I
PUBLICATIONS OF
THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
No. 109
STAIRWAY OF THE PALACIO ARZOBISPAL, ALCALA DE HENARES.
Alonso de Covarrubias, Architect, 1534 et seq.
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE
OF
THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
GENERAL VIEW OF
THE PLATERESQUE AND HERRERA STYLES
BY
ARTHUR BYNE
v*\
AND
MILDRED STAPLE YEyrxe
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS OF THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
AUTHORS OF " REJBRfA OF THE SPANISH RENAISSANCE," AND "SPANISH IRONWORK"
528479
. «S\
WITH EIGHTY PLATES AND ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY ILLUS-
TRATIONS IN THE TEXT, FROM DRAWINGS AND
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ARTHUR BYNE
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
Gbe Iknfchcrbochcr Jprcss
1917
COPYRIGHT, 1917
BY
THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA
ttbe Knickerbocker press, flew Ijorh
PREFACE
DURING that opulent century when Renaissance art
flourished in Spain there was no Vasari to record
the names and achievements of the men who were
enriching the land with the Estilo Plateresco. The few con-
temporaneous writers who made mention of them were not
specially gifted with the critical faculty; still less with accu-
racy. Only in the various cathedral archives, and even there
with many an error, were the names of workers entered with
any sort of system; those engaged on civil buildings went for
the most part unrecorded. As for the buildings themselves
they were hardly known outside their own province.
Not until the late eighteenth century did Spaniards begin
to investigate their country's abundant art treasures. Then
in succession four dedicated themselves to the worthy task,
and produced valuable though necessarily incomplete results.
In 1772 Don Antonio Pons published his discursive and un-
documented Viage de Espana; in 1800 followed Don Juan
Agustin Cean Bermudez with the more practical Diccionario
Historico de los mas Ilustres Profesores de las Bellas Aries en
Espana; in 1804 Don Isidoro Bosarte began the publication
of a well-authenticated Viage Artistico but never carried it
beyond the first volume ; and lastly came Don Eugenio Llaguno
y Amirola with his Noticias de los Ar quite ctos y Ar quite dura
de Espana desde su Restauracion. This work, the first to
pay attention to the long-neglected architects, was published
after the author's death by his friend Cean Bermudez (1829).
Other capable investigators followed, but generally speaking
it was these four productions with all their merits and demerits
that were the source of foreign writings on Spanish art until
iv PREFACE
the Englishman George Street added Some Account of Gothic
Architecture in Spain to the list. Street, who was as enthu-
siastic over the mighty Spanish temples as any native could
have been, gave us instead of mere rhapsodies the benefit ot
his rare and highly trained critical faculty. Whatever ground
he left unexplored fifty years ago has been ably covered re-
cently by Don Vicente Lamperez in his Historia de la Arqui-
tectura Cristiana Espanola en la Edad Media.
As all the authors cited concerned themselves most with
the Gothic period those who borrowed from them kept per-
force within the same limits. Few critics, native or foreign,
ever ventured into the Renaissance century, the epoch of civil
rather than ecclesiastical building activity. 'A number of
Spaniards are now devoting themselves to this period but
their researches appear to be more archaeological than archi-
tectural. Thus far each has been vying with the other in
clarifying the authorship of disputed monuments. This
subject is certainly confused enough but meanwhile the really
helpful thing, graphic presentation and sound criticism, is
wofully neglected.
The unearthing of the history of civil monuments will be
long and slow and will never yield the copious information
available on the Renaissance movement in other countries.
While patient people are ransacking the archives for a name
or a date some of the finest specimens of the period are falling
to pieces, and he who would wait until their identity is estab-
lished before writing about them would have nothing but a
memory to discuss.
Spanish Renaissance or Plateresque, in its merely partial
acceptance of the Italian and its adherence to earlier styles
which it never hesitated to combine with the new, diverged
farther from the established Renaissance type than did any
architecture north of the Pyrenees. It was far more mobile,
more personal, than the pseudo-classic which followed and
crushed it. It flourished principally in Castile. It is abso-
lutely a distinct product from that picturesque, semi-Moorish
stucco architecture of Andalusia which was carried to the
Spanish colonies, later to be accepted throughout both Ameri-
PREFACE v
cas as typical of the mother country. Andalusia has very
little in common with the stern central and northern provinces
where the race battled so long for its birthright of Europeanism
as against Asianism. There stone was used and monumental-
ity was achieved. While not wishing to deny the charm of
the stucco house nor its suitability to the Andalusian climate,
one is forced to protest against its standing for the whole of
Spanish architecture. Such widespread misapprehension
simply means that the buildings of Castile, the very heart of
the country, have been passed over for a type acknowledged
by all Spaniards except Andalusians to be exotic. It is to
increase the appreciation of what was done in Castile, to
point out its charm (which fortunately does not depend upon
documents), and to give the student some idea of what awaits
him in Spain that this general view of the sixteenth century
is written.
M. S. B.
5 VlLLANUEVA,
MADRID,
June, 1916
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS
THREE HOSPITALS BEGUN BY EGAS IN THE EARLY SIXTEENTH CEN-
TURY— TOLEDO HOSPITAL THE MOST IMPORTANT — INFLUENCE OF THE ARCH-
BISHOPS OF TOLEDO IN POLITICS AND ART — EL GRAN CARDENAL MENDOZA
AND HIS COLEGIO IN VALLADOLID — WHY THE RENAISSANCE ARRIVED
LATE IN SPAIN — IN WHAT PROVINCES IT FLOURISHED AND BY WHAT
MEANS IT WAS PROPAGATED — VARIOUS ITALIANS WHO WORKED IN SPAIN —
EGAS AND THE CATALAN GOLDSMITH — ORIGIN OF THE TERM PLAT-
ERESCO PROBABLE INFLUENCE OF THE GENOESE ARCHITECTS AT LA-
CALAHORRA — VARIOUS BUILDINGS ATTRIBUTED TO EGAS — THE EARLIEST
PLATERIA SHOWING THE NEW FORMS— ANALYSIS OF THE HOSPITAL DE
LA SANTA CRUZ — THE TERM ARTESONADO RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE
STAIRWAY OF THE HOSPITAL AND THAT AT LACALAHORRA — THE HOSPITAL
REAL AT SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA — EGAS's SLIGHT CONNECTION WITH
THE HOSPITAL AT GRANADA — EGAS AND HIS SON-IN-LAW COVARRUBIAS —
DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN TOLEDO THE MUDEJAR STYLE — THE GRAN-
ITE PORTALS OF TOLEDO HOUSES ...... 2
CHAPTER II
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA
ALONSO DE COVARRUBIAS — THE COMPETITION FOR THE CAPILLA DE
LOS REYES NUEVOS — COVARRUBIAS APPOINTED MAESTRO MAYOR OF
TOLEDO CATHEDRAL IN 1534 AND LATER APPOINTMENT AS MASTER OF
ROYAL WORKS — DESCRIPTION OF HIS CHAPEL OF THE NEW KINGS — HIS
PORTAL TO THE CAPILLA DE SAN JUAN — ALCALA DE HENARES AND ITS
RELATION TO TOLEDO — DON ALONSO DE FONSECA, ARCHBISHOP OF TOLEDO,
ORDERS THE REMODELING OF THE ARCHIEPISCOPAL PALACE AT ALCALA—
LAS MEDIDAS DEL ROMANO AND ITS DEDICATION — DESCRIPTION OF
THE ARCHBISHOP'S PALACE — BERRUGUETE'S SCULPTURE IN THE PATIO —
MARKED TENDENCY TOWARDS REALISM IN SPANISH ORNAMENT — REPE-
vii
viii CONTENTS
TITION OF EGAS'S STAIRWAY AT TOLEDO— MAGNIFICENT SERIES OF ARTESO-
NADOS IN THE PALACE— THE UNIVERSITY OF ALCALA FOUNDED BY CARDINAL
JIMENEZ DE CISNEROS AND BUILT BY PEDRO GUMIEL— ITS NEW FAC.ADE BY
RODRIGO GIL DE ONTANON— THE ESCUTCHEON OF SPAIN AND ITS DECORA-
TIVE USE— SPANISH OBJECTIONS TO THE RENAISSANCE FORMS AT ALCALA-
THE INTERIOR OF THE UNIVERSITY— THE CARDINAL'S TOMB IN THE COL-
LEGIATE CHURCH— LACK OF OTHER RENAISSANCE WORK IN ALCALA . 40
CHAPTER III
THE SCHOOL OF FRANCISCO DE COLONIA IN BURGOS
BISHOP JUAN RODRIGUEZ DE FONSECA AND HIS PROTEGES— THE FON-
SECAS AT COCA AND SALAMANCA— THE PUERTA DE LA PELLEJERfA BY
FRANCISCO DE COLONIA — FRANCISCO'S EASILY RECOGNIZED PECULIAR-
ITIES—HIS DOOR TO THE SACRISTY OF THE CONSTABLE'S CHAPEL— THE
REJERO CRISTOBAL DE ANDINO AS A RENAISSANCE DESIGNER — THE ESCALERA
DORADA BY DIEGO DE SILOE — OTHER PLATERESQUE WORKS IN BURGOS
CATHEDRAL — THE HOSPITAL DEL REY — THE CASA MIRANDA . . 78
CHAPTER IV
THE DOMESTIC PLAN AND THE PALACE AT PENARANDA
ABANDONING THE FEUDAL CASTLES — NEW HOMES UNLIKE THOSE OF
CONTEMPORARY EUROPE — EVOLUTION FROM CASTILLO TO PALAC1O — THE
PATIO AS NUCLEUS OF PLAN AND ITS PART IN THE LIFE OF SPANISH WOMEN —
LACK OF SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT IN ROOMS, WHICH ARE MERELY A
SERIES OF SIMILAR UNITS AROUND THE PATIO — PRACTICAL ASPECT OF
THE SPANISH PLAN — LACK OF SYSTEM IN HOUSEHOLD ADMINISTRATION
AND ITS EFFECT — THE KITCHEN ALMOST NEGLIGIBLE — NO BUILT-IN
ACCESSORIES IN THE LIVING-ROOMS, THESE BEING DESIGNATED BY THE
CONTENTS OF THE CARVED CHESTS — ABSENCE OF GARDEN TREATMENT
IN FRONT OF THE PALACE — ALL THE PECULIARITIES OF PLAN AND SETTING
EXEMPLIFIED IN THE PENARANDA PALACE — CRUDE MASONRY AND BEAUTI-
FUL PORTAL OF THE FAC.ADE — PATIO AND SUMPTUOUS CLAUSTRAL STAIR
WITH MAGNIFICENT ARTESONADO — SALONS OF THE PISO PRINCIPAL OR
MAIN FLOOR AND THEIR ARTESONADOS — YESERIA OR MOORISH PLASTER-
WORK— PRESENT CONDITION OF THE PALACE . . . . IO6
CHAPTER V
SALAMANCA
MANY RENAISSANCE BUILDINGS IN SALAMANCA — ANTIQUITY AND FAME
OF SALAMANCA UNIVERSITY — THE CITY IN GOTHIC TIMES — RENAISSANCE
EMBELLISHMENT OF THE MEDIEVAL BUILDINGS OF THE UNIVERSITY —
CONTENTS ix
ANALYSIS OF THE FAC.ADE — THE ESCUELAS MENORES OR PREPARATORY
SCHOOL — INTERIOR WORK IN THE UNIVERSITY — PALACES AND THEIR
DIVISION INTO TWO GROUPS — NEAREST APPROACH TO THE ITALIAN IN THE
PALACES BUILT BY THE FONSECA BISHOPS — DESCRIPTION OF THE CASA
SALINA — THE CASA DE LAS MUERTES — THE MALDONADO HOUSES OPPOSITE
THE CHURCH OF SAN BEN1TO — THE PALACIO MONTEREY LARGEST IN SALA-
MANCA— SEVERAL SMALL EXAMPLES — THE DOMINICAN CHURCH OF SAN
ESTEBAN — ARCHBISHOP FONSECA'S COLEG1O DE SANTIAGO APOSTOL,
NOW COLEGIO DE LOS IRLANDESES — PEDRO DE IBARRA — ARCHITECTURAL
SCULPTURE BY BERRUGUETE AND HIS SCHOOL IN SALAMANCA . . 130
CHAPTER VI
ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTREMADURA
AVILA AND THE TOMB BY DOMENICO FANCELLI — FANCELLl's DISCIPLE
VASCO DE LA ZARZA AND HIS MONUMENTS IN THE CATHEDRAL — ZARZA'S
EXTRAORDINARY FACILITY IN THE SMALL MARBLE CUSTODIA — THE MONU-
MENT IN THE SACRISTY BY BERRUGUETE OR A PUPIL — GRANITE PALACES
OF AVILA — SEGOVIA AND ITS PALACES — SGRAFFITO TREATMENT — VAL-
LADOLID AND ITS SCARCITY OF RENAISSANCE — THE COLEGIO DE SAN
GREGORIO — THE PROVINCIAL MUSEUM IN THE COLEGIO DE LA SANTA
CRUZ AND THE REMARKABLE SCULPTURE IT HOLDS — SHORT HISTORY OF
WOODEN POLYCHROME SCULPTURE IN SPAIN — THE PROCESS OF ESTOFADO —
ALONSO DE BERRUGUETE, TRAINED IN ITALY, RENOUNCING MARBLE AND
RETURNING TO WOOD AND COLOR — HIS STALLS IN TOLEDO CATHEDRAL —
THE RETABLO FOR SAN BENITO — HIS PUPILS AND FOLLOWERS — ESTREMA-
DURA AND THE CATHEDRAL OF PLASENCIA — LOCAL TYPE OF HOUSE BUILT
FOR THE CONQUISTADORES IN ZAFRA, TRUJILLO, AND cACERES — LEON
AND THE WORK OF JUAN DE BADAJOZ — THE FACADE OF SAN MARCOS —
THE GUZMAN PALACE — THE CLOISTER OF THE MONASTERY OF SAN ZOIL IN
THE TOWN OF CARRION DE LOS CONDES — BITS OF RENAISSANCE IN
WIDELY SCATTERED TOWNS OF OLD AND NEW CASTILE . . 1 68
CHAPTER VII
SEVILLE AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE RIANO
SEVILLE'S POLITICAL IMPORTANCE AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA —
THE CASA DE CONTRATACION OR BOARD OF TRADE — DIEGO DE RIANO,
ARCHITECT OF THE CASAS CAPITULARES OR CITY HALL — RIANO COMPARED
WITH DIEGO DE SILOE WHO WORKED CONTEMPORANEOUSLY IN GRANADA —
RIANO'S PROBABLE PLAN FOR THE CITY HALL — EXTERIOR OF THE BUILD-
ING INTERIOR AND ARRANGEMENT OF RADIATING FIGURES IN CEIL-
INGS— RIANO'S WORK IN THE CATHEDRAL AS MAESTRO MAYOR— HIS EARLY
DEATH — MARTIN GAINZA AND OTHERS WHO SUCCEEDED AS MAESTRO
x CONTENTS
MAYOR AND THE CHANGES THEY MADE IN RIANO's PLANS — THE SACRISTIA
MAYOR — A FEW OF THE TREASURES GUARDED IN THE SACRISTY — RENAIS-
SANCE REJAS IN THE CATHEDRAL BY SANCHO MUNOZ OF CUENCA AND
FRAY FRANCISCO OF SALAMANCA — THE GIRALDA OR BELFRY OF THE
CATHEDRAL — ITS UPPER PORTION BY FERNAN RUIZ — LOCAL CRITICISM OF
RUIZ'S WORK 2IO
CHAPTER VIII
THE SEVILLLAN HOUSE AND THE MONUMENTS AT OSUNA
PREVALENCE OF MUDEJAR TRADITIONS IN DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE —
COLOR FREELY USED IN INTERIORS — THE PATIO CHIEFLY AN EXPRESSION
IN YESERIA — METHODS OF WORKING PLASTER — AZULEJOS AND THEIR
USE — INTRODUCTION OF RENAISSANCE DESIGNS BY THE ITALIAN CERAMIST
FRAY NICULOSO OF PISA — HIS PORTAL TO THE CONVENT-CHURCH OF SANTA
PAULA — SEVILLIAN GARDENS AND THEIR TREATMENT — HOUSE OF THE
DUKE OF ALBA, KNOWN LOCALLY AS THE CASA DE LAS DUENAS — OTHER
MUDEJAR HOUSES — THE RIBERA TOMBS IN THE CHAPEL OF THE UNIVER-
SITY— THE TOWN OF OSUNA NEAR SEVILLE — THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH AND
THE SEPULCRO DE LOS DUQUES 234
CHAPTER IX
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE
ATTITUDE OF THE CHRISTIAN CONQUERORS TOWARDS MOORISH ART-
IMPORTATION OF CASTILIAN ARCHITECTS— THE ROYAL CHAPEL OR MAU-
SOLEUM FOR THE CATHOLIC SOVEREIGNS THE FIRST UNDERTAKING — ITS
FURNISHINGS ORDERED BY DON ANTONIO DE FONSECA— THE TOMB OF
FERDINAND AND ISABELLA BY DOMENICO FANCELLI — THAT OF JOAN AND
PHILIP THE FAIR BY BARTOLOME ORDONEZ— THE RETABLO BY FELIPE DE
VIGARNI— THE REJA BY BARTOLOME OF JAEN— ENRIQUE DE EGAS AND
THE NEW CATHEDRAL— THE COMMISSION TRANSFERRED TO DIEGO DE
SILOE— HIS MANNER OF ADAPTING A RENAISSANCE PLAN TO EGAS's GOTHIC
FOUNDATIONS— SILOE'S DOME— HIS CARVING ON THE PUERTA DE PERDON
AND THE PUERTA DE SAN JER6NIMO— SILOE AND THE CONVENT-CHURCH
OF SAN JERONIMO— SILOE AS AN ARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENTALIST— THE
CASA CASTRIL— SILOE'S LONG LIFE IN GRANADA— HOSPITAL REAL BY
ENRIQUE DE EGAS AND JUAN GARCIA DE PRADAS . 268
CHAPTER X
THE ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA AND PROVINCIAL WORK
PEDRO DE MACHUCA RECOMMENDED TO THE EMPEROR— CLASSIC PLAN
OF THE PALACE AND ITS AWKWARD ADJUSTMENT TO DOMESTIC NEEDS-
VARIOUS INTERRUPTIONS TO THE WORK-THE SOUTHERN OR SECONDARY
PORTAL BY MACHUCA-THE WESTERN OR PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE BY HIS
CONTENTS xi
SON — THE CIRCULAR PATIO — DOMESTIC WORK IN GRANADA — THE TWO
VARIETIES OF WOODEN CEILINGS — CEILING IN THE EMPEROR'S APARTMENTS
IN THE ALHAMBRA — TILED STAIRCASES — PEBBLE MOSAICS — THE MENDOZA
CASTLE AT LACALAHORRA — ITS STAIRCASE AS A POSSIBLE INSPIRATION TO
ENRIQUE DE EGAS — JAEN AND THE WORK OF ANDRES VANDELVIRA —
VANDELVIRA'S CHURCH OF SAN SALVADOR IN UBEDA — SILLERIA IN THE
CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA — PALACES IN UBEDA — THE AYUNTAMIENTO
OR CITY HALL OF BAEZA — THE BENAVENTE PALACE . . . 296
CHAPTER XI
ZARAGOZA AND THE PROVINCE OF ARAGON
ZARAGOZA'S RENEWED PROSPERITY AFTER THE UNION OF ARAGON AND
CASTILE — RESTORATION OF THE MOORISH ALJAFERIA — ROYAL ARCHBISHOPS
IN ZARAGOZA — ENRIQUE DE EGAS's CIMBORIO TO THE CATHEDRAL OF
LA SEO AND OTHER PERSIAN FEATURES — THE ITALIAN GIOVANNI MORETO
IN ZARAGOZA — HIS INFLUENCE ON DAMIAN FORMENT — THE PORTAL OF
SANTA ENGRACIA BY JUAN AND DIEGO DE MORLANES — TUDELILLA AND
THE TRASCORO OF LA SEO— HIS ALTAR OF THE TRINITY IN JACA — THE
DISPUTED CAPILLA DE SAN BERNARDO IN LA SEO — IMPORTANCE OF MUDE-
JARES IN ZARAGOZA — MUDEJAR TOWERS AND TILED CUPOLAS — MUDEJAR
PALACES OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY — THE LONJA AND ITS RESEMBLANCE
TO THE RICCARDI PALACE OF FLORENCE — ITS MASSIVE WOODEN CORNICE —
INTERIOR OF THE LONJA — TWO TYPES OF WOODEN CORNICE OR ALERO —
THE CASA ZAPORTA OR DE LA INFANTA, NOW REMOVED TO PARIS — THE
PALACIO DE LUNA OR AUDIENCIA — BRICKWORK OF THE FAC.ADE — OTHER
HOUSES IN THE CITY — TARAZONA AND OTHER ARAGONESE TOWNS . 334
CHAPTER XII
OLD PALACES IN PALMA DE MALLORCA
THE MALLORCAN ARISTOCRATS OF THE EARLY SIXTEENTH CENTURY —
SIXTEENTH CENTURY FURNISHINGS STILL IN DAILY USE IN PALMA HOMES —
MALLORCAN ARCHITECTS IN GOTHIC DAYS — JUAN DE SALES FIRST RENAIS-
SANCE ARCHITECT IN THE CATHEDRAL — HIS LARGE PULPIT — DOMESTIC
ARCHITECTS UNKNOWN — INSULAR TYPE OF PALACE — FAC.ADE DICTATED
BY NARROWNESS OF STREET — PECULIARITIES OF THE PALMA PATIO,
CALLED ZAGUAN — SUPERIOR CHARACTER OF ITS MASONRY — UNIQUE
STAIRWAY CONSTRUCTION THROUGHOUT THE CITY — SHEET-IRON BALUS-
TRADES— CONCENTRATED PLAN OWING TO BUILDING OVER OF ZAGUAN
AREA — PALACE OF THE MARQUES DE VIVOT — THE CASA DEL MARQUES
DE PALMER AND ITS FLEMISH TOUCHES — THE OLEZA HOUSE — OTHER EX-
AMPLES IN THE CITY . . . . . . . . 362
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER XIII
THE INFLUENCE OF PHILIP II
PHILIP'S INTEREST IN ARCHITECTURE WHILE YET PRINCE— THE CHILL
HE CAST OVER PLATERESQUE— FORETASTE OF HIS PREFERRED STYLE TO
BE FOUND IN THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST IN TOLEDO— ITS
FOUNDER ARCHBISHOP TAVERA RENOUNCES COVARRUBIAS AND SELECTS
THE PRIEST BARTOLOME BUSTAMENTE— BUSTAMENTE AND THE MAESTROS
OF THE CATHEDRAL— SIMPLICITY OF THE PLAN— THE CHURCH OF THE
HOSPITAL CONTAINING ARCHBISHOP TAVERA's TOMB BY BERRUGUETE—
THE ONLY COMPLETED QUADRANGLE OF THE PLAN — THE UNFINISHED
FA£ADE AND LATER ADDITIONS— THE ROYAL ALCAZAR OF TOLEDO AND THE
CHANGE OF STYLE IN THE PLATERESQUE ARCHITECTS EMPLOYED ON IT—
THE PATIO BY COVARRUBIAS AND THE STAIRWAY BY VILLALPANDO — THE
PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL OF SEVILLE — THE PALACE AT SALDANUELA . 388
CHAPTER XIV
JUAN DE HERRERA AND THE LATTER PART OF THE
CENTURY
THE ESCORIAL THE GREAT MONUMENT OF PHILIP'S REIGN — HIS SEVERAL
