The Spanish Renaissance was a movement in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, emerging from the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries. This new focus in

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

, quotes and

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

inspired by the Greco-Roman tradition of

Classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

, received a major impulse from several events in 1492: * Unification of the longed-for Christian kingdom with the definitive taking 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 ...

, the last Islamic controlled territory in the Iberian Peninsula, and the successive expulsions of thousands of Muslim and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

believers, *The official discovery of the western hemisphere, the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

, *The publication of the first

grammar In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...

of a vernacular European language in print, the '' Gramática'' (''Grammar'') by

Antonio de Nebrija Antonio de Nebrija (14445 July 1522) was the most influential Spanish humanist of his era. He wrote poetry, commented on literary works, and encouraged the study of classical languages and literature, but his most important contributions were i ...

Historical background

The beginning of the Renaissance in Spain is closely linked to the historical-political life of the monarchy 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 ...

. Its figures are the first to leave the medieval approaches that secured a feudal scheme of weak monarch over a powerful and restless nobility. The Catholic Monarchs unite the forces of the incipient state and ally with the principal families of the nobility to maintain their power. One of these families, the Mendoza, use the new style like distinction of its clan and, by extension, of the protection of the monarchy. Little by little, the novel esthetic was introduced into the rest of the court and the clergy, mixing with purely Iberian styles, like the Nasrid art of the dying kingdom of Granada, the exalted and personal Gothic Castilian queen, and the Flemish tendencies in the official painting of the court and the Church. The assimilation of elements gave way to a personal interpretation of the orthodox Renaissance, which came to be called

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 ...

. Therefore, secondary artists were brought in from Italy, apprentices were sent to the Italian shops, they brought designs, architectural plans, books and engravings, paintings, etc., of which portraits, themes and composition were copied. King Charles V was more predisposed to the new art, paradoxically called ''the old way'', remitted to the Classical antiquity. His direct patronage achieved some of the most beautiful works of the special and unique Spanish Renaissance style: the patronage of Almazan de Covarrubias, his commissions for

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

, who never agreed to relocate to Spain. Painters of great quality were, far from the courtier nucleus, Pedro Berruguete, Juan de Juanes, Paolo da San Leocadio, of whom the delicate ''Virgin of the Caballero de Montesa'' is highlighted, Yáñez de la Almazan and Gerardo de los Llanos. The painting of the Spanish Renaissance is normally completed in oil. It realizes interiors perfectly subject to the laws of perspective, without over-emphasis of the people. The figures are all of the same size and anatomically correct. The colors and the shading are applied in tonal ranges, according to the Italian teachings. To accentuate the Italian style, in addition, it is common to add elements directly copied from it, like the adornments ''a candelieri'' (borders of vegetables and cupids that surround the frames), or Roman ruins in the countrysides, including in scenes of the life of Christ.

Literature

* Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, author of ''El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha'' * Jorge Manrique author of the ''Coplas por la muerte de su padre'' * Garcilaso de la Vega, poet. * San Juan de la Cruz and * Santa Teresa de Jesús, mystic poets . * Fernando de Rojas, author of '' La Celestina'' * Tomás Fernández de Medrano, lord of Valdeosera, author of the political treatise ''República Mista'' * Fray Luis de León * Juan Boscán * Ausiàs March *

Alonso de Ercilla Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (7 August 153329 November 1594) was a Spanish soldier and poet, born in Madrid. While in Chile (1556–63) he fought against the Araucanians (Mapuche), and there he began the epic poem '' La Araucana'', considered one ...

, author of '' La Araucana'' * Lope de Rueda * Fray Luis de Granada * Marqués de Santillana * Diego Hurtado de Mendoza * Juan Latino, born Juan de Sessa, poet and humanist. * Alonzo de Santa Cruz *

Francisco de la Torre Francisco de la Torre (c. 1460 – c. 1504) was a Spanish composer mainly active in the Kingdom of Naples. His hometown may have been Seville. His music can be found in ''La música en la corte de los Reyes Musulmanes'', edited by Higinio Anglé ...

* Juan de Valdés * Lucio Marineo Siculo, Sicilian humanist and historian. *Anonymous writers of the '' Romancero'' and of the Masterpiece of picaresque literature ''Vida de

Lazarillo de Tormes ''The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and of His Fortunes and Adversities'' ( ) is a Spanish novella, published anonymously because of its anticlerical content. It was published simultaneously in three cities in 1554: Alcalá de Henares, Burgos a ...

