Spanish Sculpture
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Spanish art has been an important contributor to
Western art The art of Europe, also known as Western art, encompasses the history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile Upper Paleolithic rock and cave painting and petroglyph art and was characteristic of the period bet ...
and Spain has produced many famous and influential artists including
Velázquez Velázquez, also Velazquez, Velásquez or Velasquez (, ), is a surname from Spain. It is a patronymic name, meaning "son of Velasco". References to "Velazquez" without a first name are often to the Spanish painter, Diego Velázquez. Notable peo ...
,
Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...
and
Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
. Spanish art was particularly influenced by France and Italy during the
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
and Neoclassical periods, but Spanish art has often had very distinctive characteristics, partly explained by the
Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...
heritage in Spain (especially in
Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...
), and through the political and cultural climate in Spain during the
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
and the subsequent eclipse of Spanish power under the
Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon, a beer produced by Brasseries de Bourbon * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * Bourbon coffee, a type of coffee ma ...
dynasty. The
prehistoric art In the history of art, prehistoric art is all art produced in preliterate, Prehistory, prehistorical cultures beginning somewhere in very late geological history, and generally continuing until that culture either develops writing or other met ...
of Spain had many important periods-it was one of the main centres of European
Upper Paleolithic art The art of the Upper Paleolithic represents the oldest form of prehistoric art. Figurative art is present in Europe and Southeast Asia, beginning around 50,000 years ago. Non-figurative cave paintings, consisting of hand stencils and simple geom ...
and the rock art of the Spanish Levant in the subsequent periods. In the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
large parts of Spain were a centre for Celtic art, and
Iberian sculpture Iberian sculpture, a subset of Iberian art, describes the various sculptural styles developed by the Iberians from the Bronze Age up to the Roman conquest. For this reason it is sometimes described as Pre-Roman Iberian sculpture. Almost all ...
has a distinct style, partly influenced by coastal Greek settlements. Spain was conquered by the Romans by 200 BC and Rome was rather smoothly replaced by the Germanic
Visigoth The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...
s in the 5th century AD, who soon Christianized. The relatively few remains of
Visigothic art and architecture The Visigoths entered Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal) in 415 and they rose to be the dominant people there until the Umayyad conquest of Hispania of 711 brought their kingdom to an end. This period in Iberian art is dominated by their s ...
show an attractive and distinct version of wider European trends. With the
Umayyad conquest of Hispania The Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (; 711–720s), also known as the Arab conquest of Spain, was the Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania in the early 8th century. The conquest re ...
in the 8th century there was a notable
Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...
presence in art specially in Southern Iberia. Over the following centuries the wealthy courts of
Al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...
produced many works of exceptional quality, culminating in the
Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...
in
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 ...
, right at the end of Muslim Spain. Meanwhile, the parts of Spain remaining Christian, or that were re-conquered, were prominent in
Pre-Romanesque The Pre-Romanesque period in European art spans from the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom around 500 AD, or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning of the Romanesque period in the 11th century. While t ...
and
Romanesque art Romanesque art is the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic Art, Gothic style in the 12th century, or later depending on region. The preceding period is known as the Pre-Romanesque period. The term was invented by 1 ...
. Late Gothic Spanish art flourished under the unified monarchy in the
Isabelline Gothic The Isabelline style, also called the Isabelline Gothic (), or Castilian late Gothic, was the dominant architectural style of the Crown of Castile during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of A ...
and
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 ...
styles, and the already strong traditions in painting and sculpture began to benefit from the influence of imported Italian artists. The enormous wealth that followed the flood of American gold saw lavish spending on the arts in Spain, much of it directed at religious art in the
Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
. Spanish control of the leading centre of North European art,
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
, from 1483 and also of the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
from 1548, both ending in 1714, had a great influence on Spanish art, and the level of spending attracted artists from other areas, such as
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. ...
,
Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...
and (from a safe distance)
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 ...
in the
Spanish Golden Age The Spanish Golden Age (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Siglo de Oro'', , "Golden Century"; 1492 – 1681) was a period of literature and the The arts, arts in Spain that coincided with the political rise of the Spanish Empire under the Catholic M ...
, as well as great native painters such as
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 ...
,
José de Ribera Jusepe de Ribera (; baptised 17 February 1591 – 3 November 1652) was a Spanish painter and printmaker. Ribera, Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artists of Spani ...
,
Francisco de Zurbarán Francisco de Zurbarán ( , ; baptized 7 November 1598 – 27 August 1664) was a Spanish painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes. Zurbarán gained the nickname "Spanis ...
and
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contempor ...
.
Spanish Baroque architecture Spanish Baroque is a strand of Baroque architecture that evolved in Spain, its provinces, and former colonies. History The development of the style passed through three phases. Between 1680 and 1720, the Churriguera popularized Guarini's ble ...
has survived in large quantity, and has both strains marked by exuberant extravagance, as in the
Churrigueresque Churrigueresque (; Spanish: ''Churrigueresco''), also but less commonly "Ultra Baroque", refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th c ...
style, and a rather severe classicism, as in the work of
Juan de Herrera Juan de Herrera (1530 – 15 January 1597) was a Spanish architect, mathematician and geometrician. One of the most outstanding Spanish architects in the 16th century, Herrera represents the peak of the Renaissance in Spain. His sober style re ...
. It was generally the former which marked the emerging art and Spanish Colonial architecture of the
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...
outside Europe, as in Latin America (
New Spanish Baroque New Spanish Baroque, also known as Mexican Baroque, refers to Baroque art developed in the entire territories that once formed the New Spain, Viceroyalty of New Spain. During this period, artists of New Spain experimented with expressive, contras ...
and
Andean Baroque Andean Baroque (Spanish: ''Barroco andino'' or ''arquitectura mestiza'') is an artistic movement that appeared in colonial Peru between 1680 and 1780. It is located geographically between Arequipa and Lake Titicaca in what is now Peru, where rul ...
), while the
Baroque Churches of the Philippines The Baroque Churches of the Philippines are a collection of four Spanish Colonial architecture, Spanish Colonial-era baroque churches in the Philippines, which were included in UNESCO's World Heritage Site, World Heritage List in 1993. The chu ...
are simpler. The
decline Decline may refer to: *Decadence, involves a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, or skill over time *in marketing, the stage in the product life cycle when demand for a product begins to taper off * "Decline" (song), 20 ...
of the Habsburg monarchy brought this period to an end, and Spanish art in the 18th and early-19th century was generally less exciting, with the huge exception of
Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...
. The rest of 19th-century Spanish art followed European trends, generally at a conservative pace, until the Catalan movement of
Modernisme ''Modernisme'' (, Catalan for "modernism"), also known as Catalan modernism and Catalan art nouveau, is the historiographic denomination given to an art and literature movement associated with the search of a new entitlement of Catalan cultu ...
, which initially was more a form of
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
. Picasso dominates Spanish
Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...
in the usual English sense, but
Juan Gris José Victoriano González-Pérez (23 March 1887 – 11 May 1927), better known as Juan Gris (; ), was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic g ...
,
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...
and
Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...
are other leading figures.