MOTIVES FOR BUILDING IT — THE ESCORIAL COMPARED WITH THE VAT-
ICAN — PHILIP'S CHOICE OF JUAN BAUTISTA DE TOLEDO AS ARCHITECT —
THE MONARCH'S SOLICITUDE IN CHOOSING AN APPROPRIATE SITE FOR
THE MONASTERY — JUAN BAUTISTA's SPLENDID SOUBASSEMENT — GRIDIRON
PLAN OF THE BUILDING — PHILIP'S PROMPTITUDE IN ORDERING FURNISH-
INGS AND MATERIALS — HIS DECISION TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF THE
MONASTERY AND THE ADDITION OF A THIRD STORY — EARLY DEATH OF
JUAN BAUTISTA — HIS SUCCESSOR JUAN DE HERRERA, AN ASTURIAN—
COMPLETION OF THE COLOSSAL STRUCTURE — FOREIGN ARCHITECTS CLAIM-
ING TO HAVE BUILT IT — ITS GREAT ACHIEVEMENT NOT IN ARCHITECTURE
AS A FINE ART, BUT IN SCHEME — DOME OF THE CHURCH IN RELATION TO
MICHELANGELO'S AND THE ELDER SANGALLO'S — HERRERA'S ARCHITEC-
TURALIZING OF THE PRINCIPAL FA£ADE — ANALYSIS OF THE PLAN —
COMPARISON BETWEEN JUAN BAUTISTA AND HERRERA — REMAINING PRO-
DUCTIONS OF THESE TWO — HERRERA'S CATHEDRAL IN VALLADOLID — HIS
SMALL PALACE IN PLASENCIA — THE PUENTE DE SEGOVIA IN MADRID -
THE LONJA IN SEVILLE — THOROUGH CONFORMITY OF ALL IMPORTANT
NEW EDIFICES TO HERRERA'S AND PHILIP'S TYPE AND UTTER EXTINCTION
OF THE CREATIVE SPARK
INDEX ...... . 43I
PLATES
STAIRWAY OF THE PALACIO ARZOBISPAL, ALCALA DE HENARES
Frontispiece
PLATE PAGE
I. — HOSPITAL DE SANTA CRUZ, TOLEDO ... 5
II. — PATIO OF THE HOSPITAL DE SANTA CRUZ, TOLEDO. 9
III. — SECTION THROUGH STAIRWAY OF THE HOSPITAL DE
SANTA CRUZ, TOLEDO 19
IV. — STAIR NEWEL IN THE HOSPITAL DE SANTA CRUZ
SIMILAR NEWEL IN A TOLEDO HOUSE . . 23
V. — ELEVATION OF HOSPITAL REAL, SANTIAGO DE
COMPOSTELA . . . . . . 25
VI. — PORTAL OF THE HOSPITAL REAL, SANTIAGO . 31
VII. — PATIO OF THE CASA-DEL GRECO, TOLEDO .. . 35
VIII. — PORTAL OF THE CONVENTO DE SAN CLEMENTE,
TOLEDO 43
IX. — DOORWAY OF THE CAPILLA DE SAN JUAN, TOLEDO
CATHEDRAL . ... . . -47
X. — PATIO OF THE PALACIO ARZOBISPAL, ALCALA . 53
XI. — DOORWAY IN THE PALACIO ARZOBISPAL, ALCALA . 59
XII. — SECTION THROUGH STAIRWAY OF THE PALACIO
ARZOBISPAL, ALCALA . „- . . . 61
XIII. — PILASTER PANELS OF THE PALACIO ARZOBISPAL,
ALCALA . . . . . . .65
XIV. — ELEVATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALCALA . 69
XV. — ENTRANCE TO THE SACRISTY OF THE CAPILLA DEL
CONDESTABLE, BURGOS CATHEDRAL . . 8 1
XVI. — PALACIO DE MEDINACELI, COGOLLUDO . . .87
XVII. — THE ESCALERA DORADA, BURGOS CATHEDRAL . 89
iv PLATES
PAGE
PLATE
XVIII.— ENTRANCE TO THE HOSPITAL DEL REY, BURGOS . 93
XIX.— DOOR PANEL OF THE CHURCH OF THE HOSPITAL DEL
REY, BURGOS . • 95
XX.— PATIO OF THE CASA MIRANDA, BURGOS . 101
XXL— PORTAL OF THE PALACIO DE PENARANDA . .115
XXII. — ARTESONADO OVER THE STAIRWAY OF THE PALACIO
DE PENARANDA ... 119
XXIIL— WINDOW WITH YESERIA IN THE PALACIO DE
PENARANDA .123
XXIV. — ARTESONADO IN A SMALL SALON OF THE PALACIO DE
PENARANDA . . . . . .125
XXV. — DETAIL FROM THE FACADE OF THE UNIVERSITY,
SALAMANCA 133
XXVI. — PORTAL OF THE ESCUELAS MENORES, SALAMANCA 135
XXVII. — STAIR RAMP IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA . 141
XXVIII. — CASA SALINA, SALAMANCA. ELEVATION OF THE
CASA SALINA 147
XXIX. — ELEVATION OF THE CASA DE LAS MUERTES, SALA-
MANCA -151
XXX. — PALACIO DE MALDONADO Y MORILLO, SALAMANCA 153
XXXI. — SAN ESTEBAN, SALAMANCA . . . . . 159
XXXII. — PATIO OF THE COLEGIO DE LOS IRLANDESES, SALA-
MANCA 163
XXXIII. — TOMB OF THE INFANTE DON JUAN IN THE CHURCH
OF SANTO TOMAS, AVILA . . . .171
XXXIV. — MONUMENT TO BISHOP ALFONSO DE MADRIGAL, EL
TOST ADO, AVILA CATHEDRAL . . 175
XXXV. — PATIO OF THE COLEGIO DE SAN GREGORIO, VALLA-
DOLID 183
XXXVI. — THREE FIGURES IN WOOD FROM THE RETABLOOF
SAN BENITO, VALLADOLID, BY BERRUGUETE . 187
XXXVII. — DETAIL OF THE FACADE OF SAN MARCOS, LEON 195
XXXVIIL— Two BAYS IN THE CLOISTER OF SAN ZOIL, CARRION
DE LOS CONDES ^7
XXXIX. — CLOISTER OF FORMER HIERONYMITE MONASTERY,
LUPIANA ....... 203
PLATES xv
PLATE PAGE
XL. — DOORS IN THE SACRISTY, CUENCA CATHEDRAL . 205
XLI. AYUNTAMIENTO OR TOWN HALL, SEVILLE . .213
XLII. — SCALE DRAWING OF A WINDOW OF THE AYUNTA-
MIENTO, SEVILLE . . . . . .219
XLIII. — REJA OF THE CAPILLA MAYOR, SEVILLE CATHEDRAL 225
XLIV. LA GlRALDA, THE CAMPANILE OF SEVILLE CATHEDRAL
SCALE DRAWING OF THE GIRALDA . . 229
XLV. — THREE PANELS OF YESERIA FROM THE CASA ALBA,
SEVILLE 237
XLVI. — ALTAR OF AZULEJOS IN THE REAL ALCAZAR, SEVILLE 241
XL VII. — AZULEJO PORTAL OF THE CONVENTO DE SANTA PAULA,
SEVILLE 243
XLVIII. — GARDEN OF THE MUSEO PROVINCIAL, SEVILLE . 247
XLIX. PLAN OF THE CASA ALBA, SEVILLE . . .251
L. — MAIN PATIO OF THE CASA ALBA, SEVILLE. MINOR
PATIO OF THE CASA ALBA, SEVILLE . . 255
LI. — TOMB OF DON PEDRO ENRIQUEZ DE RIBERA IN THE
UNIVERSITY CHURCH, SEVILLE. TOMB OF DONA
CATALINA DE RIBERA, IN THE UNIVERSITY
CHURCH, SEVILLE . . . . . 259
LII. — PATIO IN THE SEPULCRO DE LOS DUQUES, OSUNA 263
LIII. — TOMBS AND REJA IN THE CAPILLA REAL, GRANADA 271
LIV. — DRAWING OF THE TOMB OF THE CATHOLIC KINGS, IN
THE CAPILLA REAL, GRANADA .'. . .275
LV. — POLYCHROME WOODEN RETABLO IN THE CAPILLA
REAL, GRANADA . . . . . .279
LVI. INTERIOR OF GRANADA CATHEDRAL . . . 287
LVII. — SOUTH PORTAL OF CHARLES V's PALACE, GRANADA 299
LVIII. — FOUNTAIN OF CHARLES V IN THE ALAMEDA DEL
ALHAMBRA . . . . . . . 305
LIX. — CEILING IN THE COUNCIL ROOM OF THE AYUNTA-
MIENTO VIEJO, GRANADA .... 309
LX. — CEILING IN THE EMPEROR'S APARTMENTS IN THE
MOORISH PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA, GRANADA 313
LXI. — STAIRWAY OF THE CASTILLO DE LACALAHORRA . 317
LXII. — CATHEDRAL OF JAEN 321
xvi PLATES
PAGE
LXIIL— SILLERIA OF SANTA MARIA, UBEDA . 325
LXIV.— CASA DE LAS TORRES, UBEDA . . 329
LXV. MUDEJAR BRICKWORK OF THE CATHEDRAL OF LA SEO,
ZARAGOZA ... -337
LXVI.— WOODEN CORNICE OF THE LONJA, ZARAGOZA . 347
LXVIL— CORNICE AND FAC.ADE OF THE REAL MAESTRANZA,
ZARAGOZA . • 351
LXVIII. — ELEVATION OF THE AUDIENCIA, ZARAGOZA . . 355
LXIX.— PATIO IN THE FORMER MUSEO PROVINCIAL, ZARA-
GOZA 357
LXX. — CUPOLA OVER STAIRWAY IN THE ARCHIVO GENERAL
DE ARAGON, BARCELONA. ARTESONADO IN THE
COUNCIL ROOM OF THE AUDIENCIA, VALENCIA 365
LXXI. — Two VIEWS OF THE STAIRWAY IN THE CASA OLEZA,
PALM A DE MALLORCA 373
LXXII. — ELEVATION OF THE CASA DEL MARQUES DE PALMER,
PALMA ....... 377
LXXIII. — WOODEN CORNICE OF THE CASA CONSISTORIAL,
PALMA 383
LXXIV. — HOSPITAL DE SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, TOLEDO . . 391
LXXV. — TOMB OF CARDINAL TAVERA IN THE HOSPITAL DE
SAN JUAN BAUTISTA . . . . -395
LXXVI. — SPANDREL OVER MAIN PORTAL OF THE HOSPITAL
PROVINCIAL, SEVILLE ..... 403
LXXVII. — EL MONASTERIO REAL DE SAN LORENZO, EL ESCORIAL 41 1
LXXVIII. — PLAN OF THE ESCORIAL ., . . - . . 415
LXXIX. — PATIO DE LOS EVANGELISTAS IN THE ESCORIAL . 421
LXXX. — CATHEDRAL OF VALLADOLID . . . .425
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
FIGURE PAGE
i. — PLAN OF THE HOSPITAL DE SANTA CRUZ, TOLEDO . . 13
2. — SILVER CUSTODIA IN THE COLEGIATA AT COVARRUBIAS . 15
3. — GOLD AND SILVER CUSTODIA IN THE ROYAL MONASTERY OF
SILOS 15
4. — DETAIL OF PORTAL OF THE SANTA CRUZ HOSPITAL, TOLEDO. 16
5. — INTERIOR OF THE SANTA CRUZ HOSPITAL, TOLEDO . . 17
6. — UPPER STORY OF PATIO OF THE SANTA CRUZ HOSPITAL,
TOLEDO . . . . . . 21
7. — PLAN OF THE HOSPITAL REAL, SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA . 28
8. — PATIO OF THE HOSPITAL REAL, SANTIAGO . .- -29
9. — PLAN OF THE RESTORED CASA DEL GRECO, TOLEDO . 33
10. — REPRODUCTION OF CHIMNEY-PIECE IN A TOLEDO HOUSE . 34
ii. — TYPICAL GRANITE DOORWAY, TOLEDO . . .38
12. — TOMB OF ENRIQUE II OF CASTILE, TOLEDO CATHEDRAL . 42
13. — DETAIL OF THE PORTAL OF THE CAPILLA DE SAN JUAN,
TOLEDO CATHEDRAL. ...... 46
14. — CARVED WOODEN DOORS TO THE SALA CAPITULAR, TOLEDO
CATHEDRAL . . . . . . . . 49
15. — PANEL FROM WARDROBE IN THE ANTESALA CAPITULAR,
TOLEDO CATHEDRAL . ... . 50
1 6. — Two FIGURES FROM THE SILLERIA, TOLEDO CATHEDRAL . 52
17. — UPPER STORY OF PATIO OF THE PALACIO ARZOBISPAL,
ALCALA 56
1 8. — DETAIL OF RUSTICATION IN THE PATIO OF THE PALACIO
ARZOBISPAL, ALCALA ...... 57
19. — CAPITAL FROM THE PALACIO ARZOBISPAL, NOW IN THE MUSEO
ARQUEOLOGICO, MADRID . . .... 58
xvii
xviii ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
FIGURE
20.— WOODEN ARTESONADO IN THE PALACIO ARZOBISPAL, ALCALA 64
2 1 .—DETAIL FROM THE FACADE OF THE UNIVERSITY, ALCALA . 7*
22.— ESCUTCHEON OF CHARLES V OVER PORTAL OF THE MONASTERY
AT YUSTE . • 73
23.— BLIND WINDOW IN THE FACADE OF THE UNIVERSITY, ALCALA . 74
24. — PORTAL OF THE CONVENTO DE LAS CARMELITAS, ALCALA . 77
25.— RUBBING FROM TOMB OF DONA MENCIA DE MENDOZA, WIFE
OF THE CONDESTABLE DE CASTILLA, BURGOS CATHEDRAL 83
26.— PUERTA DE LA PELLEJERIA, BURGOS CATHEDRAL. . 84
27. — DETAIL FROM REJA OF THE CAPILLA DEL CONDESTABLE,
BURGOS CATHEDRAL 91
28. — DETAIL FROM TOMB OF CANON GONZALO DE LERMA, IN THE
CAPILLA DE LA PRESENTACION, BURGOS CATHEDRAL . 92
29. — DETAIL OF ARCH SOFFIT, IN THE HOSPITAL DEL REY, BURGOS 98
30. — SECTION THROUGH STAIRWAY IN THE CASA MIRANDA, BURGOS 99
31. — VAULTING OF STAIRWAY IN THE CASA MIRANDA, BURGOS . 100
32. — SANTA MARIA DEL CAMPO, NEAR BURGOS . . . .103
33. — LONG GALLERY IN THE PALACIO DE MONTEREY, SALAMANCA 107
34. — AN OUTDOOR KITCHENETTE — . . . . . .108
35. — PLAN OF THE PALACIO DE PENARANDA DE DUERO . . .no
36. — UPPER GALLERY OF PATIO IN THE PALACIO DE PENARANDA . 117
37. — CARVED STONE PLINTH OF UPPER DOORWAY IN THE PALACIO
DE PENARANDA . . . . . . .118
38. — DOORWAY FROM PATIO TO MAIN SALON IN THE PALACIO DE
PENARANDA . . . . . . . .121
39. — MAIN SALON OF THE PALACIO DE PENARANDA . . .122
40. — FRIEZE OF WOOD IN MAIN SALON OF THE PALACIO DE
PENARANDA ...... 128
41.— FACADE OF THE UNIVERSITY, SALAMANCA . . . .137
42.— DETAIL OF PORTAL OF THE ESCUELAS MENORES, SALAMANCA . 138
43.— WOODEN CEILING IN PATIO OF THE UNIVERSITY, SALAMANCA . 140
ILLUSTRATIONS xix
FIGURE PAGE
44. — STAIR NEWEL IN THE PALACIO DE SAN BOAL, SALAMANCA . 144
45. — CORBELS IN PATIO OF THE CASA SALINAS, SALAMANCA. . 149
46. — MOTIF FROM FAC.ADE OF THE CASA DE LAS MUERTES, SALA-
MANCA 150
47. — PALACIO DE MONTEREY, SALAMANCA . . . . .156
48. — COLEGIO DE SAN ILDEFONSO, SALAMANCA .... 157
49. — DETAIL FROM PORTAL OF SAN ESTEBAN, SALAMANCA . . 161
50. — UPPER CLOISTER OF THE COLEGIO DE LOS IRLANDESES, SALA-
MANCA ......... 162
5 1 . — PATIO OF THE CONVENTO DE LAS DUENAS, SALAMANCA . .165
52. — PATIO OF THE CASTILLO DE VILLANUEVA DE CANEDA, NEAR
SALAMANCA 166
53. — TRASCORO OF AVILA CATHEDRAL 170
54. — ALTAR OF SANTA CATALINA, AVILA CATHEDRAL . . .174
55. — ALTAR IN THE SACRISTY, AVILA CATHEDRAL . . .177
56. — TYPICAL PALACE DOORWAY, AVILA . . . . .179
57. — PATIO OF THE PALACIO DEL MARQUES DEL ARCO, SEGOVIA . 180
58. — WOODEN PULPIT IN COLEGIATA OF ARANDA DEL DUERO . 182
59. — PULPIT WITH ALTERNATING MUDEJAR AND RENAISSANCE
PANELS, AMUSCO, NEAR PALENCIA . . . .185
60. — PORTAL ADJOINING THE BISHOP'S PALACE, PLASENCIA . 190
61. — PALACIO DEL DUQUE DE SAN CARLOS, TRUJILLO . . 191
62. — VAULTING OF THE SACRISTY, SIGUENZA CATHEDRAL . .192
63. — DETAIL OF STAIRWAY IN THE PALACIO DE LOS DUENAS, ME-
DINA DEL CAMPO ....... 193
64. — PATIO OF THE LATER MENDOZA PALACE, GUADALAJARA . 194
65. — PIER IN THE CONVENTO DE LA PIEDAD, GUADALAJARA . 199
66. — DETAIL OF STONE PORTAL IN THE CATHEDRAL OF CUENCA . 200
67. — HOUSE IN CUENCA 201
68. — SMALL IRON REJA IN THE CATHEDRAL OF CUENCA . . 202
69. — PATIO OF THE PALACIO ESPEJO, CIUDAD RODRIGO . . 207
70. — PLAN OF THE AYUNTAMIENTO, SEVILLE . . . .215
71. — DETAIL FROM DOORWAY OF THE AYUNTAMIENTO, SEVILLE . 216
72 . E SCUTCH EON OF SEVILLE ON FA£ ADE OF THE AYUNTAMIENTO . 2 1 8
xx ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGURE
73 .—SCULPTURAL PANEL FROM FACADE OF THE AYUNTAMIENTO . 221
74.— CEILING OF VESTIBULE IN AYUNTAMIENTO OF SEVILLE . 223
75. — CUSTODIA IN SEVILLE CATHEDRAL
76.— CORNER PINNACLE ON THE GIRALDA TOWER, SEVILLE . 232
77. — PANEL OF AZULEJOS IN THE CASA PILATOS, SEVILLE . . 239
78. — SUNKEN PATIO IN THE CASA DE LOS VENERABLES SACERDOTES,
SEVILLE .240
79. — AZULE.TO TREATMENT IN GARDENS OF THE REAL ALCAZAR,
SEVILLE ....... . 245
80. — GARDEN IN THE CASA PILATOS, SEVILLE .... 249
8 1 . — WOODEN CEILING IN THE CASA DEL DUOUE DE ALBA, SEVILLE 254
82. — DOORWAY IN UPPER CLOISTER OF THE ALBA HOUSE, SEVILLE 257
83. — DETAIL OF PATIO IN THE SEPULCRO DE LOS DUQUES, OSUNA . 261
84. — GARDEN ENTRANCE TO THE SEPULCRO DE LOS DUQUES, OSUNA 262
85. — PORTAL OF THE COLEGIATA, OSUNA 265
86. — DETAIL FROM TOMB OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA, GRANADA 273
87. — DETAIL FROM TOMB OF DONA JUANA AND DON FELIPE,
GRANADA . . . . . . . . 278
88. — PLAN OF THE CATHEDRAL OF GRANADA . . . .283
89. — AMBULATORY ARCH IN GRANADA CATHEDRAL . . . 285
90. — EXTERIOR OF GRANADA CATHEDRAL . . . .286
91- — CIMBORIO OF SAN JERONIMO, GRANADA .... 290
92. — CASA CASTRIL, GRANADA . . . . . .291
93.— ENTRANCE TO THE CAPILLA REAL, GRANADA . . . 293
94. — THE LONJA, GRANADA 294
95- — PLAN OF CHARLES V's PALACE, GRANADA . . . 301
96.— WEST FACADE OF CHARLES V's PALACE, GRANADA . . 302
97-— PATIO OF CHARLES V's PALACE, GRANADA . . .304
98.— CEILING IN HOUSE OF Luis DE CORDOVA, GRANADA . . 308
99-— CEILING IN THE APARTMENTS REMODELED FOR CHARLES V
IN THE PALACE OF THE ALHAMBRA, GRANADA . .312
loo.— WINDOW BY JACOPO FLORENTINO, CATHEDRAL OF MURCIA . 315
loi.— SKETCH PLAN OF THE MENDOZA CASTLE AT LACALAHORRA . 319
102.— PATIO OF THE CASTILLO DE LACALAHORRA. . . 32O
ILLUSTRATIONS xxi
FIGURE PAGE
103. — DOORWAY IN UPPER CLOISTER OF THE CASTILLO DE LACALA-
HORRA ......... 324
104. — CUSTODIA IN THE CATHEDRAL OF JAEN . . . -327
105. — PATIO OF THE CASA DE LAS TORRES, UBEDA . . .328
1 06. — AYUNTAMIENTO, BAEZA ....... 332
107. — INTERIOR OF CIMBORIO OF LA SEO, ZARAGOZA . . . 339
108. — SILLERIA IN CATHEDRAL OF EL PILAR, ZARAGOZA, FROM
A CAST IN THE MUSEO PROVINCIAL .... 340
109. — RETABLO IN RUINED MONASTERY OF POBLET . . . 341
no. — PORTAL OF SANTA ENGRACI A, ZARAGOZA .... 342
in. — THE CATHEDRAL OF EL PILAR, ZARAGOZA, FROM ACROSS THE
EBRO ..... «... 344
112. — THE LONJ A, ZARAGOZA ... .... 346
113. — PLAN OF THE LONJA, ZARAGOZA 349
114. — INTERIOR OF THE LONJA, ZARAGOZA . .... 350
115. — WOODEN CORNICE OF MOORISH TYPE, ZARAGOZA * . 354
1 1 6. — SMALL HOUSE IN THE CALLE MAYOR, ZARAGOZA . . 359
117. — WOODEN CORNICE OF THE CASA CONSISTORIAL, HUESCA . 360
1 1 8. — STAIRWAY IN THE PALACIO DE MONCADO, BARCELONA . 364
119. — PULPIT in CATHEDRAL, PALMA DE MALLORCA . . . 368
1 20. — STAIRWAY IN SMALL HOUSE, PALMA . . . . 370
121. — STAIRWAY IN THE CASA PALMARQUES, PALMA . . . 371
122. — PLAN OF THE CASA VIVOT, PALMA 375
123. — MAIN SALON OF THE O'NsiL HOUSE, PALMA . . . 376
124. — PATIO OF THE CASA DEL MARQUES DE VIVOT, PALMA . . 379
125. — PLAN OF THE CASA OLEZA, PALMA . . . . .381
126. — WINDOW IN THE CASA VILLALONGA, PALMA . . . 382
127. — ENTRANCE TO THE BURGA-ZAFORTEZA HOUSE ON THE BORNE,
PALMA . . . . . . . . . 385
128. — PLAN OF HOSPITAL DE SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, TOLEDO . . 393
129. — ARCADE BETWEEN THE Two PATIOS, HOSPITAL DE SAN JUAN
BAUTISTA, TOLEDO . . . . . . 397
xxii ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGURE PAGE
130. — WINDOW IN THE HOSPITAL DE SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, TOLEDO . 398
131. — PLAN OF REAL ALCAZAR, TOLEDO 399
132. — PATIO OF REAL ALCAZAR, TOLEDO 401
133. — DETAIL FROM ENTRANCE TO PATIO OF THE REAL ALCAZAR . 404
134. — HOSPITAL PROVINCIAL (DE LA SANGRE), SEVILLE . . 405
135. — PALACE AT SALDANUELA 406
136. — SOUTH FACADE OF REAL MONASTERIO, ESCORIAL . .417
137. — DOME OF THE MONASTERY CHURCH, ESCORIAL . . . 419
138. — INTERIOR OF MONASTERY CHURCH, ESCORIAL . . . 423
139. — SMALL PALACE BY HERRERA, PLASENCIA . . . .427
140. — PATIO OF LONJA, SEVILLE . . . . . .429
Spanish Architecture of the Sixteenth
Century
CHAPTER I
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS
THREE HOSPITALS BEGUN BY EGAS IN THE EARLY SIXTEENTH CEN-
TURY— TOLEDO HOSPITAL THE MOST IMPORTANT — INFLUENCE OF THE
ARCHBISHOPS OF TOLEDO IN POLITICS AND ART — EL GRAN CARDENAL
MENDOZA AND HIS COLEGIO IN VALLADOLID — WHY THE RENAISSANCE
ARRIVED LATE IN SPAIN — IN WHAT PROVINCES IT FLOURISHED AND BY
WHAT MEANS IT WAS PROPAGATED — VARIOUS ITALIANS WHO WORKED IN
SPAIN — EGAS AND THE CATALAN GOLDSMITH — ORIGIN OF THE TERM PLAT-
ERESCO — PROBABLE INFLUENCE OF THE GENOESE ARCHITECTS AT LA-
CALAHORRA — VARIOUS BUILDINGS ATTRIBUTED TO EGAS — THE EARLIEST
PLATERIA SHOWING THE NEW FORMS — ANALYSIS OF THE HOSPITAL DE
LA SANTA CRUZ — THE TERM ARTESONADO — RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE
STAIRWAY OF THE HOSPITAL AND THAT AT LACALAHORRA — THE HOS-
PITAL REAL AT SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA — EGAS's SLIGHT CONNECTION
WITH THE HOSPITAL AT GRANADA — EGAS AND HIS SON-IN-LAW COVAR-
RUBIAS — DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN TOLEDO — THE MUDEJAR STYLE — THE
GRANITE PORTALS OF TOLEDO HOUSES
Spanish Architecture of the Sixteenth
Century
CHAPTER I
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS
i
first sixteenth-century architect to embody in a
building the fragmentary ideas on Renaissance ar-
chitecture which were then circulating through Spain
was Enrique de Egas. Egas, who was maestro mayor of the
Gothic cathedral of Toledo, planned three great hospitals in
the new style. These were the Santa Cruz in Toledo, built
for the Archbishop Don Pedro de Mendoza, and the royal
hospitals in Santiago and Granada for the Catholic Sovereigns,
Ferdinand and Isabella. For all three structures the scheme
was practically the same. The Granada building was the
last undertaken and soon passed into other hands, but those
in Toledo and Santiago were entirely in Egas's charge and
may be considered, in spite of some later disfigurements, as
representative of his conception of the new art — the obra del
romano, as the Spanish were then calling the Italian Renais-
sance. The Hospital de la Santa Cruz (Plate I), begun in
1504, was the most important architecturally and exerted no
small influence on subsequent efforts in Castile.
