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MINISTERIO DE INDUSTRIA,TURISMO Y COMERCIO TURESPAA

EUROPEAN COMMUNITY European Regional Development Fund

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S P A I N

Art

in

Spain

Barcelona. Mars Museum. Romanesque carving

M O S A I C

O F

A R

Tall (Lleida). Church of Sant Climent

the Moors, of the Mudejars... For reasons of history and temperament, they could not have emerged anywhere but Spain. An inherent vitality explains why Spanish Art is as diverse as it is, and why it has played a leading role in the history of world art as a whole. Spain has given the world some of its greatest universal masters, both past and present: creative giants such as Velzquez, Zurbarn and

Take Spains geographic diversity and varied landscape, take its history of invasions, migrations, expansion, conquest, and what do you get? Art, with a capital A. Spanish Art was born of the ebb and flow of civilizations that has determined Spains history since antiquity. New cultures with new ideas have always met, clashed, intermingled and been transformed in the great melting pot that is the Iberian peninsula. The result is a mosaic of styles, nuances, currents, colours and trends stretching over the centuries and comprising one of the worlds most enviable artistic heritages. Spanish artistic creativity has always been determined by the tension between what came from abroad and what already existed in Spain. Along with examples of each wave that has swept over the Peninsula and given it its Celtic fortresses, Romanesque monasteries, Gothic cathedrals and Renaissance palaces, one finds artistic expressions that originated in Spain and are quintessentially Spanish: the art of the prehistoric Iberians, of the Visigoths, of

Barcelona. Mars Museum. Roman statue

Madrid. Centro de Arte Reina Sofa National Museum. Pablo R. Picasso: Guernica (1937) Valencia. Marqus de Dos Aguas Palace

Madrid. Prado Museum. Velzquez: Las Meninas

Goya have been followed, in more modern times, by Gaud, Picasso, Mir, Dal, and even more recently by world-ranked names including Tapis, Barcel and many others. To explore this wealth of creativity, to allow ones gaze to wander across the sweeping mosaic that is Spain, its landscapes, and its art, is to embark on a fantastic visual adventure.

CROSSROADS OF ANCIENT CULTURES

HE first artists of Iberia gave us mysterious and beautiful cave paintings. Later, peoples from distant lands arrived

over the centuries to add their own contributions to the artistic heritage of Spain. Finally, the Roman Empire left its indelible stamp on Spanish culture and art.

Coaa prehistoric settlement (Asturias)

Santillana del Mar (Cantabria). Altamira caves

Albarracn (Teruel). Rock shelter in Las Olivanas

Paintings in caves, such as Altamira, or in rock shelters, such as Albarracn, signal the birth of art on the Iberian Peninsula. They would be followed much later by Neolithic pottery, settlements, stone dolmens and funeral chambers.

In the beginning, there was art

In a time long forgotten a man created the birth certificate of Spanish art on the ceiling of a cave in northern Spain. The genius responsible for the cave paintings of Altamira may have worn rough clothes and communicated with grunts, but the only thing that separates him from Pablo Picasso is time 15,000 years of it. The paintings were discovered by accident when a Spanish aristocrat and his young daughter were exploring the cave in 1875. Cows!, the girl exclaimed when she saw the beautifully traced representations of bison. So perfect and so well preserved were the paintings that at first experts were reluctant to accept them as authentic. Many similar examples were subsequently discovered in northern Spain. Prehistoric art from a later date, in caves and rock shelters in eastern and southern Spain, are much different in character: schematic, almost abstract renditions of hunting scenes, accompanied by undecipherable symbols. As time progressed, prehistoric man left further samples of his skill, in prehistoric ceramic vases that can be seen in museums all over Spain. And from the Neolithic period, there are astounding megalithic constructions, such as the dolmens of La Menga and El Romeral in Antequera (Mlaga), funeral chambers built, no one knows how, with massive stone slabs weighing many tons. Similar structures exist elsewhere in Andalusia, and in Catalonia, Aragon, Galicia, Extremadura and lava.

Antequera (Mlaga). Menga dolmen

Barros (Cantabria). Celtic stele

Mahn (Menorca). Es Tudons funeral chamber

was influenced by peoples who arrived by sea, and it achieved such sophistication that it still amazes the experts. For who can explain how a supposedly backward people could create such masterpieces as the Dama de Elche or the Dama de Baza, busts representing priestesses or goddesses, along with sculptures of fantastic animals, ingenious figurines and charms that can be seen in the National Archeological Museum in Madrid and in local museums such as the Alicante Museum, Elda Museum, Alcoy Museum or the Museum of Prehistory in Valencia? The Treasure of Carambolo and other vestiges displayed in the Archeological Museum of Seville are attributed to a mysterious civilization, the fabled kingdom of Tharsis or Tartessos, mentioned in the Bible and believed to have flourished in the area 3,500 years ago.

Seville. Archeological Museum. The Treasure of Carambolo

They came from the sea

Since antiquity, Spain has attracted traders and invaders, who settled here and enriched Iberias growing artistic heritage. Phoenician merchants, Greeks colonists, Carthaginians all left traces. The Phoenicians, more interested in commerce and navigation, were not essentially creators of art, but they were vital in spreading it among the lands they visited, which included the entire Mediterranean coastline. The most typical expression of their art are sculpted sarcophagi such as those discovered in one of their earliest colonies, Gadir (present-day Cdiz). Other colonies they established on Iberias coast were Ibusim (Ibiza), Sexi (Almucar), and Abdera (Adra). Adventurous Greeks followed in the wake of the Phoenicians, settling along the Mediterranean coast, especially in the north. They established colonies in Rohdes (Roses) and, most notably, Emporion (Empuries), in Girona, where two Greek settlements share a site with a later Roman colony. Little is left of the passing of the Carthaginians, heirs of the Phoenicians who founded Cartago Nova (New Carthage) at Cartagena on the eastern coast. In Spain, as in the main city of Carthage in northern Africa, their bitter enemies the Romans were especially thorough in wiping out any trace of the Carthaginians, although a few remnants survive, including several necropolis and reliefs such as that of Osuna.