Ancient Iberia

The early
Iberians The Iberians (, from , ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among others, by Hecataeus of Mil ...
have left many remains; northern-western Spain shares with south-western France the region where the richest
Upper Paleolithic art The art of the Upper Paleolithic represents the oldest form of prehistoric art. Figurative art is present in Europe and Southeast Asia, beginning around 50,000 years ago. Non-figurative cave paintings, consisting of hand stencils and simple geom ...
in Europe is found in the Cave of Altamira and other sites where there are
cave painting In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric art, prehistoric origin. These paintings were often c ...
s made between 35,000 and 11,000 BC. The
Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin The group of over 700 sites of prehistoric Rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin, also known as Levantine art, were collectively declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998. The sites are in the eastern part of Spain and contain rock a ...
(as
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
term it) is from the eastern side of Spain, probably dating from about 8000–3500 BC, and shows animal and hunting scenes often developed with a growing feeling for the whole composition of a large scene.
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 ...
in particular is rich in
megalithic A megalith is a large Rock (geology), stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging ...
monuments, including the
Almendres Cromlech The Cromlech of the Almendres () is a megalithic complex (commonly known as the ''Almendres Cromlech''), located 4.5 road km WSW of the village of Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe, in the civil parish of Nossa Senhora da Tourega e Nossa Senhora de Gua ...
, and
Iberian schematic art Iberian schematic art is the name given to a series of prehistoric representations (almost always cave paintings) that appear in the Iberian Peninsula, which are associated with the first metallurgical cultures (the Copper Age, the Bronze Age ...
is stone sculpture,
petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...
s and
cave painting In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art (which category also includes petroglyphs, or engravings), found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric art, prehistoric origin. These paintings were often c ...
s from the early metal ages, found all over the Iberian peninsula, with both geometric patterns, but also a higher usage of simple
pictogram A pictogram (also pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto) is a graphical symbol that conveys meaning through its visual resemblance to a physical object. Pictograms are used in systems of writing and visual communication. A pictography is a wri ...
-like human figures than is typical of comparable art from other areas. The
Casco de Leiro The gold Casco de Leiro ("Helmet of Leiro") is a ritual hemispherical cap probably dating to the end of the Late Bronze Age (''circa'' 1,000 to 800 BC) in the town of Leiro (municipality of Rianxo, Galicia, Spain). The circumstances of its di ...
, a late
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
gold ritual helmet, may relate to other
golden hats Golden hats (or gold hats) (, singular: ) are a very specific and rare type of archaeological artifact from Bronze Age Europe. So far, four such objects ("cone-shaped gold hats of the Schifferstadt type") are known. The objects are made of thin ...
found in Germany, and the
Treasure of Villena The Treasure of Villena () is one of the greatest hoard finds of gold of the European Bronze Age. It comprises 59 objects made of gold, silver, iron and amber with a total weight of almost 10 kilograms, 9 of them of 23.5 karat gold. This makes it ...
is a huge hoard of geometrically decorated vessels and jewellery, perhaps from the 10th century BC, including 10 kilos of gold.
Iberian sculpture Iberian sculpture, a subset of Iberian art, describes the various sculptural styles developed by the Iberians from the Bronze Age up to the Roman conquest. For this reason it is sometimes described as Pre-Roman Iberian sculpture. Almost all ...
before the Roman occupation reflects the contacts with other advanced ancient cultures who set up small coastal colonies, including the Greeks and
Phoenicians Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syrian coast. They developed a maritime civi ...
; the
Sa Caleta Phoenician Settlement Sa Caleta is an archaeological site featuring the ruins of an ancient Phoenician settlement on a rocky headland about 10 kilometers west of Ibiza Town in Spain's Balearic Islands. The Phoenicians established a foothold in this area around 654–6 ...
on
Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...
has survived to be excavated, where most now lie under large towns, and the
Lady of Guardamar Lady of Guardamar (''Dama de Guardamar''), is a limestone female bust, high, dated 400-370 BC, that was discovered in fragments in the Phoenician archaeological site of Cabezo Lucero in Guardamar del Segura in Alicante province, Spain, on Sept ...
was excavated from another Phoenician site. The
Lady of Elche The ''Lady of Elche'' (, Valencian: ) is a limestone bust that was discovered in 1897, at ''La Alcudia'', an archaeological site on a private estate two kilometers south of Elche, Spain. It is now exhibited in the National Archaeological Mu ...
(probably 4th century BC) possibly represents
Tanit Tanit or Tinnit (Punic language, Punic: 𐤕𐤍𐤕 ''Tīnnīt'' (JStor)) was a chief deity of Ancient Carthage; she derives from a local Berber deity and the consort of Baal Hammon. As Ammon is a local Libyan deity, so is Tannit, who represents ...
, but also shows
Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
influence, as do the 6th century
Sphinx of Agost The Sphinx of Agost is a Greeks, Greek-influenced Iberians, Iberian limestone sculpture,''Greeks in Iberia:Colonialism without Colonization'', Adolfo J. Dominguez, The Archaeology of Colonialism, ed. Claire L. Lyons, John K. Papadopoulos, (Getty ...
and Biche of Balazote. The
Bulls of Guisando The Bulls of Guisando () are a set of ancient sculptures located on the hill of Guisando in the municipality of El Tiemblo, Ávila, Spain. The four sculptures, made of granite, represent quadrupeds identified as bulls or pigs. The balance of opin ...
are the most impressive examples of ''
verraco The ''verracos'' (; ; literally 'boar'), in the Iberian Peninsula, are the Vettones's granite megalithic monuments, sculptures of animals as found in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Iberian ''Meseta Central, meseta'' – the high central plai ...
s'', which are large Celtiberian animal sculptures in stone; the 5th century BC Bull of Osuna is a more developed single example. Some decorated ''
falcata The falcata is a type of sword typical of pre-Roman Iberia. The falcata was used to great effect for warfare in the ancient Iberian Peninsula, and is firmly associated with the southern Iberian tribes, among other ancient peoples of Hispania. ...
'', the distinctive curving Iberian sword, have survived, and large numbers of bronze
statuettes A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...
used as
votive offering A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...
s. The Romans gradually conquered all of Iberia between 218 BC and 19 AD. As elsewhere in the Western Empire, the Roman occupation largely overwhelmed native styles; Iberia was an important agricultural area for the Romans, and the elite acquired vast estates producing
wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
,
olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...
s and wine, with some later emperors coming from the Iberian provinces; many huge villas have been excavated. The
Aqueduct of Segovia The Aqueduct of Segovia () is a Roman aqueduct in Spain, built around the first century AD to channel water from springs in the mountains to Segovia's fountains, Thermae, public baths and private houses, in use until 1973. Its elevated section, ...
,
Roman Walls of Lugo The Roman walls of Lugo are the ancient Roman defensive walls of the Roman '' colonia'' of Lucus Augusti –present-day Lugo, Spain–, in the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis. Stretching , they were built in the third century AD to defe ...
,
Alcántara Bridge The Alcántara Bridge (also known as Trajan's Bridge at Alcantara) is a Roman bridge at Alcántara, in Extremadura, Spain. Alcántara is from the Arabic word ''al-Qantarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the arch". The stone arch bridge was bui ...
(104–106 AD), and the
Tower of Hercules The Tower of Hercules (, ) is the oldest known extant Roman lighthouse. Built in the 1st century, the tower is located on a peninsula about from the center of A Coruña, Galicia, in northwestern Spain. Until the 20th century, it was known as the ...
lighthouse are among a number of well-preserved major monuments, impressive remains of
Roman engineering The ancient Romans were famous for their advanced engineering accomplishments. Technology for bringing running water into cities was developed in the east, but transformed by the Romans into a technology inconceivable in Greece. The architecture ...
if not always art.
Roman temple Ancient Roman temples were among the most important buildings in culture of ancient Rome, Roman culture, and some of the richest buildings in Architecture of ancient Rome, Roman architecture, though only a few survive in any sort of complete ...
s survive fairly complete at
Vic Vic, vic or VIC may refer to: People and fictional characters * Vic (name), a list of people, fictional characters and mascots with the given name * V.I.C. (rapper) (born 1987), stage name of an American rapper Places * Vic, Spain, a town and ...
,
Évora Évora ( , ), officially the Very Noble and Ever Loyal City of Évora (), is a city and a municipalities of Portugal, municipality in Portugal. It has 53,591 inhabitants (2021), in an area of . It is the historic capital of the Alentejo reg ...
(now in Portugal), and
Alcántara Alcántara () is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word ''al-Qanṭarah'' (القنطرة) meaning "the bridge". History Archaeological findings have atte ...
, as well as elements in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
and
Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...
. There must have been local workshops producing the high-quality
mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
s found, though most of the better free-standing sculpture was probably imported. The
Missorium of Theodosius I The Missorium of Theodosius I is a large ceremonial silver dish preserved in the Real Academia de la Historia, in Madrid, Spain. It was probably made in Constantinople for the tenth anniversary (decennalia) in 388 AD of the reign of the Emperor The ...
is an important
Late Antique Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodization has since been wide ...
silver dish that was found in Spain but was probably made in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
. File:Tesoro de Villena.jpg, The
Treasure of Villena The Treasure of Villena () is one of the greatest hoard finds of gold of the European Bronze Age. It comprises 59 objects made of gold, silver, iron and amber with a total weight of almost 10 kilograms, 9 of them of 23.5 karat gold. This makes it ...
, perhaps 10th century BC The Lady of Elche, once polychrome stone bust discovered by chance in 1897 at L'Alcúdia, believed to be a piece of Iberian sculpture from the 4th century BC, National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid (20098349590).jpg,
Lady of Elche The ''Lady of Elche'' (, Valencian: ) is a limestone bust that was discovered in 1897, at ''La Alcudia'', an archaeological site on a private estate two kilometers south of Elche, Spain. It is now exhibited in the National Archaeological Mu ...
from Elx, Valencian Community, 4th century BC File:Toros de Guisando.jpg, The
Bulls of Guisando The Bulls of Guisando () are a set of ancient sculptures located on the hill of Guisando in the municipality of El Tiemblo, Ávila, Spain. The four sculptures, made of granite, represent quadrupeds identified as bulls or pigs. The balance of opin ...
a
Vettones The Vettones (Greek language, Greek: ''Ouettones'') were an Prehistoric Iberia#Iron Age, Iron Age pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula. Origins Lujan (2007) concludes that some of the names of the Vettones show clearly Hispano-Celtic lan ...
verraco The ''verracos'' (; ; literally 'boar'), in the Iberian Peninsula, are the Vettones's granite megalithic monuments, sculptures of animals as found in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Iberian ''Meseta Central, meseta'' – the high central plai ...
s in
El Tiemblo El Tiemblo is a municipality located in the Ávila (province), province of Ávila, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2012 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municipality has a population of 4,461 inhabitants, ...
, province of Ávila