That a Renaissance structure should first appear in Toledo
and be sponsored by a distinguished prelate was entirely
appropriate, for Toledo was the chief episcopal city of Spain,
4 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
and its archbishops practically controlled the civilization of
the whole realm. They were counselors of kings and leaders
of armies; their revenues were princely and they fostered the
arts and sciences. Don Pedro de Mendoza, El Gran Cardinal,
who was primate when Renaissance art began to penetrate
Castile, had traveled in Italy and his family had already erected
a pretentious residence, the Palacio del Infantado, in which a
few Italian motifs appear. The cardinal himself, before
determining to found the hospital in Toledo, had employed
Enrique de Egas to build a Gothic college of the same name
in Valladolid. This Colegio de la Santa Cruz (1480-1492)
is often cited as the first specimen of the new style but its
Renaissance touches are very plainly of later date; the entrance
portal, for instance, belongs to the school of Francisco de
Colonia, an architect who did not begin working in that region
until after 150x3 as explained in Chapter III.1 The Toledo edifice
on the contrary was really designed in Renaissance so far as a
Gothicist understood the new movement. Although the build-
ing was not commenced until 1504 the drawings may have been
made before 1495, the year of the princely patron's death.
Queen Isabella, whom he had solemnly charged to carry out
his plans, chose the present site as having a better exposure
than the one he had designated next the cathedral. But nearly
a decade elapsed before the work actually began. Ten years
later, while far from finished, it came to a standstill.
Thus in the center of inland Castile, in the venerable city
that had known Roman, Visigothic, Arab, Gothic, and Mude-
jar architecture, the first faltering piece of Spanish Renais-
sance rose contemporaneous with the sophisticated palaces
of Peruzzi and Sangallo in Rome.2 In other words the Re-
1 The Medinaceli Palace at Cogolludo (Plate XVI) is also pointed to as the first
Renaissance building, because Philip the Fair visited it in 1502; but here too the Re-
naissance portal is by Colonia. Other writers call attention to the fact that the first
monument in Spain absolutely free from Gothic is the castle at Lacalahorra (1509).
This is true enough, but the castle in question is entirely the work of Italian architects
and artizans brought from Genoa for the express purpose of building it (see page 316).
2 Don Antonio Pons in his Viage de Espana (1772) said of Toledo that it was "one of
the Spanish cities in which the greatest and best works were executed, where tne fine
6
p tf
81
» I
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS 7
naissance came late as a glance at history will show. While
the coast provinces were developing an active commercial
life in the Middle Ages and building exchanges and maritime
tribunals such as the fine Gothic Lonja of Palma or the Con-
sulado del Mar of Barcelona, Castile, still battling with
Moorish invaders, needed nothing architecturally but those
defensive castles from which it took its name. Back in the
thirteenth century when Leon was incorporated with it,
Castile was proudly termed El corazon y castillo of the penin-
sula; but this heart and stronghold still had two centuries of
warfare and bad government before it, and consequently
intellectual progress was slow. When further strengthened
by the marriage of Isabella of Castile with her cousin and
neighbor Ferdinand of Aragon (1474) the inland provinces
really began to thrive. These two progressive rulers, after
lifting Castilian politics out of a state of chaos, bent every
energy on the expulsion of the Moors who still held the king-
dom of Granada. In this they succeeded in 1492. Spain,
after having endured the presence of Mohammedans for
nearly eight centuries, was at last all Spanish. The national
elation was tremendous and expressed itself in magnificent
churches (these true to the Gothic tradition). Next the
sovereigns lent ear to Christopher Columbus who made them
masters of an unsuspected world across the Atlantic; and within
another few years their Gran Capitdn, Gonsalvo de Cordoba,
recaptured Naples. Thus Spain with incredible rapidity be-
came a power, and that power was focused in Castile.
Peace at home and conquest abroad naturally quickened
that acquisition of culture and expansion of private and muni-
cipal life for which previous conditions had not been favorable.
Hidalgos who had served in Italy and had witnessed the refined
life of the Italian aristocracy abandoned their remote ancestral
seats and built themselves new homes in the towns. Cities
arts were reborn, and where the artificers were better remunerated than elsewhere;
and this not only during and since the reign of Charles V when Covarrubias, Berru-
guete, Juan Bautista, and Herrera flourished, but even during the many previous
centuries." Farther on he laments that of all the artists who helped to enrich the city
by their labors it is of the architects that the scantiest records have been kept.
8 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
began demanding civic structures that would reflect the
growth of municipal authority. The architects of these new
palaces, city halls, colleges, and hospitals turned to the incom-
ing Italian art for inspiration. Gothic churches also played
their part in propagating the new style by acquiring furniture,
tombs, and even whole new dependencies, whose erection
often brought to a remote locality Renaissance workers whose
presence was taken advantage of for secular building as well.
Thus the style appeared spasmodically and in widely sepa-
rated places, answering the call of some noble or prelate. On
the Mediterranean coast where it had a good start while the
Valencian Borjas were popes, it never produced any important
monuments; partly because Spain's prosperity shifted from
Mediterranean to Atlantic ports after the discovery of America,
and partly because the inability of the Hapsburgs to grapple
with economic problems permitted their Cortes to impoverish
Valencia by prohibiting her silk-weaving and to interfere with
certain exports which had meant considerable wealth to
Barcelona. The Renaissance likewise made small progress
in Galicia, Asturias, and the Basque provinces, for these had
all been left high and dry as the Reconquest spread south-
ward. Therefore, with the exception of a few outstanding
examples, the study of Spanish Renaissance architecture is
the study of work done in Castile and the newly added Anda-
lusia whither the movement was carried by Castilian architects
and sculptors.
We have seen that Renaissance drew its first architect
from the ranks of practicing Gothicists; and as there is no
record of any Spaniard studying in Italy until a quarter of a
century later, the question arises as to what means the earliest
men had of acquainting themselves with the new style. Its
transmission is ascribed, aside from the close political inter-
course between the two countries, to those Italian sculptors
who came to Spain and carved retablos and sepulchres; also
to the importation of tombs and other accessories executed
in Italy for wealthy Spaniards. Far back in the fifteenth
century when Flemish, French, and German artists were
still coming south and making Burgos their first stopping
PLATE II
PATIO OP THE HOSPITAL DE SANTA CRUZ, TOLEDO.
Enrique de Egas, Architect, 1504-14.
9
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS 11
place, Italians were coming west to Barcelona, Valencia, and
Murcia. As early indeed as 1417 a pupil of Lorenzo Ghiberti
was working in Valencia and later this same city, when its
bishop Rodrigo Borja became Pope Alexander VI, was en-
riched by many works of art sent back by him from Rome.
All through the first half of the sixteenth century the Italians
continued to arrive and push on to Castile, and for every one
whose name has been preserved, like Giovanni Moreto who
carved retablos and tombs in Zaragoza (Saragossa) for
nearly fifty years, or Giacopo Fiorentino who built in Murcia
and Granada, or Fray Niculoso of Pisa who painted tiles in
Seville, or, greatest of all, Domenico Fancelli who made the
royal tombs at Granada and Avila, there were hosts who went
unrecorded. These were mostly Lombards who worked as
assistants to Italian or Castilian masters.
For the early established and flourishing business of tomb-
making none of the great masters came, but numbers of skilled
carvers from the active and widely exploited marble ateliers
of Carrara. It is well known how these when they invaded
France brought working models consisting of plaster casts,
drawings, small terra cottas and stuccos, and how they formed
themselves into a number of ambulatory ateliers. As the
astute contractors of Carrara and Genoa kept in touch with
building enterprises everywhere they undoubtedly sent similar
equipment to Toledo where the archbishops were constantly
aggrandizing the cathedral. Marcel Dieulafoy in his Art in
Spain and Portugal makes one Italian-trained goldsmith re-
sponsible for Egas's Renaissance training. This was a Cata-
lan named Pedro Diez who, on his return from Rome about
1458, was called to Toledo and there "acquired such ascen-
dancy in the workshops of the cathedral that Enrique Egas,
son of the master of the works, came entirely under his influ-
ence. Thus we find a platero connected with the evolution
of pointed architecture; hence the term Plateresco applied in
Spanish to the individual styles of the reigns of Joanna the
Mad and her son the Emperor Charles (1504-1558)." But
the obscure question of how Egas acquired his Renaissance
knowledge cannot be dismissed so simply. At the time the
12 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Catalan goldsmith came to Toledo, Enrique (d. 1534) must
have been a mere infant and still in Burgos where his father,
the Brussels architect Annequin de Egas (Jan van der Eyken),
worked before he was called to Toledo. But no matter how
young Enrique was when he learned the new style he kept
practicing Flemish Gothic until he built the hospitals to be
discussed here. As to the christening of what the Spaniards
believed to be Italian architecture, that did not take place
until the seventeenth century when Zufiiga, the annalist of
Seville, coined the phrase "fantasias platerescas" to describe
buildings of the preceding century. Egas and his contem-
poraries called their work obra del romano, or el arte viejo
(the old art).
That this tyro in the new style met itinerant Italians after
coming to Toledo is not to be doubted ; but there was another
and more definite influx to which he may also have owed
something. This was the group of Genoese and Lombard
builders who were specially imported in 1509 to erect the castle
at Lacalahorra near Granada for Don Rodrigo de Mendoza,
son of the Great Cardinal. Egas while at work on his Toledo
hospital was also employed in Granada and there can be no
doubt that he heard of, and perhaps even visited, the much
discussed Italian palace. That he studied the classic ruins
so numerous in Spain there is not the slightest reason to be-
lieve. Like many another artist whose life and work are
only imperfectly known he has been accredited with several
more or less improbable productions. Some writers, unwilling
to admit that he could have built his hospitals without passing
through a transitional stage, ascribe to him the curious Colegio
de San Gregorio in Valladolid. This, like the unlovely Men-
doza palace in Guadalajara and the Benavente in Baeza, is
generally considered typically Spanish but is in reality the
extravagant expression of some newly arrived Fleming en-
amored of Moorish richness and bent on incorporating it with
decadent Gothic — the same elements, by the way, which pro-
duced the Manueline style in Portugal. Egas may have seen
the germ of an idea in these extraordinary facades but his
authentic productions are of much greater refinement. Re-
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS 13
garding the University of Salamanca in which others pretend
to see his hand one may reason in quite the opposite direc-
tion; it is too sophisticated. As master of the royal works he
may have been commissioned to make designs for it late in
FIG. I— Plan of the Hospital de Santa Cruz, Toledo.
Enrique de Egas, Architect, 1504-14.
the fifteenth century, but the one followed and completed
about 1530 reveals nothing of him. Turning to his authentic
work as seen in the hospital in Toledo it shows that he, unlike
the Florentine Brunelleschi, did not see in the revival of
classic an organic change affecting the plan itself (see Fig. i).
As a thorough Gothicist he might have been expected to show
an interest in the problems of vaulting which had so engrossed
the early Italians; but the fact is that for his Renaissance
experiments he clung to the carpentry ceilings of the Moors
14 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
and was content to accept the Renaissance as a new set of
motifs to be engrafted onto medieval principles— it has always
been true that decorative themes have been propagated much
more quickly than methods of construction.
The result of Spanish effort to build in the Italian style
is both interesting and novel and is best described by its
native name of Plateresco. This implies a resemblance to the
work of the silversmith or platero in scale and delicacy of
execution but does not mean that the Spanish architect
followed the silversmith's lead in the use of Renaissance motifs;
for the earliest church vessels, that is, important pieces such as
custodias, chalices, or processional crosses in which such
forms are to be found, are posterior to Egas's experiments
(see Figs. 2 and 3). Nor were the first Spaniards who prac-
ticed Plateresque recruited from the goldsmiths' shops as in
Florence nearly a century before. They were Gothic architects
and sculptors who changed their style as opportunity presented
itself, but who saw the new from the ornamentalist's point
of view rather than the builder's.
Analyzing the Hospital de Santa Cruz we find that it is
eclectic in design showing Renaissance, Gothic, and Mudejar
elements, especially in the various methods of roofing; these
comprise Gothic stone vaulting, artesonadosj and the open
truss construction of the Moors. Fig. i shows the plan to
be based on the Maltese cross, the cardinal's emblem, wrhich
also appears repeatedly in the ornament. The arms of the
immense cross, along with the proposed equilateral facades,
were to embrace four corner patios; but of this ambitious
scheme only the cross itself, one patio, and a portion of the
south facade were ever built. This unfortunately was the
fate of too many grandiose projects of the sixteenth century.
In the present example it is the facade that suffers most,
from incompletion, for it terminates abruptly a few feet west
1 Artesonado from arteson meaning a wooden kneading-trough or tub. The term
was applied to all coffered ceilings whether flat or vaulted in section, each sunken coffer
with its surrounding mouldings suggesting the arteson. By extension, all wooden ceil-
ings are called artesonados though those not built up of coffers are more accurately-
referred to as techumbres. In the making and decorating of these the Moors particularly^
excelled (see page 18).
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS 1,5
of what was to be the central motif; yet despite the loss of
balance the effect is impressive. Fenestration is reduced to
a minimum thus expressing that the interior derives its light
and air from the patio. On the doorway and windows is
FIG. 2 — Silver Custo-
dia in the Colegiata at
Covarrubias.
Platero Unknown.
FIG. 3 — Gold and Silver Custodia
in the Royal Monastery of Silos,
dated 1527.
Platero Unknown.
concentrated a wealth of delicate ornament carved in marble.
The contrast of this with the severe granite walls in which it
is inserted is striking. The central motif shows how much
more conversant Egas was with the new forms than with the
manner of using them as witness the awkwardly bent columns
over the arch; and yet he must have had Italian assistants on
the spot, for certain details, the door architrave for instance
16 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
(Fig. 4), are such pure Lombard that nothing so conventional
and true to type was done later when style and workmen had
become acclimatized. Crowding the doorway are two Lom-
bard windows flanked by colonnettes similar to those at Laca-
FIG. 4— Detail from the Portal of the Santa Cruz Hospital, Toledo.
Enrique de Egas, Architect, 1504-14.
lahorra. They again appear in the Hospital Real at Granada
and, in fact, remained in high favor throughout the entire
Plateresque period. The Santa Cruz front having never
been altered by succeeding architects is an interesting record
of how Egas, at a time when the Italians were applying the
orders to the facade, saw it as an uncompromising wall of
masonry relieved only by a few spots of rich ornament.
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS 17
The hospital was to contain, besides the sick and found-
lings, a nursing sisterhood with their casa conventual and a
chapel. This last Egas intended placing in the intersection
of the cross but abandoned the idea; perhaps because he had
FIG. 5 — Interior of the Santa Cruz Hospital, Toledo.
Enrique de Egas, Architect, 1504-14.
been gaining experience meanwhile on the Santiago building
which he was carrying on at the same time. At any rate he
added a bay to the north arm to receive the high altar, an
advantageous change, as may be seen by comparing the two
plans. The straightforwardness of the Toledo interior is
striking as one passes from the vestibule and meets a clear
sweep of nearly 300 feet. At the crossing (Fig. 5) is a lofty
well with Gothic vaulting (the lantern is eighteenth-century)
and Gothic piers, but these have a Renaissance interruption
18 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
at the second story level where they are built out to permit
passage from one arm to another.
In all the great halls the ceilings are of wood, paneled on
the first story and of open construction with coupled trusses
on the second. The solidity obtained in these Spanish frame-
ceilings is remarkable; covered with six or eight inches of sand
or cement as a bed for the tile flooring above, they have, even
in the greatest spans, all the substantiality of masonry vault-
ing. The paneling of the artesonado was not merely applied
to the frame, but the latter had to be actually designed to
receive it. The system was a Moorish inheritance and there
is no doubt that Egas's carpinteros were all Mudejares (con-
quered Moors). The wood employed is a coarse-grained
pine, well oiled, and it is on record that it was the first
brought down the Tagus from the pine-covered slopes of the
Serrania de Cuenca.
By the time the patio was reached Egas was more familiar
with the new style and one finds few traces of Gothic (see
Plate II). The parapet of the second story (Fig. 6) is a
survival which may have been deliberately preferred to the
monumental balustrade, which feature was slow of acceptance
in Spain. The staircase (Plate III) aimed to be entirely
Renaissance, and in it the charming tentativeness of the
facade is again recovered. For some time previous the Span-
ish had been giving more emphasis to the staircase than other
Gothic architects; they had brought it out from the turret
and enclosing walls and made it an architectural adjunct to
the patio. This claustral stair, connecting the upper and
lower galleries or cloistered walks of the patio, was built
around an open well in contrast to the enclosed stair so long
retained in Florence and Rome. It happens that the stair-
way at Lacalahorra (see Plate LXI), although built by Ital-
ians, was of this Spanish type, for the architects were Genoese
and remembered the sumptuous stairs leading from street to
terrace level in the hillside palaces of their own city. Many
similarities of form and detail would indicate that their work,
so closely according with the Spanish tradition, supplied Egas
with his incentive. Each comprises three bays of the patio,
PLATE III
STAIRWAY ! HOSPITAL
DE SANTA CRVZ
TOLEDO
SCALE OF
FEET-
SECTION THROUGH STAIRWAY OF THE HOSPITAL DE SANTA CRUZ, TOLEDO.
Enrique de Egas, Architect, 1504-14.
19
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS 21
each has two landings, and each has the same balustrade and
base moulds. Yet the Toledo presents several original expres-
sions not to be found in the other, such as the carved rustica-
tion and the almost unmodified Gothic newel post (see Plate
FIG. 6— Upper Story of Patio of the Hospital de Santa Cruz, Toledo.
Enrique de Egas, Architect, 1504-14.
IV). In the construction of the balustrade is a peculiarity
which, if Egas really saw and examined the Genoese work,
would be difficult to account for. Utterly ignoring Renaissance
constructive methods he continued to regard stereotomy
from the Gothic viewpoint; the balustrade, for instance, while
appearing to be built up of separately carved balusters in the
normal way is in reality a succession of pierced slabs, each
group of three or four verticals being carved from a single
block. The connecting piece at the center, common to all
early Spanish balustrades, is consequently a tie-piece incident
2* SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
to this peculiar manner of constructing. To further augment
the difficult task of stone-cutting the markings of each unit
follow the rake of the stair. How unnecessarily laborious
all this was did not occur even to Egas's followers, for it was
repeated at Alcala by his son-in-law Covarrubias (see Frontis-
piece) and later in the Duenas palace in Medina del Campo
(Fig. 63). Similarly slighted was the question of intersec-
tions and continuity of mouldings; elaborately carved courses
of differing profiles meet in haphazard fashion. This defect
cannot be' put down to ignorance for in the artesonado above
the stair far more difficult intersections are solved with con-
summate nicety. Yet with all its crudities this parent stair
was worthy of the appreciation it received in its day from
Castilian architects. There is an attractiveness even in its
faulty detail, while the whole scheme, including the artesonado
and the relation to upper and lower cloisters, is characterized
by a certain grandeur.
The Hospital de la Santa Cruz is not easy to appraise in
its present condition. After serving for centuries as a found-
ling asylum, and with never an expenditure for repairs, it
was handed over to the orphans of artillery officers. In 1887
another and much more disastrous change was made — it
became a military academy. It is now undergoing thorough
restoration after which it will house the provincial museum.
In 1501 or 1502, that is, while the Mendoza plan was still
in abeyance^ the same architect designed a similar hospital
for the city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. In that re-
mote spot where St. James (Santiago) the Greater was sup-
posed to be buried, a magnificent church had been erected
to which thousands of pilgrims streamed annually. In 1498
the bishop complained that many of these, ill or exhausted
by the journey, lay for days on the church floor for lack of
proper accommodation, and urged their Majesties to con-
struct a pilgrims' hospital. Egas, master of the royal works,
was ordered to prepare a plan. He went to work on the same
general lines as at Toledo. The Santiago structure (Plate V)
was carried to a conclusion (though not all of it in his lifetime)
and offers better opportunity than the Toledo to grasp the
II
n
25
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS 27
bigness of the scheme. The facade has suffered the addition
of a seventeenth-century balcony and a re-ornamentation of
three of the windows; but one can still see how the architect
limited the decoration of his long granite front to five units
—the central doorway and two windows each side of it.
A characteristic feature is the rich cornice built up of a
series of unorthodox mouldings. It was to be expected of the
pronounced individuality of the Spaniard that he could not
accept the Italian's devotion to beauty for its own sake, but
would introduce elements that answered to his craving for
realism. And so Egas, without even trying to understand
the systematized classic cornice, introduced the Moorish
chains from which his royal patrons had freed Christian cap-
tives, in the same personal spirit as he introduced the emblem
of Archbishop Mendoza in the Toledo cornice; he could not
break absolutely with Gothic and its story-telling themes.
The Santiago portal (Plate VI), which has never been tam-
pered with, is a Gothic composition ornamented in Plater-
esque; it therefore has none of the abortions noted in the
attempted Renaissance composition at Toledo, but is an
extremely successful blending of the two styles. Extending
through two stories it is like an immense retablo or reredos
brought from the altar and applied to the exterior. The
row of the twelve disciples above the arch and also the
saints in niches are frankly Gothic; but just as frankly Plat-
eresque are the arabesque panels of the storied pilasters and
the candelabra cresting. There is nothing here as purely
Italian as the architrave of the Santa Cruz (and even had
such been contemplated it would have been obviated by the
coarseness of the stone) but the door on the whole displays
a much finer sense of composition.
The interior (see Fig. 7) suffers from the placing of the
chapel in the crossing; this, besides robbing the plan of spa-
ciousness, makes communication possible only through the
patios. It seems logical to infer that this had been done
before the same stage was reached in the Toledo building,
hence the abandonment of a similar arrangement there; and
if further evidence were wanting of the architect's dis-
28 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
satisfaction with the original scheme, it might be found in the
Granada hospital which we know was not begun until several
years later and where the crossing is again unblocked,
stairways at Santiago are enclosed between walls, probably
FIG. 7 — Plan of the Hospital Real, Santiago de Compostela.