Pontevedra Museum. Gold collar

The dawn of civilization

Megalithic constructions were to become more complex with the arrival of the Bronze Age. Menorca is so well endowed with examples of talayots (defensive towers), taulas (a kind of altar) and navetas or funeral chambers such as Es Tudons that the entire island is an open air museum of prehistoric architecture. By the Iron Age, what we can consider to be Iberian Art had acquired a well-defined identity, though it varied in character from one region to another. In the north the influence of the first great European civilization, the Celts, is seen in fortresses and settlements of Galicia, amongst whose ruins the exquisitely fashioned jewels on display in the Museum of Pontevedra were discovered. In the central regions of Spain, early artists created sculptures of totemic animals, including the Bulls of Guisando (vila). The art of the Mediterranean coastline

El Tiemblo (vila). Bulls of Guisando

During the so-called Iron Age the art of Iberia began to take on a well-defined identity: in the north, Celtic culture left stone reliefs and stylized jewelry, while in the centre of Iberia there is an abundance of totemic animals, and to the south figures of deities and priestesses show the influence of peoples who arrived by sea.

Madrid. Archeological Museum. The Dama de Elche

Itlica (Seville). Roman mosaic

The Roman legacy shows in every aspect of life in Iberia, from great bridges and aqueducts to small details like the tiles that decorated the floors of Roman homes, or the design of a simple doll.

Segovia. Roman aqueduct

The Empire builders

Romes victory over Carthage was a major turning point. In Spanish art, as in its history, there is a before and an after the Romans arrival. In a relatively short period, the land Rome called Hispania was to be transformed into one of the key pieces in the Empire, birthplace of many prominent Romans, including the emperors Hadrian, Trajan and Theodisius, or great thinkers and writers such as Seneca, Martial and Lucan. The Romans ruled Iberia for more than six centuries, and their influence on everything from law and language to art and agriculture is impressive. They were above all builders with a flair for daring feats of engineering. They endowed Spain with paved roads (some of the ancient routes are still in use). They built bridges across rivers, in Alcntara, Ourense, Crdoba, Mrida, Salamanca... They transported water for miles with their aqueducts, ranging from the awe-inspiring constructions in Segovia and Mrida to more modest ones in remote areas of Spain. They built ports. They dug mines and quarries such as Las Medulas (BierzoLen) and El Medol (Tarragona). And once in a while they allowed themselves the indulgence of building a triumphal arch, including those at Bar (Tarragona), Medinaceli (Soria), and Cparra (Cceres). The cities they founded thrived long after the Romans left, so much of what they built lies buried under later constructions. Even so, in colonies like Barcino, Tarraco or Emerita Augusta todays Barcelona, Tarragona and Mrida fine examples of Roman building share space with later architecture. Strangely, it is in the ruins of isolated fundi or country estates (examples exist in Burgos, Palencia and Toledo) and in those cities that were abandoned where one can best ponder on the rise and fall of the Roman empire; ghost towns such as Empuries in Girona, Clunia (Soria), Segbriga (Cuenca), Italica (Seville) and Acinipo (Mlaga), where the cry of a raven is all that is heard in amphitheatres that once echoed to a thousand voices.

Mrida (Badajoz). Milagros Roman Aqueduct

Mrida (Badajoz). Museum of Roman Art

Mrida (Badajoz). Museum of Roman Art

The legacy of Rome

Tarragona. Bar Arch

Despite the ravages of time, Spain is blessed with many examples of well-preserved Roman buildings. There are towers, walls and fortifications, some as complete as the walled city of Lugo and the Archeological Promenade of Tarragona. There are Roman baths and waterworks. There are temples (Crdoba, Vic). There are tombs, mausoleums (the Tower of the Scipios, Tarragona) and entire necropolis (the one in Carmona is exceptional). Above all, there are the emblematic theatres, amphitheatres and circuses, such as those in Mrida, Sagunto, Clunia, Italica and Tarragona, to mention a few of the most impressive ones. Monumental buildings aside, Roman art is especially rich in decorative elements and

items of everyday use: sculptures, reliefs, mosaics, vases, coins, weapons, utensils, jewels, furniture, and other objects that filled their cities and homes. Roman statuary in particular achieved a high degree of perfection in Hispania. Museums such as the striking Moneo-designed Museum of Roman Art in Mrida or that of Tarragona (housed in the praetorian tower within the citys Roman ruins) are vital for understanding Spains Latin legacy. Other outstanding collections are on display in the museums of Barcelona, Zaragoza, Seville, Madrid, and Toledo.

The Christian revolution

In the last years of Empire, when the peninsula was enjoying a complacent period of peace and civility, a new form of thinking was to shake the established order. Rome had absorbed many different religions in the past, but in Christianity it faced a veritable social revolution. Christianity took root quickly in Hispania, and the new movement was to affect artistic output. Basilicas and baptisteries such as those in Son Bou (Menorca), Son Pereto (Manacor) or Santa Mara de Tarrasa or the curious cupola of Centcelles (Tarragona) are examples of early Christian art. In particular, in their sarcophagi one sees the perfect marriage of Christian and classic art forms. There are some magnificent examples in museums, but one also finds them in the most unexpected places: converted into an altar in cija, embedded in a wall in San Feli (Girona)... And the horseshoe arches seen in some early Christian constructions are a prelude to what the following centuries were to bring.

LIGHT IN THE DARK AGES

Burgo de Osma (Soria). Cathedral. Tomb of San Pedro of Osma

HE collapse of the Roman Empire brought about the so-called Dark

Ages, yet the flame of creativity continued to burn on the Iberian peninsula. Invading Visigoths merged with Hispano-Romans, giving shape to a culture that would prepare the way for the artistic movements of the Middle Ages,

Santo Domingo de Silos (Burgos). Monastery

The early Christians adopted pagan images and symbols, endowing them with a new meaning, such as the Good Shepherd which shares space with Biblical scenes, including Daniel in the lions den, on the cija Sarcophagus.

when Romanesque and Gothic would inspire some of the great monuments of Spain.

San Juan de las Abadesas (Girona). Most Holy Mystery

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cija (Seville). Church of Santa Cruz. Details of early Christian sarcophagus

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The unknown art of the Visigoths

The arrival of northern European tribes sounded the death knell for the already crumbling western Roman empire. Awed by superior Roman culture, these so-called barbarians adopted classical art forms, but nevertheless added their own touches. The interaction between the Hispano-Romans of the Iberian peninsula and the newly arrived Visigoths gave birth to a new, indigenous culture. Sandwiched as they are between two great civilizations the Romans and the Moors of Al-Andalus the Visigoths and their art are generally ignored, relegated to footnotes in art history books. But a visit to the Museum of Visigothic Culture in what was once their capital, Toledo, dispels the notion that Visigothic culture had nothing to offer.

Visigothic culture and, later, Asturian or Ramirense art are expressions of local creativity that were a prelude to the Romanesque style about to sweep Europe.