Early Medieval

The Christianized
Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...
ruled Iberia after the collapse of the Empire, and the rich 7th century
Treasure of Guarrazar The Treasure of Guarrazar, Guadamur, Province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain, is an archeological find composed of twenty-six votive crowns and gold crosses that had originally been offered to the Catholic Church by the Kings Visigot ...
, probably deposited to avoid looting in the
Muslim Conquest of Spain The Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula (; 711–720s), also known as the Arab conquest of Spain, was the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania in the early 8th century. The conquest resulted in the end of Christian rule in ...
, is now a unique survival of Christian
votive crown A votive crown is a votive offering in the form of a crown, normally in precious metals and often adorned with jewels. Especially in the Early Middle Ages, they are of a special form, designed to be suspended by chains at an altar, shrine or imag ...
s in gold; though Spanish in style, the form was probably then used by elites across Europe. Other
Visigothic art The Visigoths entered Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal) in 415 and they rose to be the dominant people there until the Umayyad conquest of Hispania of 711 brought their kingdom to an end. This period in Iberian art is dominated by their s ...
in the form of metalwork, mostly jewellery and buckles, and stone
relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...
s, survives to give an idea of the culture of this originally barbarian Germanic people, who kept themselves very largely separate from their Iberian subjects, and whose rule crumbled when the Muslims arrived in 711. The jewelled ''
crux gemmata A (Latin for jewelled cross) is a form of cross typical of Early Christian and Early Medieval art, where the cross, or at least its front side, is principally decorated with jewels. In an actual cross, rather than a painted image of one, the rev ...
''
Victory Cross The Victory Cross ( Asturian and Spanish: ''Cruz de la Victoria'') is an early 10th-century Asturian jewelled cross ('' crux gemmata'') gifted by King Alfonso III of Asturias, who reigned from 866 to 910, to the Cathedral of San Salvador in ...
,
La Cava Bible The La Cava Bible or ''Codex Cavensis'' (Cava de' Tirreni, Biblioteca statale del Monumento Nazionale Badia di Cava, Ms. memb. I) is a 9th-century Latin illuminated Bible, which was produced in Spain, probably in the Kingdom of Asturias during th ...
and the
Agate Casket of Oviedo The Agate Casket of Oviedo (, sometimes in English Agate Box, "Box of Agates") is an elaborately decorated box, casket or small chest given by King Fruela II of Asturias and his wife Nunila to the Cathedral of San Salvador, Oviedo, Spain. This mas ...
are survivals from the 9-10th century of the rich
Pre-Romanesque The Pre-Romanesque period in European art spans from the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom around 500 AD, or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning of the Romanesque period in the 11th century. While t ...
culture of the
Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...
region in north-western Spain, which remained under Christian rule; the
Santa María del Naranco The church of Saint Mary at Mount Naranco (; ) is a pre-Romanesque Asturian building on the slope of Mount Naranco situated from Oviedo, northern Spain. Ramiro I of Asturias ordered it to be built as a royal palace, part of a larger complex ...
banqueting house overlooking
Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...
, completed in 848 and later surviving as a church, is a unique survival in Europe. The
Codex Vigilanus The ''Codex Vigilanus'' or ''Codex Albeldensis'' (Spanish: ''Códice Vigilano'' or ''Albeldense'') is an illuminated compilation of various historical documents accounting for a period extending from antiquity to the 10th century in Hispania. ...
, completed in 976 in the region of Rioja, shows a complex mixture of several styles.