Enrique de Egas, Architect, 1 501-11.
because of the raw climate, leaving the patios to claim all at-
tention. Of these the two forward, left and right of the main
entrance, show a great advance in the manipulation of the
new style, as seen in Fig. 8. The setting out of the design,
with two openings over one, recalls the cloister of Santa Maria
della Pace in Rome by Bramante. It is interesting to specu-
late whether Egas knew of the recently finished Italian work
(1504) or whether he evolved the motif from Gothic prece-
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS 29
dent. The latter might well be the case considering that
there is no reminiscence of Bramante's purer classic in the
treatment of the detail. The lower openings are high and
graceful, supported on attenuated pilasters with Renaissance
FIG. 8 — Patio of the Hospital Real, Santiago de Compostela.
Enrique de Egas, Architect, 1501-11.
caps above which the archivolt mouldings interlace — a capri-
cious note often encountered in Plateresque. The upper and
more ornate story presents some curious liberties in the pro-
files of mouldings but this is apparent only on close examina-
tion. All the work is executed in a coarse gray stone, yet
has the lightness and quality of terra cotta in its design.
According to the Latin inscription over the portal, the Hospi-
30 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
tal Real was erected between 1501 and 1511, but the earlier
date may refer to the year when royal sanction was given while
the actual work may not have commenced until several years
later. The two patios due to Egas give every evidence of
being posterior to the one at Toledo; the remaining two date
from the eighteenth century.
The Hospital Real at Granada which will be taken up in
Chapter X is later. Though founded and richly endowed
by Queen Isabella shortly before her death in 1504 it was not
started until 1511; soon after, the work stopped and when it
was resumed in Charles V's reign another architect was ap-
pointed. The most admirable feature about it is the same
cruciform plan seen in Toledo and Santiago.
Reviewing the Renaissance work of Enrique de Egas one
sees that its author had no such heretical thought as a complete
break with the preceding style. He was too saturated in
ecclesiastical methods where the old traditions still prevailed
to shake off their influence; and even had this not been the
case he was too imperfectly informed in the foreign art to
follow all its conventions. His productions in the new field
must therefore be regarded as experimental — merely tentative,
yet with their own character and interest. Not one of them
was completed within or without by him so that it is for the
fruits they bore rather than for themselves that one studies
them. What Egas accomplished in Renaissance was to de-
monstrate to others the possibility of combining the new
ornament with Spanish traditions and evolving therefrom
something distinctive and racial.
Hardly any details are known concerning this most famous
member of a family prominent for generations in Spanish
architecture and sculpture; but we may accept him as a
thorough Spaniard. He passed the greater part of his long
life in that intensely racy capital which, half a century later,
so cast its spell over a Greek painter that he became more
Spanish than the natives themselves. Considering that
Egas worked in Toledo from about 1480 till his death in 1534,
and that, as visiting architect, he was present at some time
or other in every great building center, his influence must
PLATE VI
PORTAL OF THE HOSPITAL REAL, SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA.
Enrique de Egas, Architect, 1501—11.
31
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS 33
have been far-reaching. One cannot resist picturing the
doughty old artist making his Toledo home a focus for the
talented youth of the day, a conjecture that borrows prob-
ability from the fact that his three sons were respectively
FIG. 9— Plan of the Casa del Greco, Toledo (Restored).
sculptor, painter, and architect, and that his only daughter
married the man whose work is most closely related to that
of the maestro mayor — who followed him, in fact, in that
post as will be seen in the next chapter. This son-in-law,
Alonso de Covarrubias, may be accepted, so far as certain
phases of the first period are concerned, as Egas's logical
successor.
It would be perfectly reasonable to look for an abundant
efflorescence of Renaissance palaces in the rich city where the
style had received such distinguished patronage; but it hap-
pened that in the field of domestic architecture there was
something stronger to be reckoned with than the sanction of
a primate, and that was local tradition. Toledo was a Mude-
jar city. In it the Moorish type of civilization flourished
long after the city had passed into Christian hands, and the
34
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
fact is nowhere more evident than in its domestic buildings.
The artizans were Asiatics— Moors and Jews; and not only
the house, but nearly all the objects in it— furniture, fabrics,
utensils— were of their making. These un-European crafts-
FIG.
Reproduction of a Sixteenth-Century Chimneypiece in a
Toledo House.
men were given a free hand and worked along unaffected
by new styles that came from without, except when employed
on Christian churches. What they produced for Christian
masters is known in Spain as the Estilo Mudejar. The latter
word is derived from the Arab mudejalat, meaning subdued,
and was applied to those infidels, mainly Moors, who remained
in any district after it had been conquered by the Christians.
These industrious Mudejares, with their superior skill in the
arts and trades, found ready employment everywhere until
the time came when economic considerations could no longer
prevail against race hatred and religious bigotry. The Jews
were expelled in 1492; and in 1499 Cardinal Cisneros decreed
PLATE VII
PATIO OF THE CASA DEL GRECO, TOLEDO (RESTORED).
35
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS 37
that the Moors must either follow them or embrace Christian-
ity. Only a small portion accepted the bitter alternative
of baptism and even these, called Moriscos, were in time
expelled. With the exodus of the Moriscos there passed out
of Spanish architecture its most distinctive note.
The Mudejar style in which they had been such a neces-
sary factor may be roughly described as the combination of
Moorish ornamentation with Christian plan and structure;
but in truth the Moor asserted himself in far more than orna-
ment. Certain building methods for roofs, ceilings, and floors
were wholly his and even prevailed for centuries after his
expulsion. The term Mudejar is naturally elastic, for the
Christian element in it may be in the form of a Romanesque
church like Santo Tome in Toledo, a medieval fortress like
the castle of Coca, or a mixed Gothic and Plateresque palace
like the Infantado, at Guadalajara. Sometimes, though rarely
outside of Andalusia, the balance of plan and structure is
Moorish; this is the case in the Alba palace in Seville (see
Plate XLIX) which is an amplification of an Arab house, with
Renaissance columns and capitals in the patios. Mudejar,
like the Asiatic architecture it sprang from, rarely concerned
itself with the quarrying and laying up of impressive stone; in-
stead small units such as were provided by burnt clay products
were its preferred materials. To regard Mudejar as a mere
transitional phase or a mere superficial treatment is a mis-
take. When Moorish skill and personality in ornament were
combined with Christian architectural structurability, the
result was a definite style, exhibiting proper congruity of
forms with materials. The castle of the Fonsecas at Coca,
one of the finest examples of military architecture in Europe,
is as undeniably Mudejar as Burgos Cathedral is Gothic.
For interiors the style offers considerable charm, particu-
larly in its last or Plateresque manifestation. Its ceilings
of wood, floors of tiles, and walls of carved plaster are among
the most decorative ever devised for domestic work (as de-
scribed in the Seville chapter, pages 236-250) and probably
would be more often used if better understood.
To return to Toledo, it was in this hybrid architecture
38
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
that most of its parish churches and convents were built,
including the two synagogues erected by the prematurely
grateful Jews as thank-offerings for royal protection, and then
turned into Christian churches after their expulsion. Also
FIG. ii — Typical Granite Doorway, Toledo.
in Mudejar were the Toledo residences with their almost
windowless facades which presented but one note of interest,
the stone portal. This one note is so distinctive that it de-
serves a brief word. Like the entrances in Avila and Estrema-
dura it is of granite and the very material has imposed a
certain sobriety and solidity which might almost pass for
Roman. Its post and lintel construction of impressive dimen-
sions frames a huge wooden door studded with nailheads
(see Fig. n). The stonework is an adaptation of classic
principles — engaged columns with crude capital, expansive
TOLEDO AND THE WORK OF ENRIQUE DE EGAS 39
lintel flanked by coarse corbels, and the whole often surmounted
by a relieving arch. Many of the Toledan entrances are
actually built up of Visigothic fragments. The type was
adhered to until the eighteenth century, unmodified by closer
acquaintance with the Renaissance. Whatever of the new
style crept into the patios of Toledo was likewise of local
interpretation, nor is there enough of it to take domestic
work out of the category of Mudejar.
CHAPTER II
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA
ALONSO DE COVARRUBIAS — THE COMPETITION FOR THE CAPILLA DE
LOS REYES NUEVOS COVARRUBIAS APPOINTED MAESTRO MAYOR OF
TOLEDO CATHEDRAL IN 1534 AND LATER APPOINTMENT AS MASTER OF
ROYAL WORKS — DESCRIPTION OF HIS CHAPEL OF THE NEW KINGS — HIS
PORTAL TO THE CAPILLA DE SAN JUAN — ALCALA DE HENARES AND ITS
RELATION TO TOLEDO — DON ALONSO DE FONSECA, ARCHBISHOP OF TOLEDO,
ORDERS THE REMODELING OF THE ARCHIEPISCOPAL PALACE AT ALCALA —
LAS MEDIDAS DEL ROMANO AND ITS DEDICATION — DESCRIPTION OF THE
ARCHBISHOP'S PALACE — BERRUGUETE'S SCULPTURE IN THE PATIO —
MARKED TENDENCY TOWARDS REALISM IN SPANISH ORNAMENT — REPE-
TITION OF EGAS's STAIRWAY AT TOLEDO — MAGNIFICENT SERIES OF ARTESO-
NADOS IN THE PALACE — THE UNIVERSITY OF ALCALA FOUNDED BY CARDINAL
JIMENEZ DE CISNEROS AND BUILT BY PEDRO GUMIEL — ITS NEW FACADE
BY RODRIGO GIL DE ONTANON — THE ESCUTCHEON OF SPAIN AND ITS DECO-
RATIVE USE — SPANISH OBJECTIONS TO THE RENAISSANCE FORMS AT
ALCALA — THE INTERIOR OF THE UNIVERSITY — THE CARDINAL'S TOMB
IN THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH — LACK OF OTHER RENAISSANCE WORK IN
ALCALA.
CHAPTER II
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA
E GAS'S son-in-law is supposed to have taken his sur-
name from the town of Covarrubias near Burgos
but whether that was really his birthplace is not
known. According to Llaguno's Notices on the Architects
and Architecture of Spain he studied with the German Gothi-
cist Simon de Colonia (Simon of Cologne) in Burgos, which
city he left toward the end of the fifteenth century for Toledo ;
here he worked under Enrique de Egas. The same author
explains the young architect's adoption of the new style not
by association with the builder of the Santa Cruz, nor even
by vigorous influences received earlier in Burgos, but by "the
many classic ruins in Spain, seeing which Alonso de Covar-
rubias was moved to imitate them, although imperfectly as if
eyes and hands were more used to Gothic." The truth is
however that nothing erected by Covarrubias shows con-
versance, even imperfect, with the antique, until his re-
modeling of the Alcazar of Toledo ; and this was after he had
long been practicing Plateresque. In 1531 he presented plans
along with Diego de Siloe, also from Burgos, for a mortuary
chapel to be erected in the cathedral for the kings descended
from the illegitimate Enrique II (Los Reyes Nuevos), whose
sepulchres were at that time blocking up the nave. Arch-
bishop Fonseca awarded the commission to Covarrubias,
who finished it in 1534; and the architect's father-in-law
dying that same year he was appointed to succeed him as
Maestro Mayor de la Santa Iglesia de Toledo.
The large Capilla de Los Reyes Nuevos is structurally as
Gothic as the cathedral of which it is a part but the portal
41
42 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
connecting it with the church, the arch dividing it into two
parts, and the royal wall-tombs it contains are aU in the new
style. This does not mean that the chapel is a Gothic struc-
ture with extraneous Renaissance insertions, but rather a
FIG. 12 — Capilla de los Reyes Nuevos, Toledo Cathedral.
Alonso de Covarrubias, Architect, 1534.
piece of transitional work representing from its inception an
earnest endeavor to harmonize old and new. This searching
for affiliation is most felt in certain details of the Gothic
windows and again in the dividing arch, still pointed, but
with beautiful Italian ornament. In the tombs (see Fig. 12)
there is little of transition for here no restrictions were imposed
by the surrounding Gothic architecture. On the right wall
are the sepulchres of Enrique II and his queen and on the
left Enrique III and his, the English Catherine of Lancaster.
All the recumbent figures are earlier having been brought from
their former place in the nave. The motif of these tombs is a
recessed niche whose vaulted arch is a little less than a full
PLATE VIII
PORTAL OF THE CONVENTO DE SAN CLEMENTE, TOLEDO.
Attributed to Covarrubias and Berruguete.
43
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA 45
semicircle, as seen frequently in early examples in Italy. At
each side of the niche is a flattened colonnette supporting the
entablature; the ornament of these colonnettes and that of
the panels behind the effigies is the most charming part of the
motif. Very Spanish in treatment are the spandrels, wherein
strong bearded heads in medallions offer animated contrast to
the tender Italian manner. There was a positive lust for
costly decoration in these days of the empire (for it must be
remembered that Charles V was master of half of Europe
and that the wealth of Mexico and Peru was pouring in) so
gold was used lavishly. The stone jointing of the vaulting,
much of the high relief, and many of the mouldings are gilded,
as may be seen in the illustration.
The next step in the artistic development of Covarrubias,
and one in which certain very personal characteristics may be
detected, is the portal to the Capilla de San Juan, now the
Treasury where all the jeweled ornaments and trappings of
the cathedral are kept (Plate IX). This entrance was made
in 1537, about the time that he was appointed maestro de las
obras reales. It is a highly wrought Renaissance doorway
set within a round-arched Gothic frame partly gilded. Its
relation to Egas's first Renaissance portal is evident — orna-
mental architrave flanked by baluster colonnettes, rich en-
tablature, and sculptured tympanum with candelabra at
each side; but the exquisitely cut detail here is Spanish, not
Italian (Fig. 13). In the panels of the jamb are seen flying
birds, entwined ram's-heads, masks, amorini of muscular build,
and the little plaques in vogue at the time. All these are
held together by a vinelike stem, the only suggestion of plant
form encountered, for almost from the beginning of the Italian
invasion the Spaniard instinctively rejected the sinuous plant
motifs as too tame and inexpressive for his more vivid tem-
perament. His predilection was for animal life in action,
which action increased in intensity and nervous energy until
the period came when all ornament was banished under
Philip II.
In a temple so indescribably rich as Toledo Cathedral,
the head church of the kingdom, there is naturally an over-
46
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
whelming array of art belonging to the years when Covar-
rubias was chief architect in the city. Rejas, portals, tombs,
stalls, all are deservedly famous and all are important adjuncts
to the builder's art; but as our object is primarily to gain
FIG. 13— Detail from Portal of the Capilla de San Juan, Toledo
Cathedral.
Covarrubias, Architect,
acquaintance with the secular expression of Plateresque we
will leave Toledo and follow the master to another town of
the province — Alcala, on the little Henares stream west of
Madrid. Alcala de Henares is closely connected with the
ecclesiastical history of Toledo. Though but an insignificant
town it is to it rather than to the important episcopal city on
the Tagus that one must turn to find a real Renaissance cen-
ter. The story of its architecture is bound up in the story of
PLATE IX
DOORWAY OF THE CAPILLA DE SAN JUAN, TOLEDO CATHEDRAL.
Alonso de Covarrubias, Architect, 1537.
47
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA 49
the Spanish primates beginning with the very first archbishop
that Toledo had after the Reconquest. This was one Ber-
nado, a bellicose French monk who, in his determination to
rid New Castile of infidels, led an army against their stronghold
FIG. 14 — Carved Wooden Doors to the Sala Capitular, Toledo Cathedral.
Enrique de Egas and Pedro Gumiel, Architects, 1504-12.
at Al Kalah and reduced it. To reward the service and to
insure the town's remaining in Christian hands the king made
a gift of it to the bishops of Toledo. Alcala became their
favorite retreat. They built themselves a palace there and
gathered their aristocratic court around them. Several brilliant
centuries followed during which time it was the birthplace of
that princess of pathetic history, Catherine of Aragon, and
50
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
the immortal Cervantes. Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros, suc-
cessor to Don Pedro de Mendoza as archbishop of Toledo,
and regent of Spain before the young Charles assumed
control, founded the widely known University of Alcala
FIG. 15 — Carved Panels from Wardrobe by Pedro Pardo, in the
Antesala, Toledo Cathedral, 1549.
and had his famous polyglot Bible printed here. The uni-
versity was begun in 1497 and finished in 1508 by Pedro
Gumiel who was collaborating at the same time with Enrique
de Egas on the Sala Capitular of Toledo Cathedral. The
university probably showed little, if any, of the new style for
nothing could have been more opposed to the ideas of the
ascetic old warrior-priest than to revive "the uncleanly gods
of the ancients with all their pictured allegories'* on a building
in which militant Christian priests were to be trained. But
this is merely conjecture for Gumiers facade was rebuilt ere
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA 51
many years passed and will be examined presently. Mean-
while a prelate of more relenting tastes succeeded to the metro-
politan chair. This was Don Alfonso de Fonseca (see page 80)
whose zeal for building in the "Italian taste" were so great
that to him was dedicated, in 1526, the first Spanish transla-
tion of, or rather work drawn from, Vitrubius — Las Medidas
del Romano.1 It was written by Diego de Sagredo, royal
chaplain, who gives the classic proportions or medidas by
means of a quaint dialogue between an architect and a painter
employed in Toledo Cathedral. The dedication of the book
runs as follows:
Of the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Senor Don Alonso
de Fonseca Archbishop of Toledo Primate of all Spain High Chan-
cellor of Castilla Diego de Sagredo Chaplain of the Queen Our Lady
kisses with humble reverence the very magnificent hands.
On considering most illustrious senor the great inclination which
you have for building and what you have done in Santiago and
what it is hoped you will do in this your diocese of Toledo I have
based on the works of the ancients who wrote largely on the science
of architecture this brief dialogue in which are set down the mea-
surements which those officials should know who would like to imi-
tate Roman buildings and for lack of which measurements they
have committed and every day do commit errors of disproportion
and are unfaithful in the formation of bases and capitals which
they design for such buildings.
In answer to the author's hint as to the diocese of Toledo
Don Alfonso or Alonso de Fonseca decided to enlarge and
remodel in Renaissance the Palacio Arzobispal at Alcala and
employed Alonso de Covarrubias for the purpose. The pro-
ject was hardly under way, however, when the great patron
of art fell ill in Alcala and died (1534). "The news was
sent" to quote old Doctor Salazar de Mendoza's Life of Car-
dinal T aver a, published in 1603, "to the Emperor at Toledo
whereupon the courtiers commenced as is their custom to
1 The interesting woodcuts for the first edition of Las Medidas are believed to have
been made by Felipe de Vigarm. Sagredo's work, under the title of La Raison d'Archi-
tecture extraite de Vitrube et d'autres Architectes antiques (1542), was also the first
book on classic architecture known in France.
52 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
speculate upon the providing of the archbishopric casting
their eyes much upon Cardinal Manrique." But Charles V
we are further told cast his eyes even more upon Cardinal
Juan de Tavera. He, when duly appointed, authorized Covar-
FIG. 16 — Two Figures from the Silleria, Toledo Cathedral.
Carved by Alonso de Berruguete and Felipi Vigarni and finished in 1543.
rubias to continue the archiepiscopal palace at Alcala as
arranged by the late primate. The escutcheons of both
Tavera and Fonseca appear throughout the ornament.
As the palace stands to-day it is an incoherent mass,
every archbishop from the twelfth century down to the eigh-
teenth having tried to leave his stamp on it. It was much
I
w
H
W
P
Is
w
a
2 -8
53
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA 55
abused by the French when they overran Spain, and even
more by the conscripts to whose use the Spanish government
later dedicated it. These used the best apartments for
kitchens, burned bits of the splendid ceilings for firewood, and
tore up the floors in their hunt for buried treasure (but which,
apparently, the cautious bishops had previously removed).
The state tried to atone by beginning an elaborate restoration
in the seventies and creating the building an Archivo Nacional.
The renovation is still in progress. The portion which needed
it least, fortunately, was that by Covarrubias, comprised in
the west wing of the palace. This wing forms one side of
the entrance forecourt and balances the fourteenth-century
east wing built in Mudejar (and now aggressively restored).
The exterior offers nothing worthy of notice but the in-
terior contains the finest patio of the Plateresque period
(Plate X).
This famous patio is two stories high, the lower with
semicircular arches and the upper supported on lintels with
bracketed columns. Apparently the local piedra de Tamajbn
had no great reputation for tensile strength for wherever
lintels were used granite was substituted. To conceal the
butting of the lintel over the column a marble medallion was
inserted as may be seen in Fig. 17. The magnificent stairway
(Plate XII) is obviously an offspring of that at Toledo. Lla-
guno says that Covarrubias "probably worked on the Santa
Cruz but there is so little Renaissance there that he must
have learned it elsewhere." On the contrary, while the
Alcala stair does not prove that Covarrubias learned all his
Renaissance from his father-in-law, it does prove that he
had seen enough in the Santa Cruz not only to study but to
use as a prototype. In plan and scheme of ornamentation
the two stairs are much alike, but this at Alcala has that
superiority which one expects to find on recalling that Covar-
rubias grew up in the Renaissance whereas Egas acquired
it after long practice in Gothic. And furthermore the Alcala
architect had the collaboration of the most gifted sculptor
of the Spanish Renaissance, Alonso de Berruguete. But all
question of sculptured ornament aside, the patio and stair,
56 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
for their beautiful proportions alone, would still be a credit
to the designer.
The stair, like that at Toledo, is surrounded by a treatment
of rusticated panels but here each panel is beautifully carved
FIG. 17 — Upper Story of Patio of the Palacio Arzobispal, Alcala.
Alonso de Covarrubias, Architect, 15 J5 et seq.
(Fig. 1 8). All told there are two hundred and twenty-eight
of them in endless variety and purposely underscaled to exhibit
the adroitness of the Plateresque carver. Practically un-
restored, they offer a convenient opportunity to study his
technique. The first impression is that of inimitable define-
ment of line, and yet the subjects carved are so vague and
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA 57
fantastic that the result is a curious sort of determinate im-
pressionism. These panels, like the capitals and carved
pilasters, are comparatively free from Italian influence, and
show that same marked preference for robust animal forms
FIG. 1 8 — Detail of Rustication from the Patio of the Archbishops'
Palace, Alcala.
already noted in Covarrubias's ornament in Toledo Cathedral.
Especially are the caps of the stair columns a digression, the
dragon-head supported by amorini supplanting the volute
and acanthus of the classic cap (see Fig. 19). Whether the
aridness of the country in which Spanish monuments were
reared was responsible for this aversion to using plant life
decoratively is difficult to say, but certain it is that there
was more inspiration for such motifs in Italy than on the bare
plain of Castile. On the other hand we have, besides the
o8 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Spanish passion for depicting the human figure in tense action,
the fact that every small living thing represented in their
ornament was close to them in their daily life. This is spe-
cially true of the ubiquitous bird; no Spanish child but catches
FIG. 19 — Capital by Alonso de Berruguete from the Palacio Arzo-
bispal, Alcala de Henares. (Now in the Museo Arqueologico,
Madrid.)
and playfully torments every unlucky pajaro that comes
within his reach; and it is for this reason, perhaps, that Murillo's
Holy Family in which the Child Jesus is showing His captive
is a special favorite in every home.
The treatment of the entire stairhall, embracing the ar-
cading of the second story and the fine artesonado ceiling,
forms a very complete composition and one totally unlike
PLATE XI
ALCALA Dfc HENAR^S
ADOOKSVfty IN THE AR£HIEPISCOPAL PALACE
SCALE or
FEET
DOORWAY IN THE PALACIO ARZOBISPAL, ALCALA DE HENARES.
Alonso de Covarrubias, Architect, 1535 et seq.
59
PLATE XII
SECTION THROUGH STAIRWAY OF THE PALACIO ARZOBISPAL, ALCALA DE
HENARES.
Alonso de Covarrubias, Architect, 1535 et seq.
61
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA 6$
anything to be found in the rest of Europe (Plate XII). The
Spaniard having accepted the principles of wooden ceilings in
his secular work, made every effort to reduce his supporting
masonry to a minimum; this is clearly evidenced in the light
and graceful elliptical arches of the first and second stories.
What the style lacks in orthodox principles is atoned for by
its rare decorative consistency. Yet so far as the practical
problems of stereotomy are concerned Covarrubias advanced
but little on the work of his father-in-law. Balusters are
still carved in groups of six or seven from one block of stone,
newel and balustrade still join awkwardly, and richly worked
bands intersect promiscuously with others of different profile.