Painting and sculpture

Painters

* Pedro Berruguete *

Alonso Berruguete Alonso González de Berruguete ( – 1561) was a Spanish Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor and architect. He is considered to be the most important sculptor of the Spanish Renaissance, and is known for his emotive sculptures depicting re ...

* Alonso Cano * Juan de Flandes * Fernando Gallego *

El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...

* Luis de Morales * Juan Pantoja de la Cruz * Alonso Sánchez Coello *

Sofonisba Anguissola Sofonisba Anguissola ( – 16 November 1625), also known as Sophonisba Angussola or Sophonisba Anguisciola, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Cremona to a relatively poor noble family. She received a well-rounded education that ...

* Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina * Bartolomé González y Serrano *

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...

Paintings

*'' The Burial of the Count of Orgaz'' by

*'' The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest'' by El Greco *''

Laocoön Laocoön (; , , gen.: ) is a figure in Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology and the Epic Cycle. Laocoön is a Troy, Trojan priest. He and his two young sons are attacked by giant serpents sent by the gods when Laocoön argued against bri ...

'' by El Greco *''Annunciation'' by Pedro Berruguete *''Pieta'' by Fernando Gallego *''Portrait of Isabel Clara Eugenia'' by Alonso Sánchez Coello *''Virgin of the Milk'' or ''Virgin with Child'' (Luis de Morales).

Sculptors

* Juan de Ancheta * Gaspar Becerra *

* Felipe Bigarny * Damià Forment *

Esteban Jordán Esteban () is a spanish people, Spanish male given name, derived from Greek Στέφανος (Stéphanos) and related to the English names Steven and Stephen. Although in its original pronunciation the accent is paroxytone, on the penultimate syllab ...

* Juan de Juni * Bartolomé Ordóñez * Diego Siloe

Architecture

* Juan de Herrera * Juan Bautista de Toledo * Gil de Hontañón * Diego Siloe * Enrique Egas * Alonso de Covarrubias * Pedro Machuca * Andrés de Vandelvira * Diego de Riaño * Juan de Álava * Hernán Ruiz the Younger

Music

* Arpa de dos ordenes (Spanish cross-strung harp) * Juan de Anchieta * Antonio de Cabezón (organist) * Juan del Encina (also poet and playwright) *

Bartolomé de Escobedo Bartolomé de Escobedo (1515 – August 11, 1563) was a Spanish composer of the Renaissance. Biography He was born in Zamora, studied at Salamanca where he was a singer, and in 1536 joined the papal choir in Rome as only the second Spaniard t ...

* Juan de Esquivel Barahona * Juan Pérez de Gijón * Francisco Guerrero *

Mateo Flecha Mateo Flecha (Catalan: Mateu Fletxa; 1481–1553) was a Catalan composer born in Kingdom of Aragon, in the region of Prades. He is sometimes known as "El Viejo" (the elder) to distinguish him from his nephew, Mateo Flecha "El Joven" (the younger) ...

* Alonso Lobo * Luis de Milán (vihuelist) * Cristóbal de Morales * Alonso Mudarra * Juan Navarro * Diego Ortiz * Francisco de Peñalosa * Joan Pau Pujol * Melchior Robles * Francisco de Salinas (theorist) *

Tomás de Santa María Fr. Tomás de Santa María O.P. (also Tomás de Sancta Maria) (ca. 1510 – 1570) was a Spanish music theorist, organist and composer of the Renaissance music, Renaissance. He was born in Madrid but the date is highly uncertain; he died in Ri ...

* Juan de Triana * Juan Vásquez *

Tomás Luis de Victoria Tomás Luis de Victoria (sometimes Italianised as ''da Vittoria''; ) was the most famous Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlande de Lassus as among the principal composers of the late Re ...

* Sebástian de Vivanco * Luis de Narvaez

Science

* Miguel Servet *

School of Salamanca The School of Salamanca () was an intellectual movement of 16th-century and 17th-century Iberian Scholasticism, Scholastic theology, theologians rooted in the intellectual and pedagogical work of Francisco de Vitoria. From the beginning of the ...

* Jerónimo Muñoz * Fernán Pérez de Oliva

References

{{Authority control 16th century in Spain