Muslim and Mozarab Spain

The extraordinary palace-city of
Medina Azahara Madinat al-Zahra or Medina Azahara () was a fortified palace-city on the western outskirts of Córdoba in present-day Spain. Its remains are a major archaeological site today. The city was built in the 10th century by Abd ar-Rahman III (912–96 ...
near
Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...
was built in the 10th century for the
Ummayad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a member o ...
Caliphs of Córdoba, intended as the capital of Islamic
Andaluz The Andalusian dialects of Spanish (, , ) are spoken in Andalusia, Ceuta, Melilla, and Gibraltar. They include perhaps the most distinct of the southern variants of peninsular Spanish, differing in many respects from northern varieties in a number ...
, and is still being excavated. A considerable amount of the highly sophisticated decoration of the main buildings has survived, showing the enormous wealth of this very centralized state. The palace at
Aljafería The Aljafería Palace (; , Romanization of Arabic, tr. ''Qaṣr al-Jaʿfariyah'') is a fortified medieval palace built during the second half of the 11th century in the Taifa of Zaragoza in Al-Andalus, present day Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. It was ...
is later, from after Islamic Spain split into a number of kingdoms. Famous examples of
Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both Secularity, secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Muslim world, Islamic world encompasse ...
and its decoration are the Cathedral–Mosque of Córdoba, whose Islamic elements were added in stages between 784 and 987, and the
Alhambra The Alhambra (, ; ) is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Spain. It is one of the most famous monuments of Islamic architecture and one of the best-preserved palaces of the historic Muslim world, Islamic world. Additionally, the ...
and
Generalife The Generalife (; ) was a summer palace and country estate of the Nasrid rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus. It is located directly east of and uphill from the Alhambra palace complex in Granada, Spain. Etymology The most commonly c ...
palaces in
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 ...
from the final periods of Muslim Spain. The
Pisa Griffin The Pisa Griffin is a large bronze sculpture of a griffin, a mythical beast, that has remained in Pisa, Italy since the Middle Ages despite its Islamic origin, specifically late 11th or early twelfth century Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain). It is now i ...
is the largest known Islamic sculpture of an animal, and the most spectacular of a group of such figures from Al-Andalus, many made to hold up the basins of fountains (as at the Alhambra), or in smaller cases as perfume-burners and the like. The Christian population of Muslim Spain (the Mozarabs) developed a style of
Mozarabic art Mozarabic art is an early Middle Ages, medieval artistic style that is part of the Pre-Romanesque art and architecture, pre-Romanesque style and emerged in al-Andalus and in the kingdom of León. It's named after the Mozarabs (from ''musta'rab'' ...
whose best known survivals are a series of
illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
s, several of the commentaries on the
Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...
by the Asturian Saint
Beatus of Liébana Beatus of Liébana (; ) was a monk, theologian, and author of the '' Commentary on the Apocalypse'', mostly a compendium of previous authorities' views on the biblical '' Book of Revelation'' or ''Apocalypse of John''. This had a local influenc ...
(c. 730 – c. 800), which gave subject matter that allowed the brightly coloured primitivist style full scope to demonstrate its qualities in manuscripts of the 10th century like the Morgan Beatus, probably the earliest, the Gerona Beatus (illuminated by a female artist
Ende Ende may refer to Places *Ende Regency, a regency (second level subdivision) of Indonesia *Ende (town), the seat (capital) of Ende Regency People * Ende (artist), 10th-century Spanish manuscript illuminator * Erik Ende, a leader of Scouting in ...
),
Escorial Beatus The Escorial Beatus (Escorial, Biblioteca Monasterio, Cod. & II. 5) is a 10th-century illuminated manuscript of the Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana. The manuscript was probably created at the monastery at San Millán de la Cogo ...
and the
Saint-Sever Beatus The Saint-Sever Beatus, also known as the Apocalypse of Saint-Sever (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, MS lat. 8878), is a Romanesque Illuminated manuscript from the 11th century. The manuscript was made at Saint-Sever Abbey, then in the Duchy of G ...
, which was actually produced some distance from Muslim rule in France. Mozarabic elements, including a background of brightly coloured strips, can be seen in some later Romanesque frescos.
Hispano-Moresque ware Hispano-Moresque ware is a style of initially Islamic pottery created in Al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia), which continued to be produced under Christian rule in styles blending Islamic and European elements. It was the most elaborate and luxurious ...
pottery began in the south, presumably mainly for local markets, but Muslim potters were later encouraged to migrate to the
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
region, where the Christian lords marketed their luxury
lustreware Lustreware or lusterware (the respective spellings for British English and American English) is a type of pottery or porcelain with a metallic glaze that gives the effect of iridescence. It is produced by metallic oxides in an Ceramic glaze, over ...
s to elites all over Christian Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries, including the Popes and the English court. Spanish Islamic
ivory carving Ivory carving is the carving of ivory, that is to say animal tooth or tusk, generally by using sharp cutting tools, either mechanically or manually. Objects carved in ivory are often called "ivories". Humans have ornamentally carved ivory sinc ...
and textiles were also very fine; the continuing industries producing tiles and carpets in the peninsula owe their origins largely to the Islamic kingdoms. After the expulsion of the Islamic rulers during 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 ...
, considerable Muslim populations, and Christian craftsmen trained in Muslim styles, remained in Spain, and
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 ...
is the term for work in art and architecture produced by such people. The
Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon 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 Ch ...
is recognised as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
, and the 14th century ''Patio de las Doncellas'' built for
Peter of Castile Peter (; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called Peter the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V for h ...
in the
Alcázar of Seville The Alcázar of Seville, officially called Royal Alcázar of Seville (), is a historic royal palace in Seville, Spain. It was formerly the site of the Al-Andalus, Islamic-era citadel of the city, begun in the 10th century and then developed into ...
is another outstanding example. The style could harmonize well with Christian European medieval and Renaissance styles, for example in elaborate wood and
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
ceilings, and Mudéjar work often continued to be produced for some centuries after an area passed to Christian rule. File:Pyxid Al Mughira OA 4068.jpg, Ivory
pyxis of al-Mughira The Pyxis (vessel), pyxis made in 968 CE/357AH for Prince al-Mughira (15 cm x 8 cm) is a portable ivory carved container that dates from Medieval Islam's Umayyad conquest of Hispania, Spanish Umayyad period. It is in the collection of the ...
,
Medina Azahara Madinat al-Zahra or Medina Azahara () was a fortified palace-city on the western outskirts of Córdoba in present-day Spain. Its remains are a major archaeological site today. The city was built in the 10th century by Abd ar-Rahman III (912–96 ...
, 968 File:B Pierpont 154v.jpg, Page from the Morgan Beatus File:Majolika-Kanne mit Medici-Wappen KGM K1692.jpg,
Hispano-Moresque ware Hispano-Moresque ware is a style of initially Islamic pottery created in Al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia), which continued to be produced under Christian rule in styles blending Islamic and European elements. It was the most elaborate and luxurious ...
jug with the
Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...
arms, 1450–1460