All of which means that it was the sculptor who dominated
in work that was primarily architectural and that only a
general design was furnished by the architect.
Of the many fine artesonados encountered in Spain this
over the staircase is particularly remarkable as a Renaissance
adaptation of Moorish methods. In plan the lower part
conforms to the rectangular stair-hall, but by canting the
corners the ends of the upper part become semi-hexagonal;
the vaulted portion is then divided off into octagonal coffers
arranged in various planes. The entire ornamental scheme
while eastern in appearance is carried out in the Italian style;
that is, simple polygons replace the intricate figures of the
Moors. Plainer examples may be seen on the second floor
in the ceilings to the suite known as the Sala Cisneros, the
Sala Fonseca, and the Sala Tavera, but here there has been
so much restoration that one cannot accept what he sees
as sixteenth-century work. Much less tampered with is a
series of five ceilings in rooms lying beyond those just men-
tioned. One of the series is illustrated in Fig. 20. All are
carved in soft reddish pine and left undecorated ; their geometric
panels are designed with a fine sense of scale for the rooms
they adorn and the Renaissance detail is forcefully carved,
though not without that Moorish stamp which the race left
on all the carpentry of Spain. Besides the frieze of wood
supporting the ceilings, several rooms have in addition a sec-
ondary frieze of plaster or yeseria worked at much finer scale.
64 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
The two were a combination often used by the Moors and
are again mentioned in the description of Penaranda palace
(Chapter IV). The various salons of the cardinals are enter
from the patio by unusually beautiful doorways. The archi-
"'
Fic. 20 — Wooden Artesonado in the Palacio Arzobispal, Alcala de
Henares.
traves are finely moulded and in the frieze of each is inscribed
JOHANNES TAVERA CARDINALIS. The same cardinal's blazon
is employed in the motif above the cornice.
More will be heard of Alonso de Covarrubias in succeeding
chapters. He lived till 1570, a very serious and very indus-
trious architect; nevertheless, great though he undoubtedly
was, there is no one building that can be pointed to as wholly
his. Indeed the same might be said of most of the noted
architects of the century; a complete building by any one of
them would be a treat for the student in Spain.
In the University of Alcala we meet a less prolific master
and one who went his way little influenced by the conven-
PLATE XIII
PILASTER PANELS OF THE PALACIO ARZOBISPAL, ALCALA DE HENARES.
Covarrubias, Architect; Bermguete, Sculptor. 15^5 et seq.
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA 67
tionalities of composition. This was Rodrigo Gil de Ontanon;
and he too found in Alcala a building already in existence to
restrict him. The university, as previously stated, was
founded by Cardinal Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros in 1497 and
opened by him in 1508 before he went off to Africa to lead
his army against the infidels and win the victory of Oran. The
following description, taken from Alvaro Gomez's interesting
life of the cardinal (De vita et rebus gestis Francisci Ximenii)
is given to show how little change there has been since those
remote days in the solemn function of laying a corner-stone.
One March afternoon in 1497 a splendid procession left the Cole-
giata with music and holding the cross on high and marched to the
spot where digging had commenced for the new college. Pedro
Gumiel who had been associated with Enrique de Egas in the
capilla mayor of Toledo had the corner-stone ready; also the plan
of the building and some coins of gold and silver and a little bronze
image. The Cardinal in his Franciscan habit knelt and prayed,
and then blessed the stone and laid it in place. In the breast of
the bronze image was a hollow in which was placed a piece of parch-
ment with the date and names of both founder and architect.
Gonzalo Zegri, a Moorish chief who had been baptized in Granada
into our Holy Faith, threw in the coins. Then the Te Deum was
sung and the procession marched slowly back.
The buildings were of brick, and King Ferdinand on visit-
ing them asked the old priest if it had not been a mistake to
embody such a sublime idea in mere clay. "Sire," replied
the cardinal confidently, "I expect the studious youths to
whom I hand it over as mere clay to convert it into marble/*
The aspiring rector of 1540, taking the founder's words liter-
ally, ordered Rodrigo Gil de Ontanon to demolish Gumiel's
brick facade and rebuild it in stone and marble. This archi-
tect made the plans and started the work, and then, being
busy at the time with his father on the cathedrals of Salamanca
and Segovia, he hired one Pedro de la Cotera to remain on the
spot as superintendent. Presumably the master himself came
often to Alcala also. When the present facade, the most dis-
tinctive one of the style we are considering, was finished the
68 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
event was celebrated, according to Cotera's expense-book " by il-
lumination of rockets in Alcala which cost two reals and a half."
It was the year 1553 that witnessed this pennyworth of
fireworks. Such a rapid advance into the middle of the
century may seem premature but Spain's Renaissance could
not be treated chronologically without making constant
flights into the four corners of the kingdom, thereby sacrificing
what is more important than sequence — continuity of local
traditions and local color. Moreover anyone who lingers in
Alcala comes to feel that palace and university are contem-
poraries in spirit. The very stone itself, from nearby Tamajon,
gives them a kinship, to say nothing of Ontanon's having
worked at the same time on the still unfinished archiepiscopal
residence. This architect was the son of the highly esteemed
Gothicist Gil de Ontanon or Hontanon who had been com-
missioned to erect Spain's last two examples of the style,
the cathedrals of Salamanca and Segovia (begun, by the way,
years after Egas had inaugurated the new style). In both
of these undertakings Gil was succeeded by his son Rodrigo
as maestro mayor.1 A considerable number of parish churches
in the same exhausted Gothic are also attributed to the lat-
ter. "Moreover Rodrigo sometimes exercised himself in the
Greco-Romano style" to quote the ingenuous Llaguno "but
the truth is that in this kind of architecture Rodrigo Gil does
not merit praise as in his Gothic, because he did not know
the proper proportions and showed the same bad taste as
Covarrubias or even worse." Happily for the charm of the
Alcala facade (see Plate XIV) its architect knew less about
the Medidas del Romano than his critic or, if he knew as much,
declined to confine his ideas of classic architecture to a mere
system of rules and regulations. He therefore did not hesitate
to reduce the orders to a decorative superficiality both in the
center motifs and in the end treatments. In fact, orders
interested him but little and where he did consent to use them
' In the cloister of Segovia Cathedral is Rodrigo's tomb on which it may be read
that he laid the first stone of "this holy church. " But the only corner-stone he could
have laid is that of the capilla mayor which he began immediately after being appointed
architect in 1560. His father had already worked thirty-five years on the cathedral
which, though incomplete, had been consecrated in 1558
•3
5
i °
* >H
69
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA 71
they detract from, rather than add to, a facade distinguished
for its fine composition. This is immediately felt in the
central motif; but even the intrusiveness of this hardly spoils
the general impression of simplicity. In arranging his open-
ings Ontanon knew too
well the blistering sun of
Alcala to be weaned away
from a minimum of fenes-
tration and he has re-
stricted the huge rooms
on the front to one win-
dow each — entirely ade-
quate notwithstanding.
The loggia across the top
is apparently a survival
of the traditional open
loft in brick structures
and still remains un-
glazed. It must be re-
membered that Pedro
Gumiel, architect of the
original brick structure,
was a native of Alcala
and was probably familiar
with the brick traditions
of the neighboring prov-
ince of Aragon, of which
this open top gallery was
one. Thus it may have
already existed in the first
design and if so, it suited Ontanon to retain it for his own
composition; perhaps even the fenestration in the lower story
follows Gumiers. The decoration however harks back to the
Lombard windows of the Santa Cruz at Toledo. The detail at
Alcala is curiously inconsistent; carving as fine as that in the
portrait medallions of the three principal windows, or in the
pilaster panels of the lower openings, would satisfy the most
exacting taste; but as much cannot be said for the feeble work
FIG. 21 — Detail from the Facade of the
University of Alcala.
Rodrigo Gil Ontanon, Architect, 1553.
72 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
over the entrance arch or for the shapeless amorini above all the
windows. It is not known who carved the finer bits but they
are in the Berruguete manner. Plenty of available talent could
be summoned from Toledo Cathedral where an army of sculp-
tors was employed and where Berruguete and Vigarni were then
completing what are probably the finest stalls ever carved.
Apropos of the royal blazon so conspicuous on this facade
a word is necessary as to the decorative part it plays in Spanish
architecture. Without going minutely into its history1 the
reader may be reminded that to the escutcheon adopted in
1475 for united Spain — Castile, Leon, and Aragon — was
added the granada or pomegranate after the fall of the last
Moorish kingdom in 1492. On Queen Isabella's death her
daughter Juana la Loca or Joan the Mad became queen of
Castile, and as Joan's Burgundian husband Philip the Fair
reigned for a brief time as Felipe I, it was necessary to incor-
porate all his quarterings and emblems with hers for use on
public documents and monuments. This was already a very
complicated and sumptuous affair, but when their son Charles I
of Spain became Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, it grew
still more so. Charles changed the one-headed eagle of the
Evangelist, so dear to Isabella, for the two-headed eagle of
Germany with the crown over both its heads. The collar of
the Order of the Golden Fleece surrounded the eagle, and
below were the Pillars of Hercules intertwined by a ribbon
bearing the words plus ultra, in allusion to Charles's dominions
in the new world. This proud emblem of Spain's sixteenth-
century power was first used over the entrance to the Alcazar
of Toledo, where it may still be seen; but perhaps it was never
more artistically worked out than at Yuste (Fig. 22), the
monastery to which Charles retired in 1556 after abdicating
in favor of his son Philip II. In this armorial panel the castle
of Castile, the lion of Leon, the upright bars of Aragon, the cross
of Naples, and the chains of Navarre alternate with the Haps-
burg emblems— the fillet of Austria, the lily of Artois, the
lion of Brabant, and the bands of Burgundy. In the little
' A history of the Escudo de Espana may be found in the Revista de Archives,
Bibhotecas, y Museos., vol. xxi., 1909.
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA 73
central shield are the lion and eagle of Flanders and Tyrol
and in the lower part of the main shield the pomegranate.
The collar of the Toison d'Or with its little pendent Holy Lamb
surrounds the shield and back of it stands the imperial eagle,
FIG. 22 — Escutcheon of Charles V. over the Portal of the
Monastery at Yuste.
his claws clutching the Pillars of Hercules. That an emblem
signifying so much should have been dignified into a truly
monumental motif by the sixteenth-century designer is but
natural; that he succeeded in architecturalizing it into a
valuable addition to his gamut of themes is to his credit.
The Alcala facade, that of the rival university at Salamanca
(Fig. 41), the Puerta Visagra of Toledo, and most unique of
all, the iron reja of the Capilla Real in Granada (Plate LIII),
are a few of the many examples which show how effectively
74 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
it was used. There is, on the other hand, at least one glaring
example of its abuse-the church of La Magdalena at Valla-
dolid (1570) whose west front is, according to George Street,
"the ne plus ultra of heraldic absurdity."
FIG. 23 — Blind Window in the Facade of the University of Alcala,
with a Reja by Juan Frances.
To return to Ontanon's facade at Alcala; there are Gothic
touches in the clustered pilasters surmounted by crocketed
pinnacles, and again in the statuette supports between the
columns of the first and second stories. A personal, story-
telling note, irresistible to him, was the great twisted rope
framing the whole central motif — the girdle of the Franciscan
Order to whose rigorous vows the great archbishop remained
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA 75
true even when he was practically ruler of Spain. At the
extreme end of each flanking wing there is a facetious little
false window inserted, reja and all (Fig. 23). It is of beautiful
detail, and back of the reja, instead of blank wall, the stone
has been carved into charming panels in imitation of wooden
shutters. This reja and all the other rich examples on the
building are by Juan Frances. A more beautiful yellowish
hue than that into which the Tamajon stone has been cal-
cined would be hard to find, at least outside of Spain; but it
is very worn and crumbled, and it is to be feared that the
work of restoration, although in competent hands, will be
most difficult. Moreover, the character of the sculptured
ornament is so illusive that a modern worker can hardly
catch its spirit. Summing up this one Renaissance venture
of Rodrigo Gil de Ontanon's it may be said that its defects,
and there are many, are of a superficial nature but that its
virtues are very fundamental and worthy of much study.
Whether it justifies the obliteration of the humble brick front
that so well expressed the character of the simple, lowly-born
founder of the university is another matter. Don Pedro de
Madrazo who supplied the text on this building in the series
of Los Monumentos Ar quite c tonic os de Espana does not appear
to think so. "Italy, land of classic paganism/' he declares,
"never understood the spirit of the schools created in the
shadow of the cloister, and so gave herself up with exaggerated
ardor to the reconstruction of pagan civilization. Spain, on
the contrary, whether because of the stoic character of the
race or because the stern Catholicism for which she had fought
so bitterly for seven centuries was ineradicable in her, re-
mained faithful to the teachings of her theologians and moral-
ists, and found paganism very antipathetic. ... Its amorini,
cherubs, satyrs, nude allegorical figures, were inharmonious
with the severe national spirit; not until Charles V's day did
these appear in ornament, which had formerly been confined
to chaste plant forms."
The interior of the university, now a seminary for priests,
holds nothing of interest. It keeps to Gumiers plan of three
patios, the best of which is that of the Trilengue (three Ian-
76 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
guages) built by Pedro de la Cotera in 1557 with an effective
second-story treatment. Adjoining this is the paraninfo or
auditorium where the learned faculty used to listen to the
youthful competitors. It is said that this was once a hand-
some hall but what is now left of its decoration is poor, yet
both the yeseria and ceiling treatment are known to have
been executed by the same men who decorated the fine Sala
Capitular for Cardinal Jimenez in Toledo Cathedral. It is
nevertheless distinctly inferior even when all allowance is
made for the abuse it has received.
After the two buildings described the next object of inter-
est in Alcala is the tomb of the illustrious cardinal. He was
first buried in the chapel of his university but now lies in the
church called La Magistral, a poor late Gothic edifice said
to be by Pedro Gumiel. His sepulchre is one of the most
magnificent that the Renaissance produced outside of Italy;
but in ordering it his executors paid little heed to his tastes
for he, the most uncompromisingly Catholic figure of his age,
was laid away amid a veritable revel of nude cherubs and
winged creatures. It was designed by the best Italian sculp-
tor who came to Spain, Domenico Fancelli of Florence (see
page 169). Domenico had already attained fame for the
tombs of the Infante Juan and the Catholic Kings. He was
selected for this new commission not so much by the cardinal's
executors as by the young Emperor whose conscience, it is
said, was pricking him for his ungrateful treatment of the
faithful old regent. Fancelli presented drawings and signed
the contract in 1518 but died immediately after "for which
reason" as Llaguno logically remarks "he could not do the
work." The Spaniard Bartolome Ordonez, protege of Bishop
Fonseca of Burgos, was entrusted to carry out the Floren-
tine's designs. Don Jose Marti y Monso discovered, and
published in his volume of Estudios Historic o-Artisticos
(1891), the contract made between the executors of Car-
dinal Cisneros and the Italian. This is given in the chap-
ter on Granada where the work of these two sculptors
is fully discussed. The Alcala tomb is surrounded by a
magnificent bronze grille or verja known to have been ex-
COVARRUBIAS AND THE MONUMENTS AT ALCALA 77
ecuted by Nicolas de Vergara but probably from Ordonez's
design.
The influx of Renaissance into Alcala did not stimulate
any of the residents to build themselves palaces in the new
FIG. 24 — Portal of the Convento de las Carmelitas, Alcala de
Henares.
style. There appears to be one dwelling of the period, the
Casa de los Lizanos, but its entrance is an unintelligent
assembling of curious motifs. There is however one portal
of considerable merit in the town, that to the Convent of the
Carmelitas (Fig. 24). It is cut in the usual warm-hued stone,
strengthened by granite for lintel and jambs. There is good
carving in the caps and pilasters apparently by one of the
group who had worked on the Palacio Arzobispal and who
was expert in using the same motifs.
CHAPTER III
THE SCHOOL OF FRANCISCO DE COLONIA IN BURGOS
BISHOP JUAN RODRIGUEZ DE FONSECA AND HIS PROTEGES — THE FON-
SECAS AT COCA AND SALAMANCA — THE PUERTA DE LA PELLEJERIA BY
FRANCISCO DE COLONIA — FRANCISCO'S EASILY RECOGNIZED PECULIAR-
ITIES— HIS DOOR TO THE SACRISTY OF THE CONSTABLE'S CHAPEL — THE
REJERO CRISTOBAL DE ANDINO AS A RENAISSANCE DESIGNER — THE ES-
CALERA DORADA BY DIEGO DE SILOE OTHER PLATERESQUE WORKS IN
BURGOS CATHEDRAL — THE HOSPITAL DEL REY — THE CASA MIRANDA
78
CHAPTER III
THE SCHOOL OF FRANCISCO DE COLONIA IN BURGOS
IT has been stated that the great churchmen vied with each
other in fostering the new art; therefore to say that a
Fonseca was bishop of Burgos in the late fifteenth and
early sixteenth century is to say that the ancient Castilian capital
soon saw Renaissance importations. There is however egre-
gious exaggeration in a native author's assertion that "during
the years when Don Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca was in the
episcopal chair he made of Burgos, not only through the num-
ber and fame of the artists it produced, but also through the
quantity and excellence of their works, the Florence of Spain."
The author omits to add that no important Renaissance
structure was ever put up in Burgos, as in Florence; that to
this day it is a Gothic city. It will presently be shown that
it was not in the erection of Renaissance monuments that
Fonseca nourished the new style, but in the encouragement
and protection he gave to the younger generation who were
eager to study it; these, however, soon carried it away to
other parts. Burgos with a magnificent Gothic cathedral
still building had long been a magnet to the northerners —
Germans, Flemings, Burgundians — among them Annequin
de Egas and his brothers, Juan de Colonia and his sons,
Diego de Copin, and others whose names were similarly
Spaniolized. Some changed their style to suit the new patron
but the best known men in the Plateresque field were Spaniards,
lads just entering their career as assistants to the Gothicists
when the new ideas began to arrive. To this group belong
Alonso de Covarrubias, Diego de Siloe, Cristobal de Andino,
Bartolome Ordonez, and Francisco de Colonia, the one who
79
80 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
never deserted the bleak old town. Then there was the
Burgundian Philippe, known as Felipe de Borgofia or de
Vigarni (of Bourgogne), most noted among the younger for-
eigners who were practicing, more or less tentatively, the
new art. As an itinerant image carver in France he had
picked up considerable knowledge of Italian forms before
coming to work in Burgos Cathedral about 1499. This list
of names, and it is far from being sufficient, justifies the claim
of local historians that the majority of architects and sculp-
tors who worked in Castile and Andalusia between 150x3 and
1550 had made their debut in Burgos.
The name Fonseca has appeared so often in this story of
sixteenth century art that it deserves a brief biographical
word. The vast ruined castle at Coca1 some distance north
of Segovia was the family seat of these Fonsecas who were
Sefiores de Coca y Alaejos, Condes de Villanueva de Cafiedo,
and held many other titles. Throughout three reigns, or
from the middle of the fifteenth to the middle of the sixteenth
century, they filled the highest offices of church and state,
while in art matters they played in their small way somewhat
the same part as that played by the Medicis in Italy. Just
what is due to each member, however, is not always clear.
During the century cited there were ten Fonseca bishops,
three of them named Alfonso, and all moving successively
from one bishopric to another. Needless to add that the
chroniclers of the day took little trouble to differentiate be-
tween them; and as most of the family archives were destroyed
when the Comuneros sacked Coca Castle the confusion seems
beyond hope of remedy. Certain it is, however, that Juan
Rodriguez de Fonseca, Bishop of Burgos and Palencia, was
the foremost figure in the Renaissance movement in northern
Castile; that Alfonso, Bishop of Santiago and Patriarch of
Alexandria, was similarly active in Salamanca, and that the
1 "Its tall towers and clustering turrets still attest its former magnificence and point
to a local style of defensive architecture differing from that of any other part of Europe,
but even more picturesque than the best examples of France and England. ... A
monograph of this military architecture of Spain during the Middle Ages would be
almost as interesting as that of her ecclesiastical remains." Fergusson's History of
Architecture, vol. ii, page 287.
PLATE XV
ENTRANCE TO THE SACRISTY OF THE CAPILLA DEL CONDESTABLE
BURGOS CATHEDRAL.
By Francisco de Colonia, 1512.
6 81
SCHOOL OF COLONIA IN BURGOS
83
latter' s son Alfonso, Archbishop of Toledo, outshone them
both "in his great inclination for building" to quote the
Medidas del Romano. Don Juan of Burgos with whom we
are here concerned was responsible for the advent into Castile
FIG. 25 — Rubbing from the Tomb of Dona Mencia de Mendoza,
Wife of the Constable of Castile, Burgos Cathedral.
Here lies the very illustrious senora Dona
Mencia de Mendoza Countess
of Haro wife of the Con-
stable Don Pedro Hernandez
de Velasco daughter of Don Inigo Lopez
de Mendoza and of Donna Cata-
lina de Figueroa Marqueses
of Santillana died of sev-
enty and nine years Anno
of one thousand five hundred.
of an enormous number of foreign works of art. Palencia,
his other see, benefited largely thereby, as witness her superb
collection of Flemish tapestries. These were ordered on
the occasion referred to in the following inscription from the
notable triptych in the trascoro: "In the year MDV the
reverend and magnificent Sefior Don Juan de Fonseca Bishop
84 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
of Palencia ordered this image of Our Lady of Compassion^ to
be made being then in Flanders as ambassador for the Senor
FIG. 26 — Puerta de la Pellejeria, Burgos Cathedral.
Francisco de Colonia, Architect. 1516-
King Don Fernando with the Queen Dona Juana." In
Burgos Cathedral Fonseca not only imported works of art,
he built them. From Seville, in his capacity as head of the
Casa de Contratacion, a sort of Colonial Foreign Office es-
tablished soon after the discovery of the new world (see
page 212), he sent out "the necessary works of art for the
SCHOOL OF COLONIA IN BURGOS 85
proposed churches/' Another indication of the Fonseca
standing in art matters is that Juan's brother Antonio, who
was one of Queen Isabella's executors, selected, or at any
rate contracted with, several of the artists who decorated
the royal burial chapel at Granada. It is through devious
channels like this that we may trace the bishop's influence
and the reason why so many young Burgalese were employed
in other cities.
About 1516 he ordered a portal to be built in the north
transept of Burgos Cathedral and wanted it in the latest de-
velopment of Italian architecture. This door is known as the
Puerta de la Pellejena (Fig. 26) because it gives outlet to the
street of the Furriers or Pellejeros. The architect was Fran-
cisco de Colonia, grandson of Juan — that Meister Hans von
Coin to whom according to Professor Justi " Burgos Cathedral
owes its renown as the most beautiful church in Spain."
Francisco was appointed maestro de las obras in 1511 and from
then on enjoyed a fame which, if one dare declare it, appears
disproportionate to his talents. Besides his Renaissance
work for the cathedral, he built at least in part several palaces
in the province, and carved the fine Gothic retablo in the
parish church of San Nicolas. Comparing the Puerta de
la Pellejena with Enrique de Egas's hospital door at Toledo
one sees that while the notions of both architects were con-
fused as to Renaissance composition this is offset in the hospital
by a true artist's appreciation of the charm of Italian orna-
ment. Francisco missed this. All his ornament shows a
certain heaviness and lack of sentiment. Then there are his
pronounced mannerisms, worth looking into here since they
enable one to identify the Colonia school throughout the
province — a rectangular opening surmounted by an arch
that is purely ornamental and from which radiate crude
acanthus forms; gigantic garlands that coarsely echo Delia
Robbia draping the doorway on each side; capitals, the key-
note to the skill of any Renaissance architect, of unlovely
bell-shape; and finally a profusion of ornament in the pilasters
and frieze panels so perfunctory that it strongly suggests
modern stamped work. In short, nowhere is there a trace of
86 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
that spontaneity and realism which make even second-rate
Spanish productions interesting and living. This younger
Colonia, although his mother may have been Spanish, never
became Spaniolized; in this respect he, his father, and his
grandfather stand apart as among the very few foreigners of
whom this may be said. The features enumerated above
will all be found in an earlier work, the small door (Plate XV)
leading from the Capilla del Condestable into the sacristy of
the same chapel, but here the beautifully carved wooden door,
which may be Francisco's also, imparts merit to the whole;
and again they will be seen in later work such as the door
added to Egas's Colegio de la Santa Cruz in Valladolid and
the portals of the palaces of Cogolludo and Pefiaranda (Plates
XVI and XXI). Nor were they limited to portals, for several
altars and sepulchres in the church of San Esteban show them.