Oviedo (Asturias). Church of San Miguel de Lillo

Campillo (Zamora). Church of San Pedro de la Nave

Oviedo (Asturias). Church of Santa Mara del Naranco

The birth of Romanesque art

Arab and Berber armies arrived from North Africa in 711, defeating the Visigothic King Roderick, and, within a few years, had occupied the entire Iberian peninsula save for a few isolated pockets of resistance in the mountains of northern Spain. That part of Spain never under Muslim rule was the birthplace of a peculiar pre-Romanesque style known as Asturian art, or Ramirense art (after King Ramiro, who ruled the Kingdom of Asturias in the 9th century). A score of churches scattered in the hills of Asturias include such charming examples as Santa Mara del Naranco or San Miguel de Lillo. This art coincided in time with the Carolingian renaissance in the Frankish empire, the harbinger of Romanesque art. Some churches in Catalonia, in the Frankish-controlled Spanish March which straddled the Pyrenees, also are a prelude to the new spiritualism that was taking hold in Europe. The sweeping influence of the Cluniac reform and the comings and goings of pilgrims spread Romanesque art across Europe. Such was the force of this artistic movement that it was fairly uniform throughout the continent, yet on the peninsula, where Romanesque thrived in the 11th and 12th centuries, it showed Visigothic and pre-Romanesque influences and even borrowed from the culture of the Moors of southern Spain.

Campillo (Zamora). Church of San Pedro de la Nave

Pola de Lena (Asturias). Church of Santa Cristina de Lena

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Most remnants date from the 7th century. Outside Toledo, only a few isolated buildings or simple reliefs remain of the Visigoths. There are churches, either with a basilica plan, as in San Juan de Baos (Palencia), or cruciform plan, as in Santa Comba de Bande (Ourense) and San Pedro de la Nave (Zamora). The capitals and reliefs in this last church, as those of Quintanilla de las Vias (Burgos), show a stylized spirituality that hints at the symbolism which would follow during the Middle Ages.

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Len. Collegiate of San Isidoro

The age of monasteries

During the 12th century, sculpture had a decorative and didactic function, mainly in the form of facades and capitals. In an age when literacy was the exception, the figures on the facade of the Ripoll monastery constituted an illustrated Bible for the unlettered populace. The capitals of Sant Pere de Galligans, San Juan de las Abadesas, San Cugat del Valles or the cloisters of the Girona and Tarragona cathedrals also fulfilled an educational purpose. In Navarre and Aragon there are exceptional examples in the churches of San Pedro el Viejo and San Juan de la Pea (Huesca), Sangesa and San Miguel de Estella, and, in central Spain, the cloister of Silos monastery and the marvellous Jacobean facade of Carrin de los Condes (Palencia). Spain also contributed some of the finest known examples of Romanesque painting, especially in frescoes, altar frontals and miniatures illustrating illuminated codices. Barcelonas Museum of Catalonia has one of the worlds finest collections of Romanesque art, though there are many treasures as well in the museums of Vic and Jaca. To these one must add the frescoes of the Pantheon of San Isidoro in Leon or the archaic figures, with Mozarab touches, of Maderuelo and San Baudelio de Berlanga (Prado Museum). Towards the end of the 12th century, France was shaken by another upheaval: the Cistercian reform, which sought a return to greater austerity and severity. Monasteries from this period were veritable cities devoted entirely to prayer and work: Poblet, Santes Creus, Fitero, Veruela, Iranzu, Piedra, Las Huelgas, Santa Mara de Huerta, Oya, Osera... At the same time, architects were turning their hand to secular constructions, especially in Catalonia, for instance the Old Quarter of Besal or the frontier castles erected on land reclaimed from the Moors. The Christians southward advance was unstoppable, reaching as far as Crdoba and Seville, conquered by King Ferdinand III in 1236 and 1248. Here we can see examples of churches of what could be termed Fernandino design, a transitional style in which one can appreciate how Romanesque was already giving way to another great medieval movement: Gothic art.

Carrin de los Condes (Palencia). Church of Saint James. Pantocrator

The way of Saint James

The pilgrim route to the shrine of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela, walked by millions during the Middle Ages, was crucial in the spread of Romanesque art across Christian Spain. Many great constructions sprung up along the Jacobean Way: the cathedral in Jaca, San Martn de Frmista (Palencia), San Isidoro de Len or, the grandest example of a Romanesque cathedral in all of Spain, the shrine of Saint James in Santiago itself. Maestro Mateos Portico of Glory is a medieval symphony in stone, a masterpiece that has its predecessors in sculptural works such as the porticos of San Vicente in Avila, and San Pedro el Viejo and Santa Cruz de Sers in Huesca. Also worth mentioning as examples of 11th century Romanesque carving are the capitals in the cloisters of Silos monastery or the reliefs on coffers and ivory chests in San Milln de la Cogolla (La Rioja). By the 12th century Romanesque art was so widespread that there were already individual schools developing with local peculiarities. Thus, one can speak of a Segovian Romanesque, which produced churches with porticos such as San Milln, San Martn, or San Esteban, this last with the most splendid example of a Romanesque tower. In the valley of the Duero river, Byzantine influences can be detected in the ornamented cupolas of Zamora, Toro and the old cathedral in Salamanca. Oriental undertones are also seen in the Soria style, in the churches of San Juan de Duero and San Juan de Rabanera. Galicia, too, had its own variation on the Romanesque theme, seen in the Tuy cathedral and the churches of Betanzos or Noya. Catalonia is especially rich in Romanesque art, in this case not only showing Jacobean but Carolingian and Lombard influences as well, evidenced by the Romanesque churches of the Pyrenees, the Girona cathedral, or Sant Pere de Galligans.

The Pantocrator - Christ represented as Ruler of the Universe - surrounded by the symbols of the four Evangelists, carved in stone tympanums or in the frescoes of apses, sums up the schematic character of Romanesque Art.

Santes Creus (Tarragona). Monastery

Tall (Lleida). Church of Sant Climent. Apse frescoes

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The cathedral builders

El Doncel (Pages comt.). Sigenza

Gothic was no mere artistic fashion. It was a new way of perceiving life that would make its mark on the entire continent. The dark ages were a thing of the past. A new kind of spirituality, one that was lighter and brighter, took hold of the cities, which by now had replaced the monasteries as the main centres of cultural activity. These medieval cities were usually arranged around their most

Len. Cathedral

Gothic Art which arrived from Europe lightened the look of cathedral walls, covered portals, palaces and cloisters with delicate carving, and endowed statues with a human expressiveness that announced a new sensitivity.