Painting


Romanesque

In Spain, the art of the Romanesque period represented a smooth transition from the preceding Pre-Romanesque and Mozarabic styles. Many of the best surviving Romanesque church
frescos Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becom ...
that were at the time found all over Europe come from
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
with good examples in the churches of the
Vall de Boí Vall is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Ely Ould Mohamed Vall Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall ( ''I‘lī Wald Muḥammad Fāl''; 1953 – 5 May 2017) was a Mauritanian political and military figure. Following a coup d' ...
area; many of these were only uncovered during the 20th Century. Some of the best examples have been moved to museums, especially the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, which has the famous Central Apse from Sant Climent in Taüll and the frescos from Sigena. The finest examples of Castillian Romanesque frescoes are considered to be those in the San Isidoro in
Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...
, the paintings from
San Baudelio de Berlanga The Hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga (''Ermita de San Baudelio de Berlanga'') is an early 11th-century church at Caltojar in the Soria (province), province of Soria, Castile and León, Spain, 8 km south of Berlanga de Duero. It is an im ...
, now mostly in various museums including the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
in New York, and those from Santa Cruz de Maderuelo in
Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...
. There are also a number of
altar frontal An ''antependium'' (from Latin ''ante-'' and ''pendēre'', "to hang before"; : ''antependia''), also known as a pulpit fall, parament or hanging, or, when speaking specifically of the hanging for the altar, an altar frontal (Latin: ''pallium al ...
s painted on wood and other early
panel painting A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel of wood, either a single piece or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, panel painting was the normal method, when not pain ...
s.


Gothic

The Gothic art of Spain represented a gradual development from previous Romanesque styles, being led by external models, first from France, and then later from Italy. Another distinctive aspect was the incorporation of Mudejar elements. Eventually the Italian influence, which transmitted Byzantine stylistic techniques and
iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
, entirely displaced the initial Franco-Gothic style Catalonia continued to be a prosperous area which has left many fine
altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter 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 or sculpture, ...
s; however the region went into decline after the emphasis of trade moved to the Atlantic after the American colonies opened up, which partly accounts for so many medieval survivals there, as there was not the money for Renaissance and Baroque renovations to churches.


Early Renaissance

Due to important economic and political links between Spain and Flanders from the mid-15th century onwards, the early Renaissance in Spain was heavily influenced by Netherlandish painting, leading to the identification of a Hispano-Flemish school of painters. Leading exponents included
Fernando Gallego Fernando Gallego ( 1440 – 1507) was a Castillan painter, and his art is generally regarded as Hispano-Flemish in style. Gallego was likely born in Salamanca, Spain, and worked throughout Castile and Extremadura, most notably in Ciudad Rodrig ...
,
Bartolomé Bermejo Bartolomé Bermejo ( 1440 – c.1501) was a Spanish painter who adopted Seventeen Provinces, Flemish painting techniques and conventions. Born in Cordoba, he is known for his work in the Crown of Aragon, including the Principality of Catalonia ...
,
Pedro Berruguete Pedro Berruguete (c. 1450 – 1504) was a Spanish painter whose art is regarded as a transitional style between Gothic art, Gothic and Renaissance art. Berruguete most famously created paintings of the first few years of the Inquisition and of ...
and
Juan de Flandes ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Phili ...
.


Renaissance and Mannerism

Overall the Renaissance and subsequent Mannerist styles are hard to categorise in Spain, due to the mix of Flemish and Italian influences, and regional variations. The main centre for Italian Renaissance influence entering Spain was
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
due to its proximity and close links with Italy. This influence was felt via then import of artworks, including four paintings by Piombo and many prints by
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
, the arrival of the Italian Renaissance artist Paolo de San Leocadio, and also by Spanish artists who spent time working and training there. Such artists included Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina (1475–1540) and Fernando Llanos, who displayed Leonadesque features in their works, such as delicate, melancholic expressions, and
sfumato Sfumato ( , ; , i.e. 'blurred') is a painting technique for softening the transition between colours, mimicking an area beyond what the human eye is focusing on, or the out-of-focus plane. It is one of the canonical painting modes of the Renaissan ...
modelling of features. Elsewhere in Spain, the influence of the Italian Renaissance was less pure, with a relatively superficial use of techniques that were combined with preceding Flemish practices and incorporated
Mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...
features, due to the relatively late examples from Italy, once Italian art was already strongly Mannerist. Apart from technical aspects, the themes and spirit of the Renaissance were modified to the Spanish culture and religious environment. Consequently, very few classical subjects or female nudes were depicted, and the works frequently exhibited a sense of pious devotion and religious intensity – attributes that would remain dominant in much art of
Counter Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...
Spain throughout the 17th century, and beyond. artists included
Vicente Juan Masip Vicente Juan Masip (also known as Joan de Joanes) (15071579) was a Spanish painter of the Renaissance period. He is commonly considered the foremost member of the Valencian school of painters. Masip was born in La Font de la Figuera. His fath ...
(1475–1550) and his son Juan de Juanes (1510–1579), the painter and architect Pedro Machuca (1490–1550), and Juan Correa de Vivar (1510–1566). However, the most popular Spanish painter of the early 17th Century was Luis de Morales (1510?–1586), called by his contemporaries "The Divine", because of the religious intensity of his paintings. From the Renaissance he also frequently used sfumato modeling, and simple compositions, but combined them with Flemish style precision of details. His subjects included many devotional images, including the ''Virgin and Child''.