These various peculiarities, appearing in so many different
localities, prove that Francisco or some imitative disciple
was not lacking in vogue; yet he had a contemporary working
in Burgos Cathedral, Cristobal Andino, whose work showed
keener sensitiveness to the refinements of Renaissance al-
though it never won him popularity. Whether this reflects
a lack of discrimination on the part of their priestly patron
or a lack of business ability in Christopher himself would be
difficult to say; but there is every proof in the reja he made for
the Constable's chapel that he had finer taste and deeper
Renaissance lore than the master of the works had.
Besides the portal built in the north transept by Colonia
there is the early main transept door set high in the wall at
the level of the hilltop street called Fernan Gonzalez. To
lead from it down to the floor of the church, some 30 feet
below, Bishop Fonseca commissioned Diego de Siloe to build
a sumptuous staircase (1519). This is the unique escalera
dorada or golden stair, parent of all escaliers d'honneur, and
an admirable combination of marble and iron (Plate XVII).
It begins in a single short run, divides into two and reunites
at the door level into a sort of spacious rostrum. The first
stage, all in marble, is very graceful with its long sweeping
consols and their unusual return bolsters; but the profuse
87
Os
\JJ R\
8 |
« -3
Q .
SCHOOL OF COLONIA IN BURGOS
91
decoration of allegorical bas-reliefs leaves something to be
desired on the side of restraint. At the first landing begin
the iron balustrades, a chef d'ceuvre of forging whose like could
not be found outside of Spain. Varying in design as they
FIG. 27 — Detail from Reja of the Capilla del Condestable, Burgos
Cathedral.
Cristobal Andino, Rejero. 1523.
ascend they are worked into the Fonseca arms at the second
landing and into splendidly executed repousse heads at the
rostrum. The whole work is elaborately painted and gilded.
This part was long ascribed to Andino but is now known to
be the work of one Maestro Hilario, a French smith. Andino
at this same time was busy with a mighty piece of ironwork
conceived in quite another spirit — the reja of the Capilla del
Condestable which is full of the calm beauty of Italy but in
a medium which the Italians never dreamed of architecturaliz-
92 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
ing to the point of monument ality. In the two charming
figures of the cresting and in much of the detail (see Fig. 27)
he has caught the message of the antique far more sympa-
thetically than did any of the classicists who succeeded the
FIG. 28 — Detail from the Tomb of Bishop Gonzalo de Lerma,
Burgos Cathedral.
Attributed to Diego de Siloe.
Plateresque period. This fact was appreciated by the discrimi-
nating priest who wrote the Medidas del Romano, for he honors
the rejero with a paragraph pointing out how the reja for "my
lord the Constable adheres to ancient principles " and advises
architects and ironworkers to study it. The wife of this
Condestable de Castilla, Don Pedro de Velasco, was a sister
of El Gran Cardenal Mendoza; and being accustomed to the
excessive richness of her father's palace at Guadalajara,
she employed Simon de Colonia to build this huge chapel
in 1482 et seq.; amidst all its excellent but endless German
PLATE XVIII
ENTRANCE TO THE HOSPITAL DEL REY, BURGOS.
Architect Unknown. 1526.
93
PLATE XIX
DOOR PANEL FROM THE CHAPEL OF THE HOSPITAL DEL REY, BURGOS.
95
SCHOOL OF COLONIA IN BURGOS 97
ornament the restraint and the structural force of Andino's
contribution is very grateful. The reja is signed and bears
the date 1523. Andino is buried in a small church in the
Barrio de Vega across the river Arlanzon under a monument
designed by himself.
There are many other sixteenth century works in Burgos
Cathedral — the new cimborio, the silleria or choir stalls, the
tombs, retablos, and a mass of decorative sculpture which
there is little necessity of analyzing here although the tombs
and wood-carving would each deserve much attention in
any history of those important branches of Spanish art.
With all this ecclesiastical activity and the representative
men employed such as Diego de Siloe, Felipe de Vigarni, Juan
de Vallejo, and so on, one would expect to find something
notable in the way of domestic and civic architecture; but
the fact is that there is only one casa particular, the Casa
Miranda, and only one public building, the Hospital del Rey,
worthy of examining. And even these reflect absolutely noth-
ing of the Burgos-trained men. Such a paucity of undertak-
ings outside of the church is explained by the general economic
condition of the old Castilian capital. The court had long
since moved south and Burgos, so important in the Middle
Ages, was merely vegetating in this period ; not even the en-
thusiasm of a Fonseca could supply its impoverished or in-
different nobles with Renaissance mansions. The Hospital
del Rey mentioned above lies about a mile southwest of the
city on the poplar-fringed river. It is an ancient edifice of
no particular form but is interesting for the Plateresque em-
bellishment ordered by the Catholic Sovereigns; an order
which, like others of their architectural projects, was not car-
ried out until the days of their grandson Charles. The
added part consists of the entrance gateway (Plate XVIII)
and forecourt. It shows the royal blazon and is dated 1526.
Far more architectonic in composition and superior in tech-
nique to the work of the Colonia group, it appears to be by
some outside architect; and its apt use of the smaller Renais-
sance motifs along with the design of the exterior doorframe
and the arched opening with slender columns and rather light
98 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
entablature, all point to his having worked at Salamanca. In
the forecourt are several interesting bit of detail including some
beautiful doors which lead to the chapel (Plate XIX). They
are of walnut, a wood made famous in Spain by the splendid
FIG. 29 — Detail of an Arch Soffit, Hospital del Rey, Burgos. 1526.
carving done in it both in Gothic and Renaissance days.
In the panels here, while the unknown sculptor has retained
much of the Spanish vigor, he has kept the decorative quality
uppermost; there is also careful work in the architectural
motifs framing the panels.
It is likewise puzzling to account for the singular architect
who in 1543 built the Casa Miranda, the most splendid Bur-
galese residence of the century. Nothing quite like it exists
in all Castile. Now an almost hopeless ruin, it is used as a
factory for converting pig-skins into wine-containers; and
if a long-standing protest on the part of the Ayuntamiento
(who have opposed its sale for removal) is not soon settled
in favor of the purchaser there will be nothing left for him
SCHOOL OF COLONIA IN BURGOS
99
to remove. Neither owner nor town council has the money
to reclaim it, and as for the national government, it is
already embarrassed to find uses for the many fine old
structures that have been declared national monuments.
SCALE OF FEET FOR SECTION
FIG. 30 — Section through Stairway in the Casa Miranda, Burgos.
Meanwhile the discoloring process goes on in the beautiful
Miranda patio. The house was built, according to the in-
scription in the frieze, by Don Francisco de Miranda,
Abbot of Salas — a member of the Penaranda family whose
palace is to be examined shortly. There is no record of
the architect but it is evident at a glance that he had
nothing in common with others of the city. Only the
vestibule, patio, and stairway retain any traces of their ori-
ginal beauty, the whole interior being now let out in tene-
100 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
merits. The patio (Plate XX) is very distinctive, its severe
post and lintel architecture being in marked contrast to the
usual arcuated style. This columnar arrangement, rare in
the Plateresque period, recalls Pompeian work, particularly the
FIG. 31 — Vaulting of Stairway in the Casa Miranda, Burgos. 1543.
well-known atrium of the so-called House of Ariadne. Of
course this was not then exhumed but we are reminded in the
Medidas del Romano that "the ancients had constructed mag-
nificent works of which to-day many stand and moderns never
cease to take samples from them such as drawings, measure-
ments, tracings, models, which are sent all over the world/'
On the exterior of the Miranda there is nothing of this classic
sophistication; only a fair Corinthian portal claims the atten-
tion. One enters through two vestibules, the first bare, the
PLATE XX
PATIO OF THE CASA MIRANDA, BURGOS.
Architect Unknown. 1543.
(From an old picture.)
101
SCHOOL OF COLONIA IN BURGOS
103
second an attractive degagement square in plan and with the
four semicircular arches of its sides supporting a flat octagonal
dome with late Gothic vaulting. Next comes the patio at
whose far end is the stairhall, and in the latter more Gothic
PIG. 32 — Plateresque Belfry of Santa Maria del Campo, near Burgos.
is encountered, yet the patio is advanced Renaissance. The
stairs, which are in very bad shape, are ascended through
an arched opening flanked at each side by colonnettes
engaged to a very flat pilaster and embellished with beauti-
ful little arabesques. Although not built around an open
well, it retains the three runs and two landings of the
claustral type as may be seen in Fig. 30. In its paneled
vaulting it is treated like the stairs of the smaller Renais-
sance palazzi in Italy. The panels (Fig. 31) are exquisitely
carved and offer a wealth of motifs including arabesques,
104 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
scrolls, portrait medallions, and, it goes without saying,
the blazon of the prelate. Returning to the patio, which
is the best preserved portion of the house, one finds that
there is a consistency between the post and lintel con-
struction and the flat cloister ceiling accompanying it that
is absent in the more typical arcaded gallery. The raised
letters of the inscription are as much of an innovation in
Plateresque as the late Roman columns. On the antepecho
or parapet of the upper gallery, which is a holdover from Gothic,
is a frieze of panels not only charming in themselves but
specially well carved considering that the material is granite.
It is a pity that not even this small portion of the once exten-
sive palace can be reclaimed for its artistic value is far
greater than that of the Constable's palace (Casa del Cordon)
recently rehabilitated and occupied by a Burgalese family.
On either side of the Miranda stand large houses of scant
merit; one of them, the Casa del Angulo, while it appears to
be of the sixteenth century is really of the eighteenth. In
this same Calle de la Culera once lived the renowned sculptors
Gil and Diego de Siloe, Nicolas de Vergara, and probably
Cristobal de Andino, since he is buried close by.
CHAPTER IV
THE DOMESTIC PLAN AND THE PALACE AT PENARANDA
ABANDONING THE FEUDAL CASTLES — NEW HOMES UNLIKE THOSE OF
CONTEMPORARY EUROPE — EVOLUTION FROM CASTILLO TO PALACIO — THE
PATIO AS NUCLEUS OF PLAN AND ITS PART IN THE LIFE OF SPANISH WO-
MEN— LACK OF SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT IN ROOMS, WHICH ARE MERELY
A SERIES OF SIMILAR UNITS AROUND THE PATIO — PRACTICAL ASPECT OF
THE SPANISH PLAN — LACK OF SYSTEM IN HOUSEHOLD ADMINISTRATION
AND ITS EFFECT — THE KITCHEN ALMOST NEGLIGIBLE — NO BUILT-IN
ACCESSORIES IN THE LIVING-ROOMS, THESE BEING DESIGNATED BY THE
CONTENTS OF THE CARVED CHESTS — ABSENCE OF GARDEN TREATMENT
IN FRONT OF THE PALACE — ALL THE PECULIARITIES OF PLAN AND SETTING
EXEMPLIFIED IN THE PENARANDA PALACE — CRUDE MASONRY AND BEAUTI-
FUL PORTAL OF THE FAC.ADE — PATIO AND SUMPTUOUS CLAUSTRAL STAIR
WITH MAGNIFICENT ARTESONADO — SALONS OF THE PISO PRINCIPAL OR
MAIN FLOOR AND THEIR ARTESONADOS — YESERIA OR MOORISH PLASTER-
WORK — PRESENT CONDITION OF THE PALACE
106
CHAPTER IV
THE DOMESTIC PLAN AND THE PALACE AT PENARANDA
AT the dawn of the sixteenth century when the long
racial wars were over the nobles found themselves
inheritors of feudal castles that were much the worse
for wear. An order issued by the Catholic Sovereigns with
a view to ending dissensions between the nobles themselves
FIG. 33— Long Gallery in the Palacio de Monterey, Salamanca.
forbade the repairing of these strongholds. This, coming at
a moment when the air was rife with humanism, sent them
into the towns to build new homes, or if they already possessed
Gothic houses, to modernize them. There it is, rather than
in the country, that the fine palaces of the period must be
sought. When found they are usually in sad condition for
nowhere have poverty and deliberate abandonment worked
greater havoc in ancestral seats. Studying these sixteenth-
107
108 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
century homes it is interesting to note their many points of
departure from those which marked the advent of the modern
social era in the rest of Europe. It will be seen that there is
nothing in Spain corresponding to the Italian villa, the
FIG. 34 — An Outdoor Kitchenette.
French chateau, or the English manor-house. Generally
speaking the defensive castle in Spain had offered even less
of the domestic amenities to its inmates than the French or
English feudal home. Much of this severity and bareness
survived in the succeeding period and is to-day all the more
striking because stripped of the hangings and furnishings that
once relieved it. The patio, like the atrium of the Roman
house and the plaza de armas of the Castillo, was the nucleus
of the palace plan; this not only because the Spaniard was
tenacious of tradition, but because it answered both to climatic
requirements and to the Moorish ideas of sequestered family
life with which the Spaniard was imbued. In the Spanish as
in the Roman plan a large vestibule led directly to the patio,
HOMES AND THE PALACE AT PENARANDA 109
which was open to the sky and surrounded by a covered walk.
It was almost invariably of two stories, and upper and lower
cloister galleries were connected by the grand claustral stair-
way; from the upper walk opened the private apartments.
This nucleus of open quadrangle, roofed galleries, and claustral
stairs served as a general living-room and was the scene of all
great functions gay or sad. Moreover it was the woman's
only place of recreation for in Spain the sex appears to have
been as closely guarded as in Arabia.1 So entirely did the
hollow square plan accommodate itself to the scheme of
domestic life that it never gave way to the open plan of ex-
terior indentations found in Italy, France, and England. As
the patio had already reached structural perfection when the
sixteenth-century architect inherited it he had only to im-
prove or modernize its decoration. Accustomed to the Moor-
ish idea of interior richness and exterior plainness he lavished
on it, rather than on the facade, his greatest wealth of orna-
ment.
From the structural point of view it cannot be claimed
that the Spanish plan ever attained that scientific adjustment
of means to end that it reached in other countries where the
Renaissance penetrated. During the period under considera-
tion it made little more attempt at structural refinements
than had previously sufficed. As opposed to the studied
niceties of Italian planning, Spanish was nothing more than
the juxtaposition of similar units around the open patio as
in the Penaranda plan (Fig. 35), the units themselves being
devoid of any systematic arrangement of fenestration, door-
ways, or other details. This criticism can hardly be modified
even in favor of the finest mansions. For this defect there
are two explanations: first, in domestic work trabeated con-
struction prevailed, for although the Spanish had shown in
1 In the early sixteenth century we find the stern moralist Fray Fernando de Tala-
vera censuring women of the upper classes for making church-going a pretext for ap-
pearing in public when they could avoid passing through the streets by hearing mass
in the chapels of their own palaces. This aversion to having the women appear abroad
makes entirely feasible the explanation of long open galleries such as are seen in the
fagade of the Palacio Monterey in Salamanca and the Benavente in Baeza — that they
were built for the ladies to go walking (para tomar el fresco).
110 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
their churches as great skill in vaulting as any other European
people, in their secular architecture they accepted the beamed
ceilings and simple plaster walls which had satisfied the Moors.
Even the popular and marvelously carpentered domical ceiling
PENARANDA
PALACIO DE LO5 CONDES DE, MIRANDA
N
SCALE OF -
FEET
FIG. 35— Plan of the Palacio de Penaranda de Duero.
or artesonado merely disguises a simple flat process above it.
The second explanation is more or less contingent upon the
first — they also accepted the Moorish principle that interior
decoration required nothing of architectonic interest as a back-
ground. Thus though they introduced dados of polychrome
tiles (dzulcjos), and door and window openings framed with
flat bands of patterned plaster (yeseria), the room was essen-
tially nothing but a box with a few haphazard outlets, the
HOMES AND THE PALACE AT PENARANDA ill
whole made sumptuous with tapestries or gilded leather
hangings (guadamaciles). Not until really classic structural
methods were introduced in the latter half of the century was
there any noticeable improvement in Spanish planning. In
other words, when the Spaniard adopted vaulted architecture,
symmetry and studied arrangement naturally followed; but
this classic movement had very little effect on domestic work.
Neither from the purely utilitarian aspect can the Spanish
plan compare with that of other countries during the Re-
naissance— the natural result of the architect's not being
called upon to meet the demands of an advanced and system-
atized household administration. This is specially conspicu-
ous in the culinary quarter. In any old mansion north of the
Pyrenees, even one in ruinous condition, there would be no
difficulty in recognizing the kitchen. Not only would the
capacious chimney-place tell the tale, but also the smoke room,
larders, and communications with the dining-room and cel-
lars; but in going through a deserted Spanish palace the kitchen
can only be guessed at. Cooking was frequently accomplished
out in the open ; or if indoors, by burying the earthen pots of
food in smouldering straw or embers ; for which reasons the
kitchen chimney is no more important in size than that of
any other apartment that is fortunate enough to have one.
The only really capacious provision for cooking is to be found
in the monasteries. Regarding the diminutiveness of the
Spanish kitchen a certain hidalgo is said to have retorted to
Philip the Fair's criticism — it was on the latter's first visit
from his own well-fed Burgundy — "Yes, Sefior; and because
my kitchen is small my house is great," indicating that a
luxurious table had been known to bring families to ruin.1
1 On the subject of Spanish food and table customs there is a precious account in the
Voyage de Philippe le Beau en Espagne, by Antoine de Lalaing, Seigneur de Montigny,
published in Brussels in 1876. Lalaing, who was Philip's chamberlain, relates how each
invited guest brought his own silver and how at a banquet at the casa real there was
displayed on the table the plate of the five grandees present. On the same occasion
caballeros of lesser rank served the repast "with plenty of noise and disorder." An-
other curious custom was that of inviting the much cloistered ladies to dine by the
devious means of sending savory cooked dishes to their home. These were borne
through the streets by a procession of gorgeously liveried servants whose coming was
watched from the palace windows by the sheltered ones.
112 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
It may be remarked in passing that the Castilian never was,
even in his greatest affluence, a gormand, and that to this day
the monotonous cocido or boiled chick-peas and pork satisfies
every family in the land every day of the year. The entire
question of food preparation being regarded with comparative
indifference, the kitchen never outgrew its primitive incon-
spicuousness and never gathered around it those kitchen offices,
pantries, laundries, passages, and entrances that were indis-
pensable, even fundamental, in Haddon Hall and other early
English mansions. In English planning such features were
not only accommodated but were an important department
in the early builder's consideration. As early as 1542 an
English Doctor of Physicke published a guide for the layout
of the house from the sanitary point of view. He advises
among other things that the buttery and pantry be placed
at the lower end of the great hall with the cellar under them
and entered from the pantry; the larder should be annexed
to the kitchen ; and the stables, slaughter-house, etc., should be
a certain distance away. No one appears to have been con-
cerned with these questions in Spain. In the Spanish layout
there were no such complications; through one main entrance
all entered, high and low; up the one broad stair everything
was carried to the family apartments on the piso principal
without any offense to the sense of fitness; and although
laundry work was done from time immemorial on the river
banks there was still enough of it performed at home to keep
the windows and balconies of the main facade festooned with
drying linen just as one sees them to-day in even the most
modern urban residences. On the first or ground floor there
was only one master's room, the recibidor; the rest being
given over to servants and animals. On the main floor or piso
principal all apartments were about the same in appearance
except that the salon was largest and sometimes had a dais;
the rest were known as the linen, the tapestry, the silver room,
and so on, according to what was stored in the great carved
chests that stood against the wall. Never was there a built-
in accessory that would have differentiated one chamber
from another. The client, it will be seen, was not exacting
HOMES AND THE PALACE AT PENARANDA 113
with his architect; and the latter, lacking the stimulus that
would have come from a more highly developed domestic
machinery, never emerged from the elementary in domestic
planning.
Finally there is another aspect of the sixteenth-century
house which harks back to the defensive Gothic — the com-
plete absence of grounds or garden treatment. In the city
this might have been justifiable to a certain extent for it must
be remembered that the proud noble who owned a whole
town, squalid though we of to-day may think it, always chose
its heart, the stony little plaza, as the site for his palace; but
in the country the lack of setting must be explained either
by the Spaniard's scant love of trees or else by a lingering
misgiving in the security of the times. Be this as it may one
would look in vain for the setting of garden and landscape
architecture that gave so much charm to the Italian villa.
Gardens in the grand sense there are none in Castile except
the few royal parks created in the eighteenth century by
Frenchmen at the command of the Bourbons; and in the
smaller, more intimate sense, there is nothing. A few potted
plants sufficed. It has been aptly said that the only truly
Spanish garden is that found in the old monastery cloisters —
"The shrunken survival during the Middle Ages of the grand
gardens of antiquity and enclosed, like the shrunken learning
of the time, within convent walls/' This lack of setting is
accepted without comment by Spanish writers but it strikes
the foreign architect harshly.1 Castile in spite of its stern
and treeless aspect can be made to produce a wealth of trees,
shrubs and flowers, and surely gardens could have been
created had they been considered a desirable accessory to the
palace.
All the characteristics described above are exemplified
in the still magnificent though dilapidated palace at Penaranda,
a product of Francisco de Colonia or one of his associates.
1 Perhaps nothing speaks more eloquently of this inappreciation, persisting even
until to-day, than the fact that the well-stocked Fine Arts section of the Ateneo Library
in Madrid possesses but one book on the subject — a French treatise on French gardens.
As to Don Santiago Rusinol's beautiful portfolio Jardines de Espafia it is made up of
southern Moorish gardens and royal parks.
114 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
It stands in what to-day is a remote and forgotten corner of
the province of Burgos but what used to be the important
seat of the Senores de Penaranda de Duero. Since the early
sixteenth century when one of them, a Caballero of the Golden
Fleece, Viceroy and Captain General of Navarre, Member of
Council of State and War for Charles V, Majordomo of the
Empress Dona Isabel, etc., etc.,1 built his palace here nothing
has changed, and one can easily form an idea of the surround-
ings which were then considered adequate for a lordly mansion.
It stands on the bald stony plaza with neither approach nor
treatment of any kind. It was clearly the only house of
importance in the village, and its rich portal and windows are
in marked contrast to the humble dwellings that elbow it
familiarly on both sides. The two-storied facade is of impos-
ing length, some 200 feet exclusive of an adjoining older por-
tion; but except for the fine entrance and fenestration it is
disappointingly crude — devoid of cornice and other moulds, and
with its stone facing lacking all the quality of good masonry.
The portal (Plate XXI) is at once one of the most interest-
ing and singular in Spain. From a photograph one might
say that it was composed of Roman fragments, and the con-
jecture would not be far wrong for the Roman town of Clunia
a few miles distant was still abundant in architectural treasures
in the sixteenth century. Only a few were introduced here
but these served to inspire the character of the rest of the
detail. This classic influence accounted for, it will be seen
that the remainder emanated from Francisco de Colonia or
his disciples, but is much more skillfully treated than the
Pellejena doorway of Burgos Cathedral. The lower half of
the composition is severely plain, a post and lintel treatment
of red marble very Castilian in its massive proportions. At
1 He was brother to the bishop of Burgos with whom he joined forces in rebuilding
in the Renaissance style the Monastery of La Vid a few stations east of Aranda on the
Valladolid-Ariza railroad. Many of the family tombs are there, his with the inscrip-
tion "Here lies the most illustrious Senor Don Francisco de Zuniga y Avellaneda Conde
de Miranda and Senor of the house of Avellaneda son of the most illustrious Senores
the Conde Pedro de Zuniga and the Condesa Catalina de Velasco died 1536." He was
therefore related to the Fonsecas who built palaces in Salamanca, to the Velascos and
Mirandas who built in Burgos, and to the Mendozas of the Palacio del Infantado at
Guadalajara. •
PLATE XXI
PORTAL OF THE PALACIO DE PENARANDA DE DUERO.
Attributed to Francisco de Colonia, ca. /5JO.