Segovia. Convent of Santa Cruz. Portal

Toledo. Convent of San Juan de los Reyes

The spirit of the flame

As the 14th century gave way to the 15th, Gothic art became ever more light and airy. Its fondness for tapering lines is somewhat reminiscent of a candle flame; for this reason it is sometimes known in Spanish as Gotico flamgero, though, for its tendency towards flowery ornamentation, it is generally termed Flamboyant Gothic. Two separate schools developed this aesthetic in central Spain. One was centred in Toledo, home of Juan Guas who designed San Juan de los Reyes (Toledo) and the Infantado Palace (Guadalajara) and Enrique Egas, who built three royal hospices in Santiago, Granada and Santa Cruz in Toledo. The other school was centred in Burgos, the workplace of Juan de Colonia, who gave the Burgos cathedral its spires, and Simon de Colonia, architect of San Gregorio in Valladolid. The exuberant temperament of the age inspired one of Christianitys most ambitious projects, the Cathedral of Seville, whose instigators sought a temple so grand as to go down into history as madmen. The same flamboyant spirit prompted the cathedrals of Segovia and the new cathedral of Salamanca, this last the work of Gil de Hontan. Sculpture was no longer considered to have a secondary role, and sculptors enjoyed an improved status as true artists, rather than mere craftsmen. In the Kingdom of Aragon, the work of Guillem Sagrera and Pere Joan stands out. Navarrese sculpture showed a Burgundian influence (appreciated in carved tombs in Pamplona and Tudela). Flemish influence, on the other hand, was strong in Castile and its dependent states, especially in Seville, Burgos Gil de Siloe was a major exponent and Toledo. And, while frescoes continued to adorn walls, the most characteristic medium for painting in this period were the great altarpieces. Of the diverse styles, HispanoFlemish of the second half of the 15th century is especially noteworthy.

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important building, the cathedral, but life was no longer entirely dominated by religion. This was the age of minstrels, chivalry, gallant love, refined palaces, an age when once again sculpture and painting became art forms in their own right. So sudden was the flourishing of Gothic art at the beginning of the 13th century that some buildings were started with Romanesque pilasters and finished off with Gothic domes. This architectural changing of the guard can be seen in many Cistercian monasteries and churches built at the time. Romanesque austerity influenced the design of the first Gothic cathedrals, in Avila, Tarragona, Lleida, Cuenca, Sigenza (these last two are unusual cases in Spain of the Norman style).

The 13th century saw the building of three great Castillian cathedrals. Burgos and Leon both have a decidedly French flavour, particularly in their sculptural elements. Toledo is indisputably the most Spanish of the three, with indications of the Moorish influence which was so strong in the city. During the 14th century, building activity shifted to the eastern seaboard of the peninsula. The cathedrals of Barcelona, Girona, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Manresa and Tortosa have a much lighter, more spacious feel inside.

Palma de Mallorca. Cathedral

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THE ART OF AL-ANDALUS

HEN the armies of Islam arrived on the Spanish peninsula, they would transform the land they came to call Al-Andalus. While northern Europe was floundering in feudalism, they created a civilization

that not only outshone its neighbours but formed a

Granada. Alhambra. El Partal gardens Monastery of El Escorial (Madrid). Library. Book of Games, by King Alfonso X the Wise

bridge between the Western and Oriental worlds.

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Mlaga. The Alcazaba

Madinat al-Zahra (Crdoba)

Rise and fall of Al-Andalus

The Moors greatest moment of cultural splendour is the so-called Crdoba period. Al-Andalus, which at one time covered most of the peninsula, was at first dependent on the ruling Umayyad dynasty in Damascus. When the Umayyads were overthrown by a rival clan, the Umayyad prince Abd Al-Rahman I fled to Spain to establish an independent emirate, with its capital in Crdoba. In 929 his descendant, Abd al-Rahman III, founded the Crdoba caliphate, proclaiming himself Caliph or Prince among believers. The most representative work of the period is the Crdoba mosque, built on the site of an old Visigothic basilica. Roman and Visigothic columns and capitals were used in the construction, which was added on to by successive caliphs. Another monumental project was the fabulous palatial city of Madinat al-Zahra outside Crdoba. The opulence of its halls astounded visitors, including Byzantine ambassadors accustomed to extravagance. But the palaces splendour was short lived: it was razed to the ground by rebellious Berber mercenaries a mere halfcentury after it was built. The collapse of the Crdoba caliphate brought about the splintering of Muslim Spain into a jigsaw puzzle of small kingdoms, the Taifas. Mlagas Alcazaba and the magnificent Aljafera in Zaragoza date from this period. Increasing pressure from the ever more powerful Christians in the north led several of the Taifa kings to appeal for help from the Almoravids, the ruling clan in northern Africa. Accepting the invitation, the Almoravids invaded the peninsula in 1086 and stayed. They in turn were replaced by another north African tribe, the Almohads, in 1146. Both peoples were religious fundamentalists with no time for the frills and frivolity of the Crdoba caliphate or the Taifa kings. Their art was severe. Brick facades only occasionally broken by a diamond pattern, the sebka, are about all the Almohads allowed themselves in the way of decorative flourishes. Nevertheless, they built notable works such as the Giralda in Seville a minaret, later incorporated into the Christian cathedral or the Tower of Gold on the banks of the Guadalquivir river.

In the name of Allah

Berber and Arab armies landed in Gibraltar in 711 for what initially had been meant as a large-scale raiding party. They had no intention of staying but, as it turned out, they occupied the peninsula, or part of it, for nearly eight centuries. Their influence on Spanish art and culture was enormous. The civilization of Al-Andalus was the most brilliant of its time, and constituted the meeting point of Western and Oriental culture. Not only did the Moors, as the Muslims of Spain are properly called, develop their own style, they influenced that of the Christians with whom they shared be it in peace or war the peninsula. Separate styles were developed by the Mozarabs (Christians who lived under Muslim rule) and later the Mudejars (Moors who remained in territory conquered by Christians). Spains Jewish community, too, adopted elements of Islamic art as the basis of a distinct Sephardic style.