Golden Age

The
Spanish Golden Age The Spanish Golden Age (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Siglo de Oro'', , "Golden Century"; 1492 – 1681) was a period of literature and the The arts, arts in Spain that coincided with the political rise of the Spanish Empire under the Catholic M ...
, a period of Spanish political ascendancy and subsequent
decline Decline may refer to: *Decadence, involves a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, or skill over time *in marketing, the stage in the product life cycle when demand for a product begins to taper off * "Decline" (song), 20 ...
, saw a great development of art in Spain. The period is generally considered to have begun at some point after 1492 and ended by or with the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, though in art the start is delayed until the reign of Philip III of Spain, Philip III (1598–1621), or just before, and the end also delayed until the 1660s or later. The style thus forms a part of the wider
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
period in art, although as well as considerable influence from great Baroque masters such as Caravaggio and later
Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...
, the distinctive nature of the art of the period also included influences that modified typical Baroque characteristics. These included influence from contemporary Dutch Golden Age painting and the native Spanish tradition which give much of the art of the period an interest in naturalism, and an avoidance of the grandiosity of much Baroque art. Important early contributors included Juan Bautista Maíno (1569–1649), who brought a new naturalistic style into Spain, Francisco Ribalta (1565–1628), and the influential still life painter, Juan Sánchez Cotán, Sánchez Cotán (1560–1627).
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. ...
(1541–1614) was one of the most individualistic of the painters of the period, developing a strongly Mannerist style based on his origins in the post Byzantine art, Byzantine Cretan school, in contrast to the naturalist approaches then predominant in Seville, Madrid and elsewhere in Spain. Many of his works reflect the silvery-greys and strong colours of Venetian painters such as
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 ...
, but combined with strange elongations of figures, unusual lighting, disposing of perspective space, and filling the surface with very visible and expressive brushwork. Although mostly active in Italy, particularly in Naples,
José de Ribera Jusepe de Ribera (; baptised 17 February 1591 – 3 November 1652) was a Spanish painter and printmaker. Ribera, Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artists of Spani ...
(1591–1652) considered himself Spanish, and his style is sometimes used as an example of the extremes of Counter-Reformation Spanish art. His work was very influential (largely through the circulation of his drawing and prints throughout Europe) and developed significantly through his career. Being the gateway to the New World, Seville became the cultural centre of Spain in the 16th Century, and attracted artists from across Europe, drawn by lure of commissions for the growing empire, and for the numerous religious houses of the wealthy city. Starting from a strongly Flemish tradition of detailed and smooth brushwork, as revealed in the works of Francisco Pacheco (1564–1642), over time a more naturalistic approach developed, with the influence of Juan de las Roelas, Juan de Roelas (c. 1560–1624) and Francisco Herrera the Elder (1590–1654). This more naturalistic approach, influenced by Caravaggio, became predominant in Seville, and formed the training background of three Golden Age masters: Cano, Zurbarán and Velázquez.
Francisco de Zurbarán Francisco de Zurbarán ( , ; baptized 7 November 1598 – 27 August 1664) was a Spanish painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes. Zurbarán gained the nickname "Spanis ...
(1598–1664) is known for the forceful, realistic use of chiaroscuro in his religious paintings and still lifes. Although seen as limited in his development, and struggling to handle complex scenes. Zurbarán's great ability to evoke religious feelings made him very successful in receiving commissions in conservative Counter-Reformation Seville. Sharing the same painting master – Francisco Pacheco – as Velázquez, Alonso Cano (16601–1667) was also active in sculpture and architecture. His style moved from the naturalism of his early period, to a more delicate, idealistic approach, revealing Venetian school (art), Venetian and Anthony van Dyck, van Dyck influences.


Velázquez

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 ...
(1599–1660) was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV. In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical and cultural significance, he created scores of portraits of the Spanish royal family, other notable European figures, and commoners. In many portraits, Velázquez gave a dignified quality to less fortunate members of society like beggars and dwarfs. In contrast to these portraits, the gods and goddesses of Velázquez tend to be portrayed as common people, without divine characteristics. Besides the forty portraits of Philip by Velázquez, he painted portraits of other members of the royal family, including princes, infantas (princesses), and queens.


Later Baroque

Later Baroque elements were introduced as a foreign influence, through visits to Spain by
Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...
, and the circulation of artists and patrons between Spain and the Spanish possessions of Naples and the Spanish Netherlands. Significant Spanish painters taking up the new style were Juan Carreño de Miranda (1614–1685), Francisco Rizi (1614–1685) and Francisco de Herrera the Younger (1627–1685), son of Francisco de Herrera the Elder an initiator of the naturalist emphasis of the Seville School. Other notable Baroque painters were Claudio Coello (1642–1693), Antonio de Pereda (1611–1678), Mateo Cerezo (1637–1666) and Juan de Valdés Leal (1622–1690). The pre-eminent painter of the period – and most famous Spanish painter prior to the 19th century appreciation of Velázquez, Zurbarán and El Greco – was
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contempor ...
(1617–1682). Working for most of his career in Seville, his early work reflected the naturalism of Caravaggio, using a subdued, brown palette, simple but not harsh lighting, and religious themes that are portrayed in a natural or domestic setting, as in his ''Holy Family with a Little Bird '' (c. 1650). Later he incorporated elements of the Flemish Baroque from Rubens and Van Dyck. In the ''Soult Immaculate Conception'', a brighter and more radiant colour range is used, the swirling cherubs bringing all the focus upon the Virgin, whose heavenward gaze and diffuse and warmly glowing halo make it an effective devotional image, an important component of his output; the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin theme alone was represented about twenty times by Murillo.