115
HOMES AND THE PALACE AT PENARANDA
117
either side are sandstone pilasters with decorative panels of
classic trophies designed in harmony with the Roman busts
above. Of far greater interest is the upper half, for aside from
its unique arrangement, the carved detail in the coffered
FIG. 36 — Upper Cloister of the Patio at Penaranda.
reveal of the arch, the heraldic motifs in the tympanum, and
the over-arch cornice are very effective. The hand of Fran-
cisco is most noticeable in the spandrels, in the radial orna-
ment of the main archivolt panel, and in the lunette at the
top with its surrounding decoration — which last was irresistible
to him. The windows are entirely his with their diminutive
lunettes and their ornament bearing that peculiar plastic or
stamped quality — the sign manual of the Colonia school.
The difference between this facade and that of any Italian
palace of similar importance is too striking to need comment ;
the one a systematized arrangement of laying out, a rhyth-
mic succession of refined motifs; the other a bald facade of
crude masonry relieved only by incoherent spots of rich
ornamentation.
118 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Entering the palace one meets a bare untreated vestibule
with the usual stone benches where the higher nobility dis-
mounted (those of lesser rank passed in on foot). Beyond
and to the right may be seen the patio through a door as much
FIG. 37 — Detail of Doorway of the Palace of Penaranda.
off axis as if the Gothic necessity of impeding a hostile rush to
the court still existed. The patio is 54 feet square in the
open and is treated much more architecturally than the facade
but the detail is rather perfunctory. No matter how severe
a Spanish patio may be, the composition of the roofs with the
lean-to of the upper cloister gallery finishing a few feet below
the eaves of the main wall, always imparts a picturesqueness,
which is the case here (Fig. 36). Two arches of the lower
cloister open onto the once magnificent stairhall, now a sorry
picture of neglect and decay. Of the stairway itself only the
steps remain, the balustrade having long ago disappeared.
The stairhall was once crowned by an unusually sumptuous
artesonado of which much has fallen down but what is left is
PLATE XXII
DILAPIDATED ARTESONADO OVER THE STAIRWAY OF THE PALACIO DE
PENARANDA DE DUERO.
119
HOMES AND THE PALACE AT PENARANDA
121
sufficient to give a fair idea of the original (Plate XXII). It
was carved in soft pine like all the ceilings of the palace and
shows no trace of ever having been painted or gilded. The
greater part of the design is in pure Renaissance, with motifs
FIG. 38 — Doorway from Patio to Main Salon in the Palacio de
Penaranda de Duero.
and detail which exhibit in their arrangement a thorough
understanding of the decorative side of the new style. The
chief feature of the carving is the panels of amorini with the
ubiquitous family escutcheon. Not only for its ornamental
value should this proud display of lineage be appreciated by
the student of Spanish palaces but because, in the absence
of records, it is often the only clue to identifying the founder.
In this case where the family archivo was destroyed by fire
and the inscription on the portal is half illegible, it is particu-
122 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
larly helpful. Immediately under the heraldic panels runs a
band of Moorish stalactites, next a row of classic mouldings,
and below this again a rich frieze of Arab interfacings in yese-
ria, each of the three stages remarkable for the clear demarca-
FIG. 39 — Wooden Artesonado and Yeseria Doorway in
the Main Salon at Penaranda de Duero.
tion of style preserved. Apparently Moorish and Spanish
artizans worked side by side. It is known that the Moriscos
lingered in this inland province long after the first expulsion
decree (1568) unable to get to the coast, and that as late as
1595 they built a ceiling in the Corpus Cristi Chapel in
Burgos Cathedral. But while Moors were entrusted with
PLATE XXIII
PEKARANDA
SALON WNDOW WIH
TESEHjLA. ORNAMENT
SHVTTER5
WINDOW WITH YESERIA IN THE PALACIO DE PENARANDA DE DUERO.
123
PLATE XXIV
DILAPIDATED ARTESONADO IN A SMALL SALON OF THE PALACIO DE
PENARANDA DE DUERO.
125
HOMES AND THE PALACE AT PENARANDA 127
the carpinteria at Penaranda, the heraldic panels in question
and other Renaissance carvings were probably produced by
Spaniards. One can hardly believe, however, that it was
Francisco who furnished the design for this spirited work.
On the second or main story of the palace is a series of
impressive salons opening from each other and not, as is
usual, from the patio. The main salon (Fig. 39) is an imposing
room 62 feet long and has a ceiling practically intact and which
must be regarded as one of the finest achievements in wood-
work of the period. Except for the treatment of the canted
corners there is nothing Oriental about it, not even in the
design of the subsidiary plaster frieze. It is curious that the
Moors who had so little appreciation of the structurability
of the dome were yet so enamored of its form that they were
willing to go to no end of trouble to secure either a vaulted
or a domical techumbre. Having obtained it, the corners or
pendentives always remained a weak note but the wooden
fabric permitted of cleverly concealing the fact by elaborate
stalactite ornament. This problem became even more irk-
some for Renaissance workers, since the basic principle of their
design demanded greater structurability; for years after the
rest of the ceiling had been classicized the oriental corners
remained a stumbling block; in the example under considera-
tion they are the only unsatisfying note. It is to be regretted
that the shell motif was not resorted to as a solution. The
ceiling is arranged in three planes and hipped at the ends.
Rows of coffered octagons with the traditional pendant in the
intervening lozenge make up the body of the design. It is
the frieze, part wood and part plaster, that is the chef d'ceuvre
of the whole (Fig. 40) ; the wood being vigorously carved in a
theme of finely modeled figures separated by rinceau ornament,
and the plaster, or secondary frieze, being an equally admirable
piece of Renaissance ornamentation but at reduced scale.
Plaster is again seen in the architectural framing of the doors
and windows of the main salon. These openings including
the handsome double door of carved wood surrounded by a
rich band of patterned yeseria that leads to the patio, and the
three windows opening onto the plaza, similarly framed and
128 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
with unusually heavy shutters in lieu of glass, are among the
finest examples of Mudejar work in Spain (Plate XXIII).
The shutters referred to are particularly good bits of carpentry,
and the splendid wrought hardware on them is still intact in
FIG. 40 — Wooden Frieze Supporting the Ceiling of the Main Salon in
the Palace of Penaranda de Duero.
spite of most of the shutters having long ago been wrenched
from their hinges and left to rot on the floor under the snow
drifts that pile up in the winter. The remaining features of
the salon, two smaller doorways, a minstrel gallery, and a
chimney-piece, are adorned entirely in yeseria typical of the
Burgalese school — that is devoid of relief or variety, and
inferior in every way to that previously mentioned. Con-
sidering how Mudejar this palace is in certain respects, it is
strange that azulejos are so sparingly employed. Excepting
for a dado that runs around the entire piso principal including
the patio, and the flooring of a small room near the stairs,
probably an oratory, tiles were not used. The dado is only
17 inches high and is formed of upright plain red tiles bor-
dered top and bottom by a narrow strip of blue and white
patterned azulejos, the same in every room.
Left and right of the principal salon is a series of smaller
rooms notable only for their artesonados, some Moorish as
THE DOMESTIC PLAN 129
in Plate XXIV, others Renaissance. All these are marvels
of carpentry and make, along with the plainer rooms at the
back of the patio, a veritable museum of ceilings. More the
pity that all are fallen to pieces — pieces of convenient size
for firewood. Certain Spaniards are still bitter over the re-
moval from Zaragoza of the Casa Zaporta, some years ago,
by a Frenchman; but no native seems willing to save this
marvelous collection of artesonados. The last inheritor of the
Penaranda palace was the ex-empress of the French whose
illustrious father lies in the church opposite. Her present
tenant is a lumber merchant who has installed a saw-mill
in the grand stair-hall and has filled the piso principal with
sawed boards, until one dreads to think of the consequences
of a stray spark hurried along by the gusts that tear through
the gaping windows. Altogether a sadder picture of neglect
and abuse would be hard to find even in Spain.
CHAPTER V
SALAMANCA
MANY RENAISSANCE BUILDINGS IN SALAMANCA — ANTIQUITY AND FAME
OF SALAMANCA UNIVERSITY — THE CITY IN GOTHIC TIMES — RENAISSANCE
EMBELLISHMENT OF THE MEDIEVAL BUILDINGS OF THE UNIVERSITY-
ANALYSIS OF THE FACADE — THE ESCUELAS MENORES OR PREPARATORY
SCHOOL — INTERIOR WORK IN THE UNIVERSITY — PALACES AND THEIR
DIVISION INTO TWO GROUPS — NEAREST APPROACH TO THE ITALIAN IN THE
PALACES BUILT BY THE FONSECA BISHOPS — DESCRIPTION OF THE CASA
SALINA — THE CASA DE LAS MUERTES — THE MALDONADO HOUSES OPPOSITE
THE CHURCH OF SAN BENITO — THE PALACIO MONTEREY LARGEST IN SALA-
MANCA— SEVERAL SMALL EXAMPLES — THE DOMINICAN CHURCH OF SAN
ESTEBAN ARCHBISHOP FONSECA's COLEGIO DE SANTIAGO APOSTOL,
NOW COLEGIO DE LOS IRLANDESES — PEDRO DE IBARRA — ARCHITECTURAL
SCULPTURE BY BERRUGUETE AND HIS SCHOOL IN SALAMANCA
130
CHAPTER V
SALAMANCA
SALAMANCA, in the southern part of the ancient king-
dom of Leon, is the most Renaissance city in Spain.
To explain its sixteenth century building activity it
might almost suffice to state that the Fonsecas lived there;
but the city's civil importance also accounts for much. From
the beginning of the thirteenth century it held a celebrated
seat of learning which soon ranked by papal decree as one of the
"four lamps of the world" and to which during the era under
discussion more than seven thousand students were flocking
from all parts of the civilized globe. Salamanca had always
been a city of patrician families but these by their private
feuds and political factions (in which the students took a
lively part) had kept it in a constant state of upheaval until
the strong rule of Ferdinand and Isabella destroyed feudalism
and established orderly government. The changes through
which Salamantine society passed may be read in the architec-
ture of the city; houses of the fourteenth century had thick
walls, high windows, and strong towers ; those of the fifteenth
lost their warlike aspect and began to indulge in the amenities
of art. The sixteenth opened tranquilly with great building
projects afoot — a new cathedral, the expansion of the univer-
sity, and many new palaces. It was in the erection of these
last that the Fonseca prelates were the leaders. Of the
cathedral there is little to be said not only because, being
Gothic, its style is out of our period but because the famous
junta of architects who decided on its site placed it where it
both hid and disfigured its magnificent Romanesque predeces-
sor; the secular work mentioned was all in Plateresque. Much
131
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
of it was destroyed during the War of Liberation when the
French converted the city into a fortified place and pulled
down a large area ; but enough remains to make Salamanca the
classic site of Castile.
As far back as 1480, Ferdinand and Isabella had decided
that the poor plain buildings which housed the University of
Salamanca were unworthy of its international fame. These
had been erected in the time of the antipope Benedict XIII
(Don Pedro de Luna of Zaragoza), and those concerned were
too occupied with the great schism and the Councils of Con-
stance and Basel to pay attention to collegiate architecture.
Many recitation rooms were dark and damp, yet the order
of the Catholic Sovereigns did not consider a newer and better
type of building, but merely the embellishment of the one
already standing. Exteriorly only the main entrance of the
university proper and the facade of the Escuelas Menores
or lower school ever reached completion. The authors have
never been discovered nor the exact date when the work was
commenced, but there is a sophistication about it that could
hardly have been achieved earlier than 1525 or 1530. Several
Spanish writers have suggested that it was designed by En-
rique de Egas because as visiting architect to- the cathedral, he
came to Salamanca in 1522, 1529, and again in 1534; but the
whole scheme shows so much intimacy with the Italian and
at the same time is so distinctly local that it is more probably
the product of some unknown Salamantine master. It is re-
corded that Italians were working in the city before the end
of the fifteenth century and it is perfectly conceivable that
these and their Spanish successors, encouraged by the Fon-
secas, would have developed a local school which owed nothing
to Egas. A point of superiority in the Salamanca buildings
is the perfect stereotomy and structural details often sadly
lacking in Enrique's work.
The embellishment of the university, the most brilliant
piece of Plateresque in the land, does not embrace the entire
facade but merely features the main entrance (Fig. 41).
Adhering to local traditions it retains certain Gothic remi-
niscences in composition and detail, but exhibits a consummate
PLATE XXV
DETAIL FROM THE FACADE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA.
Ca. 1530. Architect Unknown.
133
PLATE XXVI
PORTAL OF THE ESCUELAS MENORES, SALAMANCA.
Ca. 1535. Architect Unknoivn.
135
SALAMANCA
137
appreciation of Renaissance in its exquisite ornamental qual-
ity. Something of the same delicacy may be seen in the
church of La Madonna dei Miracoli in Brescia but the Spanish
example is unquestionably superior in its feeling of exterior
FIG. 41 — Fagade of the University of Salamanca.
Ca. 1530. Architect Unknown.
appropriateness. The scale of the ornament varies from
extreme minuteness in the lower panels to considerable bold-
ness in the uppermost, but in these last the architect may be
justly criticized for having carried his theory of perspective a
little too far. The whole panel as it rises above the twin arches
is a remarkable array of pure Italian foliated ornament but en-
138 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
livened by portrait medallions and the heraldic devices so
specially requisite in this locality (see Plate XXV). The main
blazon is that of Ferdinand and Isabella but the double-headed
eagle of Charles is also present to prove that the new front
FIG. 42 — Detail from the Portal of the Escuelas Menores, Salamanca.
Ca. 1535. Architect Unknown.
was in progress during his reign. In the uppermost division is
a relief of the pope dispensing privileges which commemo-
rates the fact that Salamanca University was under pontifi-
cal as well as royal protection. The cresting that surmounts
the panel is a Gothic remnant highly developed hereabouts
and retained throughout the century. The Salamanca stone
used, whitish when quarried but soon taking on a won-
derful burnished tone, was particularly suited to this sort of
carving and might be aged terra cotta, so delicate is it to the
eye. Taken as a whole this last addition to the facade will
always be considered as the gem of the Plateresque style and
one of the finest decorative achievements of the epoch in Europe.
SALAMANCA 139
Less distinguished but harmonizing with the above is
the small facade to c.ie grammar school or Colegio de Es-
tudios Menores (Plate XXVI). This is close by at the
other end of the quiet little plaza that holds the statue of
the great scholar and poet Fray Luis de Leon — an altogether
unique spot which seems to be enveloped in the mellow glow
of the yellow sandstone that walls it in. The scheme of the
Escuelas Menores is also a decorative panel surmounting a
twin arch, but here the treatment of the arch is later as might
be expected from the fact that only Charles V's escutcheon
is used. The work might, indeed, have been completed as
late as 1535. In general there is much less nicety of work-
manship but charming detail is not lacking. In the archi-
volt are the amorini heads so persistently used in the same
way by the Fonseca architect and perhaps indicating in the
present instance that the primate Alfonso, a graduate of the
university, was interested in furthering the work. Certain
it is that after his death in 1534, tne embellishment of the
buildings flagged. Visitors are generally curious about the
red lettering seen here and on several private houses around
the plaza; it refers to illustrious students. Names were in-
variably preceded by the Latin victor in monogram and
though applied surreptitiously they were by no means daubed
on but gracefully lettered.
We now come to the interior of the university. The
order for ornamenting this ancient seat of learning was
a big one and both funds and enthusiasm gave out before
much had been accomplished. Inside, therefore, there is
little more to enumerate than the staircase, the library, and
the rebuilding of the patio. The impressive stairhall, a fine
piece of Gothic, contains a handsome stair ramp in which
touches of the new style appear (Plate XXVII). Salaman-
tine architects were slow to relinquish the ramp in favor of
the Italian baluster rail, as a much later example in the Palacio
de San Boal testifies. On the one in question the theme of
the carving is a fifteenth-century bull-fight quaintly conven-
tionalized. The knights and ladies depicted are very Gothic
but this medievalism is accompanied by mouldings and orna-
140 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF -THE XVI CENTURY
mental motifs in the new style. The continuity of the scene
is hardly interrupted by the landing for the problem of the
ramp at the corners is admirably solved. The patio is an
uninspired piece of work but the covered gallery of each story
FIG. 43 — Decorated Wooden Ceiling in the Patio of the University,
Salamanca.
has an interesting though incomplete ceiling, the lower of
which is illustrated in Fig. 43. It is very simple carpentry but
made effective by color decoration; the upper is more typical
with Moorish coffers set into Renaissance frames. The
library, remodeled in the eighteenth century, preserves only
its handsome Plateresque reja; but it is still rich in literary
treasures in spite of Philip IFs having burned thousands of
volumes that smacked of the Reformation and other heresies.
Other fragments deserving of attention may be found through-
out the university group but nothing to compete with the
subtle affiliation of medievalism and Renaissance in the
main facade.
As has been said Gothic Salamanca contained many
powerful and noble families and these made the escutcheon
the chief outer adornment of their solar. Passing through
PLATE XXVII
STAIR RAMP IN THE UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA.
Sixteenth Century. Architect Unknown.
141
SALAMANCA 143
the streets to-day one may read how the first thought of
every proprietor was pride of race. The sangre limpia back
of all this heraldry meant too much to permit of relinquishing
the outward and visible sign, so the Renaissance architect
had to turn the escutcheon to decorative account in his work.
Thus though hardly an architect's name is known, it is still
possible to identify his client by the coat of arms. Broadly
speaking palaces may be thrown into two groups, one of
horizontal composition, the other of vertical; both retain
certain traditional forms, sometimes the round arched en-
trance with massive voussoirs, sometimes the perforated
cresting, and always few but highly interesting windows.
In the first group (and all unhappily renovated) are the Palacio
de San Boal, the Casa Garci-Grande, the Palacio de los Mal-
donados de Amatos, and many others less typical ; in the second
and fortunately better preserved are the Casa de las Muertes,
the Casa de la Salina, and the Casa Maldonados y Morillo. In
addition to these two classes are certain earlier houses to
which Plateresque forms were added, such as the Palacio
Abarca Maldonado in the Plaza de Fray Luis de Leon with
its two very charming windows, and the remarkable Casa
de las Conchas or House of the Shells with an exceedingly rich
patio, part Gothic and part Renaissance, and a cresting in
which appears the fleur-de-lis of the Maldonados, whose
descendants still occupy the house. It was in the small
vertical composition, an exigency of shrinking city sites, that
the Salamanca architect expressed his greatest appreciation
of the Italian style; but even in these one must be reminded
that the science of Renaissance planning was entirely neglected.
Going back to houses of horizontal composition an im-
portant example but one that might easily be overlooked is
the inconspicuous San Boal in the little plaza of the same
name. It is much mutilated as to facade but a good patio
and stairway still survive. The patio is two stories high
with segmental arches in the second — an agreeable change
from the all too popular elliptical. Fine portrait medallions
fill the spandrels of the first story arches. In the stairhall,
over which is a good beamed ceiling, there is a solid stair
144 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
parapet (Fig. 44) but its rinceau decoration is less attractive
than the university example. Later than this palace is the
Maldonados de Amatos, now the Casino. Although bar-
barously reformed, especially inside, its main entrance and
FIG. 44 — Stair Newel from the Palacio de San Boal, Salamanca.
upper story windows are intact, these last being fair specimens
of the typical Salamantine window of the century. In the
historic Plazuela de Santo Tome (which was the Plaza Mayor
until the present handsome Churriguerresque plaza was
built) stands the palace of the Garci-Grande family. It is
now a bank. There is no early Plateresque about it but it
has a good late entrance and two corner windows with angle
arches above — a fenestral variation quite common down the
west side of Spain.
Salamanca's nearest approach to the Italian is in the shape
SALAMANCA 145
of the palaces erected by the two Fonseca bishops. The first
to be identified with the city was Don Alfonso, succes-
sively bishop of Avila, Santiago, and Seville, and patriarch
(self-proclaimed) of Alexandria "the which was held in all
the kingdom as a proceeding very arbitrary and a bad
example." Born at Toro, not far north, Don Alfonso was
related to many illustrious Salamanca families and accom-
panied the Catholic Sovereigns there in the late fifteenth
century. His son Alfonso, sometimes distinguished from his
father by the addition of his mother's name, Ulloa, reached
even higher dignities and became the archbishop of Toledo
already mentioned in connection with Alcala. He was born in
Santiago, Dona Maria de Ulloa' s home, where he founded the
Colegio de Fonseca; but the city for which he had the greatest
predilection was Salamanca. Here, according to an old chroni-
cle, "the magnanimous archbishop liberated the city from cer-
tain taxes in gratitude for which the populace on appointed days
of the year went in procession to his chapel and held a bull-fight
in the patio, there killing two novillos (young bulls)." The
chapel and patio referred to are undoubtedly those of the
Colegio del Arzobispo which he added to the university group.
There is much confusion as to which palaces father and
son were respectively responsible for. To the former are
usually accredited the Casa de la Salina and the Casa de las
Muertes. According to popular tradition he erected the
former for his mistress Dona Maria de Ulloa of Santiago whom
the shocked nobility refused to receive in their houses when
she accompanied him and the court to Salamanca; but the
prelate died in 1512, and although the lower story arches with
their Gothiclike archivolts may be prior to that date, La
Salina as a whole bears the impress of 1535 or 1540. In the
case of Las Muertes, where his bust appears on the facade, the
English architect Andrew Prentice accepts him as founder but
hazards the date 1520. Prentice would not have been far amiss
to have advanced it another ten years. As to the patriarch's
portrait it may indicate that the son erected the house in memory
of his father; then there is another account which says it was
built by the grateful Ursulines, whose nearby convent he built.
146 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
The Salina, so called by the populace because it was once
used as a warehouse for salt, has suffered much inside from re-
peated injudicious alterations. The facade (Plate XXVIII)
presents a number of interesting discrepancies which are not
appreciated at first glance from the narrow calle. The inter-
columniation, for instance, varies from n feet in the south
bay to 8 feet in the north. This savors more of Gothic capri-
ciousness than Renaissance system; yet by subtle adjustment
of the units in the story above the feeling of symmetry is
restored. Between exterior expression and interior arrange-
ment one meets another liberty, for the arcade which appears
to be a third story is in reality embraced in the lofty second-
story salon. Notwithstanding, the facade has considerable
dignity and is the only example in Salamanca employing the
first-story Italian loggia. All above the loggia is of local
treatment, particularly the principal windows flanked by
colonnettes and with portrait medallions above. At each
end of the upper gallery is the blazon of the Fonsecas, five
stars under a crown; and in the spandrels of the arcade are
the winged amorini heads which almost invariably accompany
it. Of the interior, the best preserved feature is the patio,
reached by a short flight of steps from the loggia. It is ir-
regularly shaped with an amusing upper wooden gallery sup-
ported on huge stone corbels (zapatas). These have never
needed restoration and, like the loggia, bring to mind similar
features in northern Italy. Their sides are decoratively
paneled into flat squares and the fronts are carved into squirm-
ing grotesques (Fig. 45) which, according to current story,
represent the Salamantine aristocrats who denied hospitality
to Dona Maria and whom Fonseca, in his revenge, thus
placed under her feet.
In the narrow Calle de Bordadores stands the diminutive
and charming house now known by the sinister name of Casa
de las Muertes (Plate XXIX). Although fragments of the
ornament are very Italian the whole is distinctly Salamantine
Plateresque. Strikingly local are the abundant encircled
bas-reliefs, and a doorway with ornamental lintel resting on
foliated capitals (whose use and character are, in this case>
147
SALAMANCA
149
more Romanesque than Renaissance). The facade is barely
30 feet wide. The rich central motif of the piso principal is
the nucleus of its treatment, and so dominates the narrow
front that the unsymmetrical fenestration is in no way dis-
FIG. 45 — Corbels in the Patio of the Casa de la Salina, Salamanca.
turbing. There is a wealth of beautiful Plateresque ornament
in this feature (see Fig. 46) ; every quality of the silversmith's
art may be detected in the decorative framing of "El seve-
risimo Fonseca, Patriarca Alejandrina." But with all its
merits the house has the defect common to Salamantine Plat-
eresque, an inadequate cornice. This is merely a crude
sectional profile of the preceding century ornamented in the
new style. Inside the house there is nothing of interest, its
small size precluding the patio plan. Owing to its lugubrious
name it has long stood untenanted but fortunately its artistic
130 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
value is fully appreciated in the town and this may protect
it for many years to come.
