The Spanish Renaissance was as vigorous as the Italian, but in Spain literature reached a brilliance that was unrivaled in any other country in Europe . And painting, as well as architecture, were also developed through truly creative schools.
The Renaissance was a phenomenon that had great repercussions throughout Europe. In England the literary genius of William Shakespeare shone , author of notable tragedies and comedies. In Portugal, Luis Camoens stood out , author of an epic called "The Lusiadas", intended to sing the exploits of the Lusitanians, especially Vasco da Gama. But among all the countries in Southern Europe, the Spanish Renaissance stood out for the formidable cultural movement it developed.
The Golden Age of Letters in the Spanish Renaissance
The 16th century has been called "The Golden Age" of Spanish letters in the Spanish Renaissance, because renowned writers and poets lived in its course. The main ones in the Spanish Renaissance were:
Fray Luis De León (1537-1591)
His name was Luis Ponce de León, a great representative of the Spanish Renaissance, he wrote magnificent lyrical poetry. Imitating the Latin poet Horace and surpassing his teacher in inspiration. His best compositions are called:Ode to country life, Ode to Music, Ode to the Ascension of the Lord. For having translated "The Song of Songs" of Solomon he was persecuted by the inquisition, prosecuted and imprisoned.
After being imprisoned for a long time, he left without rancor towards his perfidious judges and when he began to dictate his lessons, when everyone expected him to unleash their hatred, he simply said:"As we said yesterday..." with this he demonstrated the nobility and elevation of his spirit.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616)
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a great novelist of the Spanish Renaissance as one of the great figures of world literature. His work "Don Quixote de la Mancha" presents two opposite characters:
Don Quixote (who is optimistic) and Sancho Panza (who is pessimistic), thereby implying that in the human spirit these two forces work together and are balanced. His "Exemplary Novels" are also notable, that is, small comic strips written in a very traditional style. Cervantes' books improved the Spanish language, because they gave it flexibility, elegance and created a multitude of turns and new voices.
Lope de Vega (1562-1645)
He was a vigorous and prolific playwright of the Spanish Renaissance whose works date from 1500. Among his most celebrated dramas are:
"The Star of Seville", "The best Mayor, the King" and "Fuente Ovejuna". All of them have a very marked social character, and captivate by their interesting plots and the succession of scenes, very well plotted and developed.
Peter Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681)
Excellent playwright of the Spanish Renaissance, author of theatrical, philosophical and social works. The best known of them is the drama "Life is a Dream", apart from other dramas and comedies with a moralizing background, such as "El Alcalde de Zalamea", "El Mágico Prodigio" and "El Medico de la Honra de el".
Noteworthy of the Spanish Renaissance are also Tirso de Molina , playwright who became famous for the play "El Burlador de Sevilla", in which he presents the figure of Don Juan as incorrigible in love with him; Francisco Quevedo , great humorist writer, author of "Los Sueños", "El Gran Tacaño" and other works; Luis de Gongora y Argote , great poet, precursor of modern poetry and author of "Las Soledades" and "El Polifemo".
The Painting
It had five top category representatives:Diego Velázquez, Esteban Murillo, José de Ribera, Francisco de Zurbarán and Dominico Theotocópuli (El Greco).
Velazquez
He owes his fame to his portraits and compositional paintings in which a temperament free from foreign influences and rich in interpretive nuances is seen. The oil paintings that cause the most admiration in museums are called:«The Spears», which reproduces the surrender of Breda, during the Flanders wars; The Christ (which has the defect of being crucified with perfect symmetry); The View of Vulcan (impressive oil painting depicting a blacksmith's workshop surprised by the sudden appearance of the god of fire); Las Meninas (delicate figures, remarkable for their grace). Velázquez was born in Seville in 1599 and died in Madrid in 1660.
Murillo
An excellent Andalusian painter of the Spanish Renaissance, he followed the school of Rafael Sanzio, whom he imitated. Almost all of his paintings are of religious motifs. His numerous Virgins are disputed in museums due to the sweet expression that is in them, although it is pointed out as a capital defect that in almost all of them Murillo used live models for their composition, from which it turns out that the Virgins have a certain worldly expression that is very inappropriate.
Riverside
Called in Italy, "El Españoleto", he was a disciple of Michelangelo and Correggio. His best-known works are "The Descent from the Cross" and the "Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew".
Zurbaran
He was the painter of strong impressions, whose most appreciated paintings are:
"Saint Thomas", "The Dream of Saint Peter" and "The Labors of Hercules".
El Greco
Domingo Teotocopuli, called "El Greco", was the most creative of the Spanish Renaissance artists.
His painting style is unmistakable and is characterized by the international elongation of the figures and by his vigorous impressionism. El Greco never copied nature as it appears. He always interpreted it and always tried to reflect in his paintings his way of seeing color and form. He made mural paintings, small oil paintings and allegorical compositions of a religious nature. Among them stand out:The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, The Knight with the Hand on the Chest, Dream of Philip II and Saint Peter .
The Architecture
We find in the Spain of the 16th century four very valuable architectural styles of the Spanish Renaissance:the Plateresque, the Italian, the Baroque and the Churrigueresque.
- The Plateresque Style , was so called because the architects imitated the drawings and silverwork decorations in the buildings, as can be seen on the façade of the University of Salamanca. The best architect of this style in the Spanish Renaissance was Simón de Coloma .
- The Italian Style , was inspired by the classic rules of Italian architecture and can be seen in the Palacio del Escorial ordered to be built by Philip II. Its best cultivator was the architect Pedro de Herrera .
- The Baroque Style , was outlined in the 16th century and reached great splendor in the 18th century. Based on Greco-Roman motifs, this style combined them in a new way. He is seen on the altars of our churches.
- The Churrigueresque Style , so named because its creator was José Churriguera , is made up of a series of rich decorations with garlands, columns and capricious drawings, very ornate. It can be seen on some altars in our churches and its most valuable monument is the Church of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain.