{{Short description, Movement among Spanish painters from 1845-1890 Spanish Eclecticism was a movement among

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, Ca ...

painters from 1845 to 1890. It was named after the tendency by artists to select from among multiple established styles of that era. A sensibility of relative renewal dominated the rest of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, while in Spain,

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts * Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a mov ...

and

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

were slow to take hold. The movement is also said to be associated with the idea that models and innovations had run their course.

Criticism

Detractors consider it to be among the least brilliant periods in Spanish painting, in which there was a highly respectable level of skill, but no significant advancement of the form. This extends as far as the claim that practitioners used enormous canvases, of many meters in surface area, to give importance to something which didn't have any.

Themes

Spanish history was a predominant theme, especially from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and 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 bo ...

(''Reyes Católicos''). Anecdotal and sentimental scenes were the most popular, depicting highpoints of Spanish history with a human perspective, though not venturing beyond the earthly specifics of the subject. The style was frequently boosted by official establishments such as the ''Salones de Otoño (Salons of Autumn)'' and the

Spanish Academy The Royal Spanish Academy ( es, Real Academia Española, generally abbreviated as RAE) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with ...

itself, which was chiefly interested in rigorous drawing and historical documentation.

Development

The subject of landscapes gained prominence with Spanish

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

until it became almost exclusive around the time of the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

painter

Carlos de Haes Carlos Sebastián Pedro Hubert de Haes (January 25, 1829 – June 17, 1898) was a Spanish painter from Belgium.Caso, E. F., ''Les Orientalistes de l'école Espagnole,'' ACR edition, 1997, p. 128 He was noted for the Realism in his landscapes, ...

, the first professor of landscape painting at the Spanish Academy. At the same time, a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

tendency toward urban and bourgeois scenes was developing. It eventually culminated in Catalan Pre-impressionism, which arrived with

Marià Fortuny Marià Josep Maria Bernat Fortuny i Marsal (; es, Mariano José María Bernardo Fortuny y Marsal; June 11, 1838 – November 21, 1874), known more simply as Marià Fortuny or Mariano Fortuny, was the leading Spanish painter of his day, with an ...

and

Eduardo Rosales Eduardo Rosales Gallinas (4 November 1836 – 13 September 1873) was a Spanish painter. He was an adherent of the Italian-based art movement known as "Purismo" and specialized in historical scenes. Biography He was born in Madrid. The second ...

. Fortuny was credited with creating the ''tableautin'' (small ''tableau''), a diminutive format depicting a comic or pleasant theme mainly intended to adorn the interior of a home.

Artists

The movement was exemplified by

Francisco Pradilla Ortiz Francisco Pradilla Ortiz (24 July 1848 – 1 November 1921) was a prolific Spanish painter famous for creating historical scenes. Biography He was born in Villanueva de Gállego, in Zaragoza Province and began his studies in Zaragoza. He ...

and

Cano de la Peña CANO, a Canadian progressive rock band of the 1970s and 1980s, was the most successful popular musical group in Franco-Ontarian history. Origins CANO evolved out of the ''Coopérative des artistes du Nouvel-Ontario'' (''Artists' Cooperative of N ...

. Two others,

Antonio Gisbert Antonio Gisbert Pérez (19 December 1834 – 27 November 1901) was a Spanish artist situated on the cusp between the realist and romantic movements in art. He was known for painting pictures of important events in a country's history in a re ...

and

José Casado del Alisal José María Casado del Alisal (1830/32 – 8 October 1886)Brief bi ...

, were exponents of the bipartisan front for the imperial political regime of the time.

Sources and references

''Artehistoria.com'' Spanish Eclecticism article (in Spanish)Entry for Marià Fortuny i Marsal in Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana (in Catalan)
* ttp://www.artehistoria.com/genios/pintores/3168.htm ''Artehistoria.com'' biography of Eduardo Rosales (in Spanish)br> ''Artehistoria.com'' article on Spanish Romanticism (in Spanish)
* ttp://www.artehistoria.com/genios/pintores/2058.htm ''Artehistoria.com'' article on Antonio Gisbert (in Spanish) Spanish art Catalan art Art movements