mudéjar Mudéjar ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for ...

, 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 des ...

. The consideration or not of the Isabelline as a Gothic or Renaissance style, or as an

Eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

style, or as a phase within a greater

Plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially architectural, developed in Spain and its territories, which appeared between the late Gothic and early Renaissance ...

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 (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...

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 ( pt, estilo manuelino, ), 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. Manuel ...

developed concurrently in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. 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 bran ...

and epigraphic motifs, especially the symbols of the

yoke and arrows A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, ...

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 ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

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, thu ...

style is the

Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes The Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes (English: Monastery of Saint John of the Monarchs) is an Isabelline style Franciscan monastery in Toledo, in Castile-La Mancha, Spain, built by the Catholic Monarchs (1477–1504). A monument to celebr ...

in Toledo; designed by the architect

Juan Guas Juan Guas (c. 1430-33 – c. 1496) was a Spanish artist and architect of French 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 ...

, 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 Cathedra ...

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 drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

origin were combined with Iberian traditional elements to form ornamental complexes that overlaid the structures, while retaining many Gothic elements, such as pinnacles 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 an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...

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. The term includes buildings which were constructed within the current borders of Spain prior to its existence as a nation, when ...

began to incorporate Renaissance ideas of form and structure.

Main architects

*Egas Cueman *Enrique Egas *

Simón de Colonia Simón de Colonia (died 1511) was a Spanish architect and sculptor, son of architect Juan de Colonia and father of architect and sculptor Francisco de Colonia. Francisco de Colonia was a Gothic style sculptor and architect of the Plateresque. ...

List of notable Isabelline structures

* Iglesia conventual de San Pablo in

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 ...

in Toledo * Royal Chapel of Granada *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. The closest int ...

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 Museo Nacional de Escultura museum. This building is one of the best examp ...

in Valladolid *Monastery of Santo Tomás in Ávila *

Miraflores Charterhouse Miraflores Charterhouse ( es, Cartuja de Miraflores) is an Isabelline style charterhouse, or Carthusian monastery of the Order of the Carthusians, built on a hill (known as Miraflores) about three kilometres from the center of the Spanish city of ...

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

Palacio del Infantado The Palace of El Infantado (Spanish: ''Palacio del Infantado'') is a palace located in Guadalajara, Spain. An example of the Isabelline architectural style, it dates from the 15th century and was the seat of the Dukes of the Infantado. Conserva ...

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

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

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

File:Iglesia del monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, Toledo, España.jpg, View of the

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,

in Guadalajara, Spain. File:Guadalajara - Palacio del Duque del Infantado 2.jpg, Courtyard of the Lions of the

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. File:Cartuja de Miraflores 1.jpg,

in Burgos. File:MadridAgosto201320100101000011SAM 3038.jpg,

San Jerónimo el Real Saint Jerome the Royal (in Spanish ''San Jerónimo el Real'') is a Roman Catholic church from the early 16th-century in central Madrid ( Spain). The church, which has undergone numerous remodelings and restorations over the centuries is the rem ...

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