Zaragoza. The Aljafera

FOTO NUM. 45 Giralda de 20

Crdoba. Mosque Sevilla. Torre del Oro

Art of the Crdoba period, when Moorish civilization reached its zenith, served as a model for later generations who created such beautiful works as the Giralda of Seville or the Aljafera of Zaragoza. 21

The last of the Moors

By the middle of the 14th century, with Seville, Crdoba and most of western Andalusia in Christian hands, the Moors presence in Spain was reduced to the small kingdom of Granada, encompassing the presentday provinces of Granada, Mlaga and Almera. There they would remain, a vassal kingdom, until their defeat by King Ferninand and Queen Isabel in 1492. The twilight years of Moorish rule in Spain saw the flowering of Nasrid art, which demonstrated a poetic flair for ornamentation and balanced combination of materials. Their crowning achievement is, of course, the palatial complex of the Alhambra in Granada, with its intricate wall decorations, patios, trickling fountains, mosques, defense towers and adjoining Generalife gardens.
Granada. View of the Alhambra

San Miguel de Escalada (Len). Church of San Miguel

Strangers in Paradise
In general, the Moorish rulers of Spain tolerated Jews and Christians, as people of the Book. Christians living under Moorish rule, known as Mozarabs almost Arabs were a clannish folk with customs and rites unlike those of Christian Spain. They developed their own artistic style, which reached its peak in the 10th century, manifesting itself both as works by communities who remained in Muslim territory, and by Mozarabs who emigrated to Christian lands but maintained their old customs. The first group left us the churches of Bobastro (Mlaga) and Melque (Toledo). The second group built the churches of San Miguel de la Escalada and Santiago de Pealba in Leon, San Cebrin de Mazote and San Baudelio de Berlanga in Castile, and Santa Mara de Lebea in Cantabria.

Pealba de Santiago (Len). Church of Saint James

Christians under Moorish rule, called Mozarabs, used many Arabic elements in their churches.

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San Cebrin de Mazote (Valladolid). Iglesia mozrabe

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The Moors who remained

With the Christian advance entire Moorish communities came under Christian rule, as farmers and skilled craftsmen. They were the Mudejars from the Arabic for those permitted to remain and developed a style which flourished especially from the 12th to 14th century, though it continues to have an influence even today. Far from being hermetic, Mudejar art adapted and changed the styles that prevailed at any given time. Thus, while earlier Mudejar creations are clearly influenced by Romanesque and Gothic, we can also talk of Renaissance Mudejar or Baroque Mudejar. And we can even detect Mudejar forms in many bullrings, train stations, and other public buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries. Among the jewels of Mudejar during the Romanesque period are several churches around Arvalo (vila), Sahagn (Len) and Toledo. The synagogues of Toledo, and many of Toledos towers, churches and palaces are examples of Gothic Mudejar. In Tordesillas, the Convent of Santa Clara incorporates the remains of a Mudejar palace similar to the Alczar del Rey Don Pedro in Seville, Andalusias most exceptional Mudejar monument. The cloister of Guadalupe Monastery in Extremadura is also noteworthy. Perhaps the finest examples of Mudejar are to be found in Aragn, especially in Teruel with its 13th- and 14th-century towers and cathedral.
Toledo. Synagogue of Santa Mara la Blanca Toledo. Trnsito Synagogue

The silent splendour of Sepharad

First arriving under the Romans, the Jewish community in Spain played an important role, socially and culturally, in the land they called Sepharad. Rather than develop a separate art, Spanish Jews absorbed what existed around them as a means of artistic expression. Thus, they adapted many Moorish and, later, Mudejar forms as the most suited to their needs. Spain preserves many medieval calls or juderas Jewish quarters some as evocative as the judera in Crdoba (birthplace of Maimonides), the call in Girona, and the Besal call with its ritual baths. Part of the Sephardic legacy are three of the oldest and most beautiful synagogues in Europe. Santa Mara la Blanca, in Toledo, was built in the 13th century. Also in Toledo is the Trnsito Synagogue, built a hundred years later under the patronage of the Spanish kings treasurer, with fine Mudejar plasterwork and wood encrusted with mother of pearl. The third, in Crdoba, is the only surviving synagogue in Andalusia. Remains of other synagogues are to be found in numerous Spanish towns, including Tudela, Agreda and Segovia.

Both the art of the Sephardic Jews and that of the Christians in territory formerly under Moorish rule incorporated Arabic styles, giving birth to the Mudejar style, whose influence was still felt up to the beginning of the 20th century.

Teruel. Church of San Martn

Coca (Segovia). Castle

Sevilla. Royal Alczares

Tordesillas (Valladolid). Convent of Santa Clara s Sahagn (Len). Church of San Tirso s s

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THE QUEST FOR PERFECTION

HE end of the 15th century saw the birth of a new world, in more ways than one. The Middle Ages

were truly over. The discovery of America opened a whole new range of possibilities. Man embarked on a voyage of scientific discovery, armed with an unsatiable thirst

Madrid. Prado Museum. Juan de Juanes: The Last Supper

for knowledge. He no longer sought perfection in theology, but in the physical world. This is the age of order and reason, when at first artists looked for inspiration in the classical ideals of
Valladolid. Convent of San Gregorio cloisters

Santiago de Compostela (A Corua). Facade of the Cathedral

antiquity, then experimented with the elaborate forms of Baroque, only to turn full circle with the Age of Enlightenment and its Neoclassical norms.

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Winds of change
Events toward the end of the 15th century were to change Spain beyond recognition. The marriage of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabel of Castile brought about a union of sorts between the two kingdoms. And the discovery of the New World was to change Spains destiny forever. From the artistic and cultural point of view, the winds of change blew from Italy. Humanistic thought permeated all. Art was inspired by the classic ideals of ancient Greece and Rome. In Spain, Renaissance architecture was characterized by a taste for exterior ornamentation. Facades were covered with a profusion of decorative details reminiscent of silver filigree, which earned this particular style the name of Plateresque, meaning literally silversmithlike. The Hospital of Santa Cruz in Toledo was the first example in Spain of this new movement, and before long the style had swept the country: the Palace of Cogolludo (Guadalajara), the Town Hall of Seville, the facade of the University of Salamanca... all show the profligate hand of Plateresque architects.

Cogolludo (Guadalajara). Ducal Palace

The Italian style radically changed Spanish architecture at the start of the Renaissance. Humanism spelt a return to classical forms.

Towards 1530 the Plateresque style was superseded by more restrained, classic Renaissance architecture, as in the work of Alonso de Covarrubias of Toledo or Gil de Hontaon in Salamanca. The Palace of Charles V which Pedro Machuca built within the Alhambra in Granada is an example of pure Italian-style Renaissance. Also in Granada, Diego de Siloe designed the citys cathedral and, elsewhere in Andalusia, Andrs de Vandelvira filled the towns of Jaen, Baeza and Ubeda with Renaissance palaces. The same Italian spirit is seen in the paintings of Pedro Berruguete, Juan de Borgoa, and the Raphaelinfluenced Juan de Juanes, who worked in Valencia. Sculptors, too, were swept up by the Italian aesthetic. The greatest was Alonso de Berruguete, the most Spanish of them, for already one detects a Baroque flair in his sculptures. He worked especially in Valladolid and Toledo (the choir of Toledo cathedral is his masterpiece). Other sculptors, such as Juan de Juni and Damian Forment, were more faithful to classical Renaissance serenity.

beda (Jan). Salvador Chapel Toledo. Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) Hospital Granada. Palace of Charles V

Salamanca. Facade of the University

Toledo. Cathedral. Choir

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Madrid. Prado Museum. Morales: Virgin and Child s s

The Divine Morales and El Greco were exceptions to the rule imposed by the austerity of Philip IIs court: a sober, almost severe aesthetic that inspired Herraran design, whose best expression was the Monastery of El Escorial.