18th century

The beginning of the Bourbon dynasty in Spain under Philip V of Spain, Philip V led to great changes in art patronage, with the new French-oriented court favoring the styles and artists of Bourbon France. Few Spanish painters were employed by the court – a rare exception being Miguel Jacinto Meléndez (1679–1734) – and it took some time before Spanish painters adapted to the new Rococo and Neoclassicism, Neoclassical styles. Leading European painters, including Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Anton Raphael Mengs, were active and influential. Restricted from royal sponsorship, many Spanish painters continued the Baroque style in religious compositions. This was true of Francisco Bayeu y Subias (1734–1795), a skilled fresco painter, and of Mariano Salvador Maella (1739–1819) who both developed in the direction of the severe Neoclassicism of Mengs. Another important avenue for Spanish artists was portraiture, which was an active sphere for Antonio González Velázquez (1723–1794), Joaquín Inza y Ainsa, Joaquín Inza (1736–1811) and Agustín Esteve (1753–1820). But it is in the genre of the still life that royal patronage was also successfully found, in the works by artists such as the court painter Bartolomé Montalvo (1769–1846) and Luis Egidio Meléndez (1716–1780). Continuing in the Spanish still life tradition of Juan Sánchez Cotán, Sánchez Cotán and Zurbarán, Meléndez produced a series of cabinet paintings, commissioned by the Prince of Asturias, the future Charles IV of Spain, King Charles IV, intended to show the full range of edible foods from Spain. Rather than being merely formal studies in Natural History, he used stark lighting, low viewpoints and severe compositions to dramatise the subjects. He showed great interest and attention to the details of reflections, textures and highlights (such the highlight on the patterned vase in ''Still Life with Oranges, Jars, and Boxes of Sweets'') reflecting the new spirit of the age of Enlightenment in Spain, Enlightenment.


Goya

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...
was a portraitist and court painter to the Spanish Crown, a chronicler of history, and, in his unofficial work, a revolutionary and a visionary. Goya painted the Spanish royal family, including Charles IV of Spain and Ferdinand VII. His themes range from merry festivals for Francisco Goya's tapestry cartoons, tapestry, draft cartoons, to scenes of war, fighting and corpses. In his early stage, he painted draft cartoons as templates for tapestries and focused on scenes from everyday life with vivid colors. During his lifetime, Goya also made several series of ''grabados'', etchings which depicted the decadence of society and the horrors of war. His most famous painting series are the ''Black Paintings'', painted at the end of his life. This series features works that are obscure in both color and meaning, producing uneasiness and shock. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of late 18th and early 19th centuries and throughout his long career was a commentator and chronicler of his era. Immensely successful in his lifetime, Goya is often referred to as both the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns.


19th century

Various art movements of the 19th Century influenced Spanish artists, largely through them undertaking training in foreign capitals, particularly in Paris and Rome. In this way Neo-classicism, Romanticism, Realism (arts), Realism and Impressionism became important strands. However, they were often delayed or transformed by local conditions, including repressive governments, and by the tragedies of the Carlist Wars. Portraits and historical subjects were popular, and the art of the past - particularly the styles and techniques of Velázquez - were significant. Early years were still dominated by the academicism of Vicente López y Portaña, Vincente López (1772–1850) and then the Neoclassicism of the French painter, Jacques-Louis David, as in the works by José de Madrazo (1781–1859), the founder of an influential line of artists and gallery directors. His son, Federico de Madrazo (1781–1859), was a leading figure in Spanish Romanticism, together with Leonardo Alenza (1807–1845), Valeriano Bécquer and Antonio María Esquivel. The later part of the century saw a strong period of Romanticism represented in history paintings, as in the works of Antonio Gisbert (1834–1901), Eduardo Rosales (1836–1873) and Francisco Pradilla (1848–1921). In these works the techniques of Realism were frequently used with Romantic subjects. This can clearly be seen in ''Joan the Mad'', a famed early work by Pradilla. The composition, facial expressions, and stormy sky reflect the dramatic emotion of the scene; yet the precise clothing, the texture of the mud, and other details, show great realism in the artist's attitude and style. Mariano Fortuny (painter), Mariano Fortuny(1838–1874) also developed a strong Realist style, after earlier being influenced by the French Romantic Eugène Delacroix, and became Spain's famous artist of the century Joaquín Sorolla (1863–1923) excelled in the dexterous representation of the people and landscape under the sunlight of his native land, thus reflecting the spirit of Impressionism in many paintings, particularly his famous seaside paintings. In ''Children on the beach'' he makes the reflections, shadows and gloss of the water and skin his true subject. The composition is very daring, with the horizon omitted, one of the boys cut off, and strong diagonals leading to the contrasts and increased saturation of the upper-left of the work.


20th century

During the first half of 20th century many leading Spanish artists were working in Paris, where they contributed to – and sometimes led – developments in the Modernist art movement. As perhaps the most important example of this, Picasso, working together with the French artist Braque, created the concepts of Cubism; and the sub-movement of Cubism#Synthetic Cubism, Synthetic Cubism has been judged to have found its purest expression in the paintings and collages of Madrid-born
Juan Gris José Victoriano González-Pérez (23 March 1887 – 11 May 1927), better known as Juan Gris (; ), was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic g ...
. In a similar way,
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...
became a central figure of the Surrealist movement in Paris; and
Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...
was influential in abstract art.
Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...
's Blue Period (1901–1904), which consisted of somber, blue-tinted paintings was influenced by a trip through Spain. The Museu Picasso in Barcelona features many of Picasso's early works, created while he was living in Spain, as well as the extensive collection of Jaime Sabartés, Picasso's close friend from his Barcelona days who, for many years, was Picasso's personal secretary. There are many precise and detailed figure studies done in his youth under his father's tutelage, as well as rarely seen works from his old age that clearly demonstrate Picasso's firm grounding in classical techniques. Picasso presented the most durable homage to Velázquez in 1957 when he recreated ''Las Meninas (Picasso), Las Meninas'' in his characteristically cubist form. While Picasso was worried that if he copied Velázquez's painting, it would be seen only as a copy and not as any sort of unique representation, he proceeded to do so, and the enormous work—the largest he had produced since ''Guernica'' in 1937—earned a position of relevance in the Spanish canon of art. Málaga, Picasso's birthplace, houses two museums with significant collections, the Museo Picasso Málaga and Fundación Picasso, Birthplace Museum.
Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...
was a central artist within the Surrealist movement in Paris. Although Dalí was criticized for accommodating Francisco Franco, Franco's regime, André Breton, the Surrealist leader and poet, asked him to represent Spain at the 1959 Homage to Surrealism Exhibition which celebrated the fortieth anniversary of Surrealism. In line with the Surrealist movement's objectives, Dalí stated that his artistic aim was that "the world of imagination and of concrete irrationality may be as objectively evident ... as that of the exterior world", and this goal can be seen in one of his most familiar paintings, ''The Persistence of Memory''. Here he paints with a precise, realistic style, based on studies of Dutch and Spanish masters, but with a subject that dissolves the boundaries between organic and mechanical and is more akin to the nightmarish scenes of the Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch, whose ''Garden of Earthly Delights'' provided the model for the central, sleeping figure of Dalí's work.
Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...
was also closely associated with the Surrealists in Paris, who particularly approved of his use of Surrealist automatism, automatism in composition and execution, designed to expose the subconscious mind. Although his later and more popular paintings are refined, whimsical and apparently effortless, his influential period in the 1920s and 1930s produced works that were provocative in their sexual symbolism and imagery, and employing rough, experimental materials, including sandpaper, unsized canvases, and collage. In mature period painting, ''La Leçon de Ski'', his characteristic language of signs, figures and black linear forms against more textured and painterly background is evident. Ignacio Zuloaga and José Gutiérrez Solana were other significant painters of the first half of 20th century.