One of the greatest names in Salamanca annals is that of
the Maldonados, whose various branches enriched the city
FIG. 46 — Motif from the Fagade of the Casa de las Muertes, Salamanca.
by some half-dozen sixteenth-century houses. Opposite the
old church of San Benito stands the solar of the Maldonados y
Morillos (Plate XXX), but on its facade the escutcheon of the
Fonsecas is even more prominently placed than that of the
two families mentioned. The explanation is furnished by
the sepulchral inscription in the church across the way which
says that Diego Maldonado was "Camarero del ilustrisimo
senor Don Alfonso de Fonseca, Arzobispo de Toledo." Only
the central motif now surrounded by stucco was architecturally
treated. It is but 14 feet wide and embraces nothing more
PLATE XXIX
ELEVATION OF THE CASA DE LAS MUERTES, SALAMANCA.
151
PLATE XXX
PALACIO DE LOS MALDONADOS Y MORILLOS, SALAMANCA.
153
SALAMANCA 155
than a door, a window, and the blazons of the three families,
all beautifully composed. Of these the Fonseca shield is so
thoroughly Italian in design and execution that it might have
been brought bodily from the Library of Siena. It was
probably the work of an Italian in Salamanca and as such
invites comparison with other escutcheons carved by Span-
iards. To be graceful, sensuous, and full of repose was the
Italian aim; to be forceful almost to the point of distortion
was the Spanish, and this essential difference may be found in
even the smallest carved motif. The more placid type of
ornament can be and has been reproduced in every land, but
any present-day attempt to catch the violent Spanish fails
even here on its own soil.
Adjoining the house just described is the Casa Solis in
which the Maldonado quarterings appear along with those of
the Solis, Zuniga, and Abarca clans. The Fonseca escutcheon
is absent which may account for this example being less
Renaissance. Indeed nothing but the mouldings lift the main
entrance out of the medieval. Under the eaves extends a
perforated screen with intermediate piers having the form of
truncated columns, which led Prentice to believe that the
original intention was to create an open loggia at the top.
Close inspection of the stereotomy, however, proves that
each pier was cut to include the adjacent perforation. There
is no clue to the date of this little palace but it is undoubtedly
one of the earliest of the century. The interior has been so
completely remodeled that it is impossible to discover the
original plan.
The largest and latest palace in Salamanca is the Monterey
(Fig. 47) which, vast though it is, represents less than half
of the primary scheme. Even this sumptuous edifice was
neglected by the chroniclers and there is the usual dispute
as to the founder. "Surely" concludes the catedratico Don
Angel Apraiz who has spent much time in investigating the
matter, "it belonged to the family of the Fonseca archbishops
united with the Counts of Monterey through the marriage of
Don Diego de Acebedo, a son of the Patriarch of Alexandria,
with the Countess Francisca de Zuniga." The escutcheons
156 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
corroborate such an attribution. The builder was probably
Don Caspar de Acebedo y Zuniga, Count of Monterey and
Viceroy of Mexico, and "from its magnificence may be judged
the wealth brought back by those who ruled in early America
FIG. 47 — Corner Tower of the Palacio de Monterey, Salamanca.
in the king's name," as a wise old writer significantly remarks.,
Prentice suggests Covarrubias as the architect, assuming from,
the presence of the Fonseca shield that the house was built
for the archbishop. Conflicting dates, aside from the char-
acter of the work, make this improbable. In the absence of
one intact facade by Covarrubias any comparison between his
known work and the Monterey must be confined to details,
and none of these bespeak his refined taste. The Monterey
ornament is conceived in an entirely different spirit from the:
Alcala — none the less Spanish but with a strong appeal to the;
SALAMANCA
157
popular element. So well did it succeed in this respect that
the palace has been the model for every World's Fair building
that Spain has ever had occasion to erect. As to plan the
palace was to face on four streets, to enclose a large quadrangle,
FIG. 48 — Colegio de San Ildefonso, Salamanca.
and to have four corner towers and an additional one in the
center of each long side. Only one long side was built. Be-
sides its towers, the most notable features of the exterior are
the chimneys and the cresting. This4atter, with well modeled
figures strangely distorted, is very Spanish; and the former,
rarely featured on even the most monumental Spanish build-
ings, are here so prominent in the silhouette that they recall the
highly architecturalized chimneys of the Henri II period in
France. This house has now passed by descent to the Alba
family, who also own the palace at Pefiaranda de Bracamonte,
some twenty-five miles east of Salamanca.
In addition to the preceding are a few simpler examples
that repay searching out; among these are the old Lonja and
a house with the Pizarra escutcheon in the little Plazuela del
Peso; the Colegio de San Ildefonso (Fig. 48) on the Plaza de
158 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Santo Tomas; and the amusing little house adjoining the
university and built, as the escutcheon indicates, by that
body.
Salamanca contains, besides its palaces, two highly devel-
oped sixteenth-century structures of prime importance, one
the convent-church of San Esteban and the other the Colegio
de Santiago Apostol, added to his alma mater by Don Alfonso
de Fonseca y Ulloa. This was popularly known as the Colegio
del Arzobispo until it was given over to Irish priests, who first
came to study in Salamanca in the time of Philip II. Hence
its designation as El Colegio de los Nobles Irlandeses. It is
pleasant to record that the "Irish nobles" appreciate their
lordly home and reclaim it as means permit. Both this and
the convent-church were begun about 1525 but records per-
taining to the latter are much more complete, as is usually
the case with ecclesiastic structures. It was built for the
Dominicans by the architect Juan de Alava, that is, John
of Vitoria in the province of Alava, who had worked with the
Ontanons on Salamanca's Gothic Cathedral and was next
engaged on the Plateresque facade of Plasencia's. St. Ste-
phen's, although nominally finished in 1610, was still building
in the late seventeenth century so that successive architects
may have altered Alava's plans; yet the facade (Plate XXXI),
even granted that the figure of the martyr and other bits were
carved long after, appears to be one conception. It is an
ambitious piece of work embodying a vast amount of stone
carving, all excellent and varied in character. The canopies
over the saints on each side of the portal have more the quality
of beaten metal than of the less obedient stone as may be seen
in Fig. 49; while the ornament on the tall pilasters each side of
the central motif is bold and free. Unfortunately this whole
feature is overpowering in scale and crushes the beauty of
the detail. There is a peculiar use of the pendant in the coffered
arch which gives the effect of a Moorish artesonado; but this
and other details admirable in themselves contribute to the
restlessness of the ensemble.
As to the Colegio del Arzobispo much dispute reigns con-
cerning its unknown architect. Llaguno ascribes the entire
PLATE XXXI
WEST FRONT OF SAN ESTEBAN, SALAMANCA.
Juan de Alava, Architect, 1524-1610.
159
SALAMANCA
161
building, Gothic chapel and all, to Alonso de Covarrubias ;
others credit him with only the facade, and this happens to
be devoid of all interest. A modern and painstaking investi-
gator, Don Manuel Gomez Moreno, asserts that we can gather
enough from the testament of
Archbishop Fonseca to confirm
that the Granada style which
we see in Fonseca's colleges in
both Salamanca and Santiago
is due to Diego de Siloe. The
authors have not examined the
will in question but even one
who holds documentary evi-
dence in positive awe would be
hard put to find any trace of
Siloe or his school in the Irland-
eses. The scheme of the build-
ing is the traditional Spanish
that had been going on un-
varied for centuries; and the
detail, the chief thing by which
Spanish architects are recog-
nized, is strikingly Castilian.
That is, the sculpture is known
to be at least in part by Ber-
ruguete, and is therefore very
distinct from the Granadine
school. Returning to Covar-
rubias it must be remembered
that, owing to his prominent
FIG. 49 — Detail from the Portal of
San Esteban, Salamanca.
position both in Toledo Cathe- Juan deAlava, Architect, 1524-1610.
dral and as master of the royal
works, he may have been called on to furnish many more plans
than he himself executed. These would then be passed over to
contractors, who were often architects and who secured the
best local talent to interpret them. Hence, if he did design
the Fonseca College, it is not surprising to learn from the
records that one Pedro Ibarra, who had studied in Italy, built
162 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
the stately patio illustrated in Plate XXXII. Some say that
he worked from his own plans, others, that they were drawn
by Rodrigo Gil de Ontanon, and still others give the credit
to Covarrubias. The candelabra motifs crowning the second
FIG. 50 — Upper Cloister of the Colegio de los Irlandeses, Salamanca.
Attributed to Pedro Ibarra.
story piers certainly resemble those above the balustrade on
Ontanon's university facade at Alcala, while of Covarrubias's
Alcala patio there is no reminder save the inimitable carving
by Berruguete. Had the Alcala staircase been repeated here
it would have gone far to settle the question; but instead there
are two, one on each side, well placed, but with their treat-
ment utterly lacking in sentiment. They have every appear-
PLATE XXXII
PATIO OF THE COLEGIO DE LOS IRLANDESES, SALAMANCA.
Attributed to Pedro Ibarra.
163
SALAMANCA 165
ance of the seventeenth century. That the building of the
patio and stairway suffered many interruptions there can be
no doubt. We know that it was begun about 1530 and that
Ibarra did not appear upon the scene until after 1550, when
FIG. 51 — Patio of the Convento de las Duenas, Salamanca.
he had completed a large chapel in the church of the Military
Order of Alcantara in the border town of that name. Of the
two stories that compose the Fonseca patio the lower and
more formal exhibits a rare proficiency in the application of
the classic orders and refutes at first glance Llaguno's state-
ment that it is the product of a sculptor rather than an archi-
tect. The upper story (Fig. 50) is a freer interpretation of
the style and therefore more Spanish. Getting down to
essentials and discarding rumors, the Irlandeses, with the
exception of the patio, might have been built by any good
Salamantine builder; and the patio was probably designed
by Covarrubias, carried out by Ibarra, and superintended
more or less by Ontanon who came on visits to the cathedral
166 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
where he was assisting his father. In these circumstances
different hands are naturally discernible but the Spanish char-
acter of the work is so paramount that a certain homogeneity
is the result. It is something to be thankful for that, although
FIG. 52 — Patio of the Castillo de Villanueva de Caneda near Salamanca.
the structure stood directly in the line of fire between English
and French batteries in 1812, only the graceful pinnacles of the
patio suffered.
To identify the sculptor Berruguete is a comparatively
easy and always a grateful task. The capitals and medallion
portraits here are too beautiful to be by less expert hands.
Salamanca is a veritable museum of the master's architectural
ornament. This served apparently as model for a group of
SALAMANCA 167
local sculptors who caught much of his passion for heads, and
his distribution of decorative elements, but not his extraordi-
nary skill of execution. If all the expressive and well modeled
heads in the city — in the patios of the Irlandeses and the con-
vent of Las Duenas (Fig. 51), the facades of the schools and
of many private houses, the portal of the Espiritu Santo —
if all these examples of Berruguete and his school were photo-
graphed they would make a marvelous gallery of sixteenth
century Spanish portraits invaluable for the study of the race
as well as for the study of their art. Apropos of what the
sculptor did for the Spanish palace M. Marcel Dieulafoy says
the following in his Statuaire Polychrome en Espagne: "And
finally there is a lost domain of art in which Spain showed
herself a sovereign mistress. I refer to her civil architecture.
I shall assemble some day the houses and palaces whose stones
the ornamentalists have embroidered with a distinction, a
delicacy, and a technical skill never surpassed ; but at present
I will merely cite as perfect models for sculptors the decorative
carving spread over the facades and interiors of aristocratic
dwellings."
CHAPTER VI
[ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTREMADURA
A VILA AND THE TOMB BY DOMENICO FANCELLI — FANCELLl's DISCIPLE
VASCO DE LA ZARZA AND HIS MONUMENTS IN THE CATHEDRAL — ZARZA'S
EXTRAORDINARY FACILITY IN THE SMALL MARBLE CUSTODIA — THE MONU-
MENT IN THE SACRISTY BY BERRUGUETE OR A PUPIL — GRANITE PALACES
OF AVILA — SEGOVIA AND ITS PALACES — SGRAFFITO TREATMENT — VAL-
LADOLID AND ITS SCARCITY OF RENAISSANCE — THE COLEGIO DE SAN
GREGORIO — THE PROVINCIAL MUSEUM IN THE COLEGIO DE LA SANTA
CRUZ AND THE REMARKABLE SCULPTURE IT HOLDS — SHORT HISTORY OF
WOODEN POLYCHROME SCULPTURE IN SPAIN — THE PROCESS OF ESTOFADO —
ALONSO DE BERRUGUETE, TRAINED IN ITALY, RENOUNCING MARBLE AND
RETURNING TO WOOD AND COLOR — HIS STALLS IN TOLEDO CATHEDRAL —
THE RETABLO FOR SAN BENITO — HIS PUPILS AND FOLLOWERS — ESTREMA-
DURA AND THE CATHEDRAL OF PLASENCIA — LOCAL TYPE OF HOUSE BUILT
FOR THE CONQUISTADORES IN ZAFRA, TRUJILLO, AND CACERES — LEON
AND THE WORK OF JUAN DE BADAJOZ — THE FAC.ADE OF SAN MARCOS —
THE GUZMAN PALACE — THE CLOISTER OF THE MONASTERY OF SAN ZOIL IN
THE TOWN OF CARRION DE LOS CONDES — BITS OF RENAISSANCE IN WIDELY
SCATTERED TOWNS OF OLD AND NEW CASTILE
CHAPTER VI
ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTREMADURA
r ""^HE walled town of Avila is of a complete and undis-
turbed medievalism that is not surpassed even in
JL medieval Spain ; nevertheless Renaissance penetrated
and endowed it with a rare collection of sculptural monuments.
In architecture the movement found no great expression for
Avila had ceased to be prosperous in the sixteenth century
and only the church was in a position to patronize the new
style. Here it was that the gifted Domenico Fancelli left
his masterpiece — the tomb of Prince John (Plate XXXIII)
in the Dominican convent-church of Santo Tomas. The
advent of this, one of the most beautiful tombs in Europe,
left a profound influence on the little town; Avila became a
center of Castilian sculpture. Fancelli's chief follower was
Vasco de la Zarza who kept a group of sculptors busy in the
cathedral for many years. The Renaissance work there con-
sists of the trascoro, the altars in the transept, and the very
remarkable monument in the ambulatory to Bishop Alfonso
de Madrigal, El Tostado. This last was long attributed
to the better known Italian and by some to Inocencio
Berruguete, but the indefatigable Don Manuel Gomez Moreno
has clarified the authorship and has, besides, discovered
Zarza's signature in the arabesques on the splendid tomb of
Bishop Alonso Carrillo de Albornoz in Toledo Cathedral.
The Italian who brought the Renaissance to Avila was
recorded by Cean Bermudez as Micer Domenico Alejandro
Florentin, his family name Fancelli not being known until
the publication in 1871 of data collected in Carrara by Canon
Pietro Andrei "On Domenico Fancelli the Florentine and
170 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Bartolommeo Ordognes the Spaniard." Domenico received
the commission from Don Juan Velasquez Davila who had
promised the dying queen that her only son, buried some years
before in Avila, should have a worthy monument. Presuma-
|
FIG. 53 — Panel from the Trascoro, Cathedral of Avila.
bly Davila undertook this at his own cost. The work was
placed in 1512 and met with such approval that it secured
another royal order, the monument for the prince's parents
which was placed in Granada, in 1517. The next year
Fancelli died immediately after submitting designs to the
executors of Cardinal Cisneros, as mentioned in Chapter II.
At this early period the Spanish preference was still for
1 "Sopra Domenico Fancelli Fiorentino e Bartolommeo Ordognes Spagnuolo e sopra
altri artisti loro contemporanei che nel principio del secolo decimosesto cultivarono e
propagarono in Spagna le arti belle italiane. Memorie estratte da document! inediti
per cura del canonico Pietro Andrei, Massa, 1871."
w
O M
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171
ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTREMADURA 173
free-standing as opposed to wall tombs, and Fancelli's were
of that type. All three are discernible as the conception of
one man, but in the first, the Avila, he attained a sublimity
which he just missed in the second and third. The figure of
the young prince, in no way a portrait, is at the same time a
sensitive interpretation of both youth and death. It lies on
a spacious sarcophagus so literally Plateresque that it is more
like orfevrerie than chiseled stone. Its flat and decorative
sculpture is Italian rather than Spanish, and yet unlike typical
Italian in that it is not primarily architectonic. Whatever
mouldings it does employ, however, are very beautiful both
in profile and decoration. (It may be said at once that only
one Spanish sculptor, Fancelli's disciple Zarza, ever realized
to the same extent what a valuable accessory a finely moulded
band could be.) The ensemble is the same as at Granada and
Alcala — sarcophagus with a series of scriptural figures in flat
niches on each side and accentuated at the corners by griffins
or figures. In one end of the Avila example is a medallion
relief of San Domingo and in the opposite end a little inscrip-
tion tablet, this incomparably Italian in form and lettering.
In the same church is another tomb sometimes ascribed to
Domenico though little about it bears out such attribution.
Partly Gothic it is inferior in every way yet interesting as a
precursor. It is dated 1504 and was erected to the guardians
of the prince, Juan Davila and Juana de Velasquez his wife,
parents of the nobleman who undertook to provide the youth's
resting place with a suitable memorial.
Plate XXXIV shows the bishop's tomb by Zarza which
is at the back of the capilla mayor in the cathedral. Of rich
marble beautifully worked it seems to suffer a little in the
embrace of the coarse bald granite of the church interior.
The composition is somewhat erratic but the defects are more
than offset by the exquisite detail, of conventional Italian and
exuberant Spanish curiously combined. The monument is
divided into three stages — base or sarcophagus proper with
paneled niches, a second stage with the seated figure of the
bishop, and an upper portion quite separate from the lower ones
as to arrangement, and made up of a relief of the Infant Christ.
174 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
The choicest part is the central with the learned bishop's
effigy, probably one of the finest bits executed in the Italian
style by any Spanish artist. Behind the seated figure and
cleverly inserted so as to form part of the arch is a beautiful
FIG. 54 — Altar of Santa Catalina in Avila Cathedral.
Attributed to Zarza.
circular bas-relief. On the pedestal it is recorded that the
bones of El Tostado ("the Tanned" for such was his curious
appellation) were brought here on the xoth of February, 1521;
but the monument must have been completed or nearly so
in 1518, for it is on record that in that year Domenico Fancelli
PLATE XXXIV
MONUMENT TO BISHOP ALFONSO DE MADRIGAL, EL TOSTADO,
AVILA CATHEDRAL.
Vasco de la Zarza, Sculptor, ca.
175
ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTREMADURA 177
was called upon by the cathedral chapter to appraise it.
Next in artistic value is the trascoro (Fig. 53), a prodigious
work cut in stone and depicting scenes from the life of Christ.
It too is ascribed to Zarza but is totally unlike the foregoing
FIG. 55 — Altar in the Sacristy of Avila Cathedral.
Attributed to Berruguete.
work. While the frame is Renaissance the sculptural panels
have more of a Gothic decorativeness. Many hands were
kept busy on this trascoro, Juan Rodriguez, Zarza's best
known follower, having charge of it after the master's death
about 1536. The two fine altars in the transept, one dedicated
to San Segundo and the other to Santa Catalina, are a much
178 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
more personal expression of Zarza's hand, especially the former
which on examination proves to be of greater refinement than
the more breezy execution of the latter (Fig. 54). Though
both might be criticised as over ornate they have much charm-
ing detail. In the altar of San Segundo the sculptural panels
have a decidedly primitive quality along with that same sensi-
tiveness for mouldings and little architectural details that is
observed in the Tostado monument. Particularly fine is the
cyma forming the base to the pedestal, ornamented with a
delicate dolphin pattern strange, somehow, in this inland
mountain town. Zarza is seen in quite another mood in some
exquisite miniature carving in the shape of a marble custodia
at the base of the magnificent painted retablo — a piece as
delicate and mellow as an old ivory casket. Sculpture of an
entirely different school from that of Fancelli and Zarza is
the very Spanish altar of alabaster in the sacristy (Fig. 55).
In it architecture is merely a sculptor's background, as the
elliptical arch over the figure of Christ plainly proves. Mould-
ings are nowhere featured or ornamented, and colonnettes
are but decorative adjuncts; but the figures are of extraordinary
realism and of that tenseness truly Spanish. Berruguete is
given (locally) as the author; at least it is of his school.
The few sixteenth-century palaces in Avila are of granite
and belong to the same medieval class as those to presently
be described in Estremadura. Renaissance is found mostly
in fragmentary motifs such as doorways and windows, for
which the friable granite of the region was worked in a very
peculiar and local style. The huge monoliths thus fashioned
into jambs and lintels are like coarse fragments of decadent
Roman (Fig. 56). In patios this ornamentation becomes
more general and is freely employed on lintels, parapets, and
brackets, but the forms carved are most rudimentary and are
indefinitely repeated, as, for instance, the stone balls in the clois-
ter arches of the Convento de Santo Tomas. The best known
of A vila's palaces is the Casa Polentinos, now a military acad-
emy. Here something more ambitious was attempted but
the palace was left unfinished for centuries and the recent
additions and restorations for the purpose of adapting it to
ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTEEM ADURA 179
its present use give no clue as to what it would have been as a
palace. The only notable exterior feature of the original
building is the imposing doorway with armorial panels at the
sides and a curious machicolated motif above.
FIG. 56 — Typical Granite Doorway, Avila.
Segovia, the other important mountain town of the region,
is primarily Romanesque. It has no notable Renaissance
monuments in its cathedral and its few sixteenth-century
houses are of the Avila type. One innovation, however, is
presented in the Casa de los Picos (facets), a caprice from Lom-
bardy of which this is a solitary example. Of the local type
of house, that of the Marques del Arco has an interesting patio
of granite where the diagonal arch of the corners, essentially
a Spanish feature, is very well applied (Fig. 57). Segovia
is the center for a sort of sgraffito treatment rare in Spain.
180 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
The stucco fronts are in tan and white, the latter being the
under coat which shows when the tan is scraped away. De-
signs are usually simple geometric arrangements but a few
Renaissance rinceaux and swags are seen. Most of the ex-
1 1
FIG. 57 — Patio of the Palacio del Marque's del Arco, Segovia.
amples are fairly modern but it is said that the process was
used in the region in the late sixteenth century.
Valladolid, the favorite residence of the sovereigns of
Castile and capital for awhile of the great Spanish Empire,
has surprisingly little of sixteenth-century architecture to
offer, nearly all it had having disappeared in the city's recent
zeal for modernizing. Its most interesting monuments, and
ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTREMADURA 181
these considerably restored, are the Colegio de San Gregorio
and the Colegio de la Santa Cruz, both of the late fifteenth
century. How the latter came to acquire its posterior Re-
naissance applications has been mentioned in Chapter I.
As to the San Gregorio, its exterior, like those of several con-
temporaries in the city, is outside the realm of sane architec-
ture but its main patio (Plate XXXV), while also fantastically
rich, yet has a definite scheme. The architect is said by some
to be Macias Carpintero and by others, Felipe Vigarni. Cer-
tain mouldings and minor details anticipate the new movement
but these are submerged in a preponderance of decadent
Flemish Gothic, and the whole shows a tinge of Moorish.
Structurally the composition of the patio is simple enough —
a double-storied arcade with twisted columns supporting
flat arches below, and patterned columns supporting semi-
circular arches above. This diagonal patterning was very
typical of the Flemish in Spain and was preserved by Egas in
his newel post at Toledo. Excessive richness occurs only in the
upper story where a stone screen is inserted in the arches to
shade the claustral walk — apparently an adaptation of the
wooden Moorish screen. Beyond these generalities, which
closely follow the original structure, there is nothing to exam-
ine, for hardly any of the old work survived the restoration.
This building, we have previously said, is in a class with
the Infantado Palace at Guadalajara by Juan Guas (Johan
Waas) the Fleming who built San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo
for Queen Isabella. , In each case the northern architect
while eager to add new elements to his repertory was unwilling
to eliminate any of the old. Had Egas been in the same mood
when he came in contact with Italian workmen and models
at Toledo, Spanish Plateresque would have been more Flemish
than Italian. In a secondary patio of the Colegio de San
Gregorio is a little window of mixed Moorish and Plateresque
which offers a favorable comparison with the more vulgar
Flemish and Plateresque of the principal patio. Between
Valladolid's late fifteenth-century structures and Herrera's
cold classic cathedral commenced in 1585 (see page 428) there
is practically no monument of importance ; but the city con-
\
182 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
tains a little museum, installed in the Colegio de Santa Cruz,
with a rare collection of Castilian sculpture. Although outside
mq^jijiim i