Madrid. San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts. El Greco: Saint Jerome s

El Escorial (Madrid). Monastery of San Lorenzo

The austerity of Philip II

During the second half of the 16th century, King Philip II ruled Spain down to the last detail. His personal taste also governed Spanish artists, so we can talk of an official, court-approved art, as opposed to the unsanctioned activity of independent artists. Perhaps not surprisingly, the best art was produced by the second group, which included Luis de Morales, whose mysticism earned him the moniker of The Divine, and the Crete-born Domenico Theotocopuli, El Greco, who after an unsuccessful sojourn in the court settled in Toledo to silently indulge his highly spiritual conception of art. The legacy he left in Toledo is impressive, shared between the museum named after him, hospitals, the cathedral and churches such as Santo Tom, where his masterpiece the Burial of Count Orgaz hangs. One notable contribution of official art under Philip II was the so-called Herreran style, named after architect Juan de Herrera, which was a reflection of the kings austere reaction to Renaissance humanism. Herrera gave shape to the grandiose and very Castillian monastery-palace of San Lorenzo del Escorial. The style was repeated in the cathedral of Valladolid and the Lonja, or commercial exchange, in Seville, and in many other buildings that conformed to the strict rules of the day.

Madrid. Facade of the City Hall

Baroque architecture, Spanish style

Baroque architecture took hold in Spain very gradually. Indeed, the first Baroque buildings at the beginning of the 18th century owed much to the sobriety of Herreras works. This can be seen for example in the designs of Juan Gmez de Mora, Alonso Cano, or Francisco de Herrera El Mozo. Some years would pass before the Baroque style took hold with all its unfettered force. In honour of architect Jos de Churriguera, Spanish Baroque architecture is known by the tongue-twisting name of Churrigueresque, though its chief exponent was to be Pedro de Ribera.

Toledo. Church of Santo Tom: El Greco:Burial of the Count of Orgaz

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Madrid. Municipal Museum. Detail of the facade

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Seville. Convent of Las Teresas. La Roldana: Virgin and Child

Valladolid. Cathedral. Gregorio Fernndez: Ecce Homo

The religious images of Spains Golden Century constitute a unique case in European sculpture. The pathetic realism of the images echoed a profound popular devotion.

Seville. Museum of Fine Arts. Martnez Montas: Saint Dominic, Penitent Granada. Cathedral. Alonso Cano: Bust of Saint Paul Seville. Hospital de la Caridad. Pedro Roldn: Holy Interment altarpiece

The image makers

If the 17th century has come to be known as the Golden Age of Spanish art, it is largely due to the work of Spains painters and image makers. Religious imagery was a particularly Spanish art form, very different from the sculptures being produced elsewhere in Europe, which tended towards secular subjects. Spain produced religious images of expressive realism for use in altarpieces and in processions. It was essentially a folk art form, executed in gilded and polychrome wood. In Castile, Gregorio Fernndez was a master at depicting pain and sorrow in his recumbent Christs and mourning Madonnas, used in Holy Week processions. The National Museum of Sculpture in Valladolid houses the best of his and his contemporaries work. Andalusia had its own school of image carvers. Juan Martnez Montas is the most representative of Seville. His Immaculate Virgins and boy-saints have an aura of serenity and tenderness that is very different from the pathos of their Castillian counterparts. Juan Gmez and Pedro Roldn were among his successors, and this last in turn was succeeded by his daughter, Luisa La Roldana and the Cordoban Pedro Duque Cornejo, author of the choir in his home towns cathedral. In Granada, the carved Immaculate Virgins by the architect and painter Alonso Cano formed the basis of another school. His pupil, Pedro de Mena, added to the masters elegance a measure of pathos and religious emotion, especially in his Dolorosas. The work of another Granada artist, Jos de Mora, showed the influence of both Cano and Mena. In Eastern Spain, in the 18th century, sculpture was more European in its choice of secular subjects. But the most popular sculptor of the region, Francisco Salzillo, spelt a return to the religious theme. He was son of a Napolitan sculptor and his Italian parentage can be seen in his Holy Week images and nativity figures, so dear to the tradition of Naples. The Salzillo Museum in Murcia contains much of his work.
Murcia. Salzillo Museum. The Last Supper

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The golden age of painting

Spains golden century is, above all, identified with the painters of the day, some of whom are linchpins in the history of western art. The Prado Museum in Madrid, the Fine Arts Museum in Seville and other Spanish museums are the custodians of this astounding heritage. Many of the most prominent names came from Andalusia, though the most important, Seville-born Diego Velzquez, soon moved from his southern homeland to set up shop within the Spanish court. This allowed him among other things to personally meet Rubens and to take part in two official trips to Italy. Velzquez is an indisputable case of absolute genius, a producer of pure art, though there is a progression in his work: in the first, youthful stage he painted still lifes, genre paintings, mythological scenes (The Triumph of Bacchus, The Forge of Vulcan). A later period brought courtly portraits and royal themes (The Surrender of Breda). After his second voyage to Italy he produced his most mature works, including Las Hilanderas (The Spinners) and Las Meninas (The Maids of Honour). Extremadura-born Francisco de Zurbarn moved first to Seville and then to the court. He was a painter of religious themes, monks and saints. Seville was also the base for another of the greats, Bartolom Esteban Murillo, who achieved enormous popularity in his time with his Immaculate Virgins and angelic boys portrayed with a tenderness we might today find overly sentimental. But his genre paintings and Biblical scenes show the hand of a true master (Hospital de la Caridad, Seville). No less talented, though he enjoyed less recognition, is Alonso Cano of Granada, who also painted Virgins and other religious themes (Granada cathedral). Juan Valds Leal of Seville is perhaps the most Baroque of them all, with his tremendista paintings on the vanity of the world. Valencia is a case apart in Spanish painting of the day. Francisco Ribalta introduced the Italian chiaroscuro tenebrist tradition in Spain, though it reached its greatest level with Jos de Ribera, after a sojourn in Italy where he earned his nickname, Lo Spagnoletto (The Little Spaniard).