Post WW2

In the post-War period, the Catalan artist Antoni Tàpies became famous for his abstract works, many of which use very thick textures and the incorporation of non-standard materials and objects. Tàpies has won several international awards for his works.


Sculpture

The Plateresque style extended from beginnings of the 16th century until the last third of the century and its stylistic influence pervaded the works of all great Spanish artists of the time. Alonso Berruguete (sculptor, painter and architect) is called the "Prince of Spanish sculpture" because of the grandeur, originality, and expressiveness achieved in his works. His main works were the upper stalls of the choir of the Cathedral of Toledo, the tomb of Cardinal Tavera in the same Cathedral, and the altarpiece of the Visitation in the church of Santa Úrsula in the same locality. Other notable sculptors were Bartolomé Ordóñez, Diego de Siloé, Juan de Juni and Damià Forment, Damián Forment. Another period of Spanish Renaissance sculpture, the Baroque, encompassed the last years of the 16th century and extended into the 17th century until reaching its final flowering the 18th, developing a truly Spanish school and style, of sculpture, more realistic, intimate and independently creative than that of the previous one which was tied to European trends, especially those of the Netherlands and Italy. There were two Schools of special flair and talent: the Sevillian school of sculpture, Seville School, to which Juan Martínez Montañés belonged (called the Sevillian Fidias), whose most celebrated works are the Crucifix in the Cathedral of Seville, another in Vergara, and a Saint John; and the Granadan school of sculpture, Granada School, to which Alonso Cano belonged, to whom an Immaculate Conception and a Virgin of Rosary, are attributed. Another notable Andalusian Baroque sculptors were Pedro de Mena, Pedro Roldán and his daughter Luisa Roldán, Juan de Mesa and Pedro Duque Cornejo. The Valladolid school of the 17th century (Gregorio Fernández, Francisco del Rincón) was succeeded in the 18th century, although with less brilliance, by the Madrid School, and it was soon transformed into a purely academic style by the middle of the century. In turn, the Andalusian school was replaced by that of Murcia, epitomised in the person of Francisco Salzillo, during the first half of the century. This last sculptor is distinguished by the originality, fluidity, and dynamic treatment of his works, even in those representations of great tragedy. More than 1,800 works are attributed to him, the most famous products of his hand being the Holy Week floats (pasos) in Murcia, most notable amongst which are those of the Agony in the Garden and the Kiss of Judas. In the 20th century the most important Spanish sculptors were Julio González (sculptor), Julio González, Pablo Gargallo, Eduardo Chillida and Pablo Serrano.


Spanish collectors and museums of art

The Spanish royal collection was accumulated by Spanish monarchs beginning with Isabel the Catholic, Queen of Castile (1451–1504), who accumulated large and impressive collections of objets d'art, 370 tapestries, and 350 paintings, a number by important artists including Rogier van der Weyden, Hans Memling, Hieronymus Bosch,
Juan de Flandes ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Phili ...
, and Sandro Botticelli. However many of these were dispersed by auction after her death in 1504. Isabel's grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles I, the first Habsburg king of Spain, was a patron and collector of art, as was his sister, Mary of Hungary. Both admired works by
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 ...
. When the siblings died, the art passed to Philip II of Spain, Charles's son, an even keener collector. Philip IV (1605–1665) followed in the family tradition as a passionate art collector and patron. During his reign, Velázquez, Zurbarán and others produced many works of art. Philip commissioned works and purchased others, sending his representatives to acquire works for the monarch's collection. One of Philip IV's major contributions to art in Spain was to entail his collection, preventing their sale or other dispersal. Under the Spanish Bourbon monarch, Charles IV, the notion of bringing together major works from other repositories in Spain took shape, probably not for the public to view but for artists to study.Alcolea Blanch, ''The Prado'', p. 15. The Prado Museum in Madrid became the main repository for that art. The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Francisco, founded in 1744, now functions also as a museum in Madrid. The Museum of the Americas (Madrid), Museum of the Americas in Madrid has a collection of casta paintings and other art brought back to Spain from the Americas, as well as sculpture and archeological artifacts.


Other artistic disciplines

* Architecture of Spain, Architecture * Cinema of Spain, Cinematography * Music of Spain, Music


References


Further reading

* Alcolea Blanch, Santiago. ''The Prado''. Translated from the Spanish by Richard-Lewis Rees and Angela Patricia Hall. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers 1991. * * Berg Sobré, Judith. ''Behind the Altar Table: The Development of the Painted Retablo in Spain, 1350-1500''. Columbia, Miss. 1989. * Brown, Jonathan, ''Painting in Spain, 1500-1700'' (Pelican History of Art), Yale University Press, 1998, * Dodds, Jerrilynn D. (ed.) ''Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain''. New York 1992. * Gardner's: ''Art Through The Ages - International Edition'', Brace Harcourt Jovanovich, 9th Edn. 1991 * José Gudiol Ricart, Gudiol, José, ''The Arts of Spain'', 1964, Thames and Hudson * Jiménez Blanco, María Dolores, ed. ''The Prado Guide'', Madrid: Museo National del Prado, English 2nd Revised Edition, 2009 * * Moffitt, John F. ''The Arts in Spain''. London: Thames & Hudson 1999. * O'Neill, John P. (ed.), ''The Art of Medieval Spain, AD 500-1200''. New York 1993. * Palol, Pedro and Max Hirmer. ''Early Medieval Art in Spain''. New York 1966. * (full text resource that contains information on Ribera as well as a number of other Spanish artists) * Tomlinson, Janis, ''From El Greco to Goya: Painting in Spain 1561–1828'', Abrams Art History, 1997 * Williams, John. ''Early Spanish Manuscript Illumination''. New York 1977. * Young, Eric. '' Bartolomé Bermejo: The Great Hispano-Flemish Master''. London 1975.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spanish Art Spanish art, Art by country