Bilbao (Vizcaya). Museum of Fine Arts. Ribera: Saint Jerome

Madrid. Prado Museum. Velzquez: detail of Las Meninas

Bilbao (Vizcaya). Museum of Fine Arts. Zurbarn: The Holy Family

Velzquez, Zurbarn, Murillo and Ribera are giants among the prodigious generation of artists who shaped Spains Golden Century of art.
Madrid. San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Murillo: San Diego de Alcal feeds the poor

Madrid. Gallery in the Prado Museum

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Madrid. Prado Museum. Velzquez: The Topers, or the Triumph of Bacchus

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In its final stages, Baroque art became more moderated and works such as the Palace of Aranjuez show signs of Neoclassical serenity to come. Neoclassicism, in its turn, had its riposte in the genius of Goya, who would usher in a new era, the Romantic Age.

Aranjuez (Madrid). Royal Palace

Mxico. Cathedral

Jerez de los Caballeros (Badajoz). Church of San Bartolom

Madrid. Prado Museum. Goya: The Naked Maja

The cold elegance of Neoclassicism

So much Baroque exuberance was bound to become overwhelming and cause a backlash. In the final stages of what still can be considered the Baroque period, Spanish art became more moderate in its approach, more restrained, guided by the more gentle manners by then prevailing in Italy and, especially, France. This coincided with the access to the throne of the Bourbon dynasty, following the Spanish War of Succession. French influence was decisive in the 18th century, and is evident in Spains last great Baroque monuments, the royal palaces of La Granja, Aranjuez or Madrid itself. The Spanish Royal Academy of Fine Arts was established in 1752, to pass judgement on what was and what wasnt proper artistic form. It looked to classical art as the model. Reason, order and moderation were the new ideals. Architect Ventura Rodriguez embodied this transition. His abundant, and influential, work, which at first answered to Italian tenets, finally evolved into a detached Neoclassicism.

Madrid, especially, acquired a number of Neoclassical monuments, the foremost example being the building that houses the Prado Museum, by Juan de Villanueva. Gardens and avenues became populated with sculptures of demure deities and mythological figures, including the statues of Cibeles, Neptune or Apollo. Paintings, such as those by Jos de Madrazo or the portraits by Vicente Lpez, exuded a cold elegance. But it could not be long before the unruly Spanish artistic temperament would assert itself. There was an undercurrent of rebellion straining against the barriers of the Neoclassicism, and it burst forth with a vengeance in the person of one of the greatest artists of all time, Francisco de Goya. While his first works followed the classic mold of the day in frescoes, early religious paintings, cartoons for tapestries, portraits soon Goya was to become an artist removed from his time, a modern painter in the broadest sense of the word, with his loose, expressive brush strokes, and above all his free, nonconformist outlook. He is the forebear of a new artistic spirit, one that mistrusts the impositions of pure reason, putting the emphasis, instead, on sentiment. With Goya, a new artistic day had been born.

The extravagance of New World Baroque

Naturally, with Spain devoting much of its efforts to the colonization of the Americas, Spanish art had an affect on the New World. It was a two-way traffic for, in turn, the Americas provided indigenous touches which tended to exaggerate the extravagance of Spanish Baroque. This Ultra-Baroque was expressed in profusely ornate facades, altars and altarpieces which displayed an uninhibited mixing of colours and the frequent use of shiny tiles and encrusted mirrors. Mexico City, Guadalupe, Puebla, Cuzco, Lima and Quito all offer examples of this colonial art which, occasionally, would affect what was being produced in Spain itself.

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Madrid. San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Goya: Burial of the Sardine

A NEW ART FOR A NEW ERA

D
Bilbao (Vizcaya). Museum of Fine Arts. Andrs Corts: Seville Fair

URING the 19th century, the cult to reason gave way to a discovery

of the value of feelings and sensitivity. It was the start of a new cycle in art, one in which the idea of freedom and individuality are foremost. It was the age of Romanticism
Cuenca. Museum of Abstract Art

which, in turn, would make way for modern currents flowing through art even today.

Madrid. Centro de Arte Reina Sofa National Museum

Madrid. Contemporary Arts Fair (ARCO)

Barcelona. Domnech i Muntaner: Casa Lle i Morera

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Madrid. Centro de Arte Reina Sofa National Museum. Rusiol: Gardens of Aranjuez. El cenador s s El Roncal (Navarre). Benlliure: Gayarre Mausoleum Cdiz. Museum of Fine Arts. Valeriano Domnguez Bcquer s

The all-encompassing embrace of Modernism

During the last half of the 19th century, historical painting, a genre with clear literary connections, became all the rage. Artists like Casado del Alisal and Eduardo Rosales were wholeheartedly devoted to this fashion. Others, like Mariano Fortuny, were able to finally break away from the historical obsession to dedicate themselves more to experimenting with properly pictorial techniques, the effects of light, textures... This exploratory trend would find root in painters such as Santiago Rusiol, Aureliano de Beruete, Daro de Regoyos, Ramn Casas, Joaquim Mir, or Francisco Iturrino, who constitute the forefront of the Spanish Impressionists. The same ideals form the basis of the somewhat later work of Joaqun Sorolla. The best of these and other artists of the time are displayed in Madrids Prado Museum. From 1890, the great industrial boom of Barcelona encouraged the emergence of a moneyed local bourgeoisie. This new middle class readily embraced the ideals of the modernist spirit then sweeping Europe, giving them form in what is known as Catalan Modernisme, or Noucentisme. Cities such as Barcelona and Reus boast marvellous buildings imbued with this voracious aesthetic which aimed to envelop every aspect of design, down to the furniture, fixtures and items of everyday use. The most original, and best known, exponent was, of course, Antonio Gaud, whose personal genius nevertheless transcends the tenets of any particular movement. Such distinctive creations as the as-yet-unfinished Sagrada Familia Basilica, the Gell Park and some of the homes and buildings he designed in Barcelona and elsewhere express a very modern idea of total art, to which design of today owes much.
Madrid. Sorolla Museum: Beneath the Awning Barcelona. Gallery on Modern Art. Fortuny: detail of The Vicary Barcelona. Gaud: detail of Casa Batll

Romantic Impressions
Romanticism was essentially a literary, or existentialist, phenomenon. Romantic thought was something difficult to express in terms of architecture, for example. Instead, what coincided with the Romantic period in the 19th century was a sort of bastardized neoclassicism, in which medieval or renaissance elements were added on to classic forms. Architecture of the period is an eclectic mishmash of neothis and neo-that: Neo-Gothic, NeoMudejar, Neo-Renaissance... The chief novelty in architecture was the use of new materials iron, glass and the new uses for which buildings were designed railway stations, marketplaces... If Romanticism had any appropriate expression in the visual arts, it was in sculpture and, especially, painting, which were better suited to capture the theatrical quality of Romantic thought, particularly in the choice of subject matter. We can see this in the popular scenes by Antonio Mara Esquivel, Federico de Madrazo or Valeriano Domnguez Bcquer.

Spanish Romanticism encouraged art with an historical or popular theme. Soon that gave way to the loose brush strokes and luminosity of the Spanish Impressionists and, later, to Modernism, when Gaud revolutionized architectural forms.

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Bilbao (Vizcaya). Museum of Fine Arts. Raimundo de Madrazo: Young Lady in a Garden

Barcelona. Crculo del Liceo. Casas: detail of Afternoon Dance

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Bilbao (Vizcaya). Museum of Fine Arts. Solana: Streetwalkers

The advance of the avant-garde

At the turn of the century, Spanish impressionists coexisted with painters of a more Romantic bent, such as Carlos Haes or Prez Villamil, and were joined by another school of painters who practised Expressionist Realism, including Nonell, Gutierrez Solana and Zuloaga. But soon after the start of the 20th century, an ever increasing succession of avant-garde movements burst onto the European art scene. Ironically, Spain on the one hand was more resistant than most countries to these currents, but on the other hand contributed some of the greatest talent. The first, and most decisive, of the new -isms that would shape 20th century art was Cubism, whose birth date can be placed around 1908. And a Spaniard, Picasso, was its principal exponent. Pablo Picasso was much more than a Cubist. He was a genius who assimilated and practised all avant-garde movements. It can be said that his protracted and prolific career sums up all of 20th-century art. Aside from Picassos Cubism, there are his pink and blue periods, his Neoclassic stage, his Expressionist stage... all of which show an irrepressible inner vitality that extended to painting, sculpture, ceramics, and graphic art.

Barcelona. Picasso Museum. Pablo R. Picasso: Las Meninas despus de Velzquez (1957)

The European vanguard movements at the beginning of the 20th century included many Spanish artists, some as significant as Picasso, Dal and Mir.

Spanish Surrealism
Another especially vigorous -ism of the early 20th century was Surrealism, formulated in the 1920s around Andr Breton and other writers. Spain contributed decisively to this movement with two key figures: Salvador Dal and Joan Mir. Dal followed a more orthodox surrealism in his first years, then gave free rein to personal experimentation and obsessions that were not always artistically grounded. His work is displayed in an especially suggestive manner in the Dal Museum in Figueres, and in Cadaques and Port Lligat (Girona). Mirs work also evolved from a primitive surrealism to a more personal, very poetic form of expression. The Mir Foundations in Barcelona and Mallorca maintain not only his material works, but keep alive much of his creative spirit. To get an idea of Spains decisive contribution to 20th century art, one has only to view the permanent collection in the Reina Sofia National Art Centre in Madrid. Painters of the stature of Juan Gris, Mara Blanchard, Antoni Clav, Francisco Bores, and sculptors like Gargallo, Julio Gonzlez, Clar, Manolo Hugu and others exemplify the different movements that have revolutionized art. The European contribution to these movements is also well represented in Madrid, not far away from the Reina Sofia centre, in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection.

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Bilbao (Vizcaya). Museum of Fine Arts. Zuloaga: Countess Matieu Noailles

Madrid. Centro de Arte Reina Sofa National Museum. Salvador Dal: The great Masturbator

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 Sucesin Antonio Saura / www.antoniosaura.org, VEGAP, 2009

Rebels with a cause

Two world wars brought about a lull in the formulation of new artistic trends in Europe, but post war prosperity, especially during the Sixties, brought new waves of creative innovations, this time not emanating from Paris, but New York: Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Pop Art... Spain was at the time politically removed from the western mainstream, and artistic creativity was often born of a spirit of rebellion. The most prominent artists collective of the time was El Paso, which grouped such painters as Tpies, Saura, Millares, Canogar or Feito. Of these, Tpies is the one who has achieved, in a long career, the greatest universal recognition. The Tpies Foundation in Barcelona gathers together paintings full of magic and poetry, along with sculptures, objts, and his extensive graphic work. The works of the El Paso members and other contemporary painters form the basis of the Museum of Abstract Art in Cuenca.

Art in a world without frontiers

With Spains integration into Europe in the last decades, Spanish art beats anew to the rhythm of world art in general. In this last quarter of the 20th century, one can no longer distinguish frontiers between here and there: more than ever before, artistic creation is a personal adventure. Spain continues to give the world outstanding artists. The work of architects like Jos Luis Sert, Ricardo Bofill, Calatrava or Rafael Moneo is sought after abroad. Spanish visual art goes with the flow of worldwide trends in art over the last decades, and Spain continues to nurture artists of the first order, including Tapis, Barcel, Jose Mara Sicilia, or Garca Sevilla, as well as sculptors like Chillida, Susana Solano, Juan Muoz, Jaume Plensa, and Txomin Badiola. It can be said that all trends and fashions in world art are reflected in Spanish art, though it is difficult at the end of the 20th century to talk of artistic movements as such. In the natural continuation of the cycle that started with Romanticism, each artist seeks his own personal space, and follows his own individual quest for freedom and personal expression. Is it possible, in the age of the Global Village, to speak of Spanish art as opposed to world art? That is a question for future generations of art historians. Meanwhile, it is left to us to sit back and enjoy the show.

Cuenca. Fundacin Juan March. Museum of Abstract Art. Saura: Brigitte Bardot (1959)

Spain continues to provide great talents to the diverse currents in world art, in every field: painters like Tpies and Barcel, sculptors like Chillida, architects like Bofill are some of the prominent names in modern art.

Cuenca. Fundacin Juan March. Museum of Abstract Art. Tpies: Grande Equerre

Bilbao. Guggenheim Museum

Txomin Badiola: Manhatan dos

FMGB, 2000

s Work by Miquel Barcel (private collection)

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Gijn (Asturias). Monument by Chillida

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Provincial Capital .................. Valencia Place of Tourist Interest ...................... Sagunto

Text: Carlos Pascual Translation: Mark Little Photography: Turespaa Archives

De las reproducciones autorizadas VEGAP. Madrid, 2009 Sucesin Pablo Picasso. VEGAP. Madrid, 2009 Salvador Dal. Fundacin Gala Salvador Dal. VEGAP. Madrid, 2009 Sucesin Antonio Saura / www.antoniosaura.org. VEGAP. 2009 Fundacin Antoni Tpies. VEGAP. Madrid, 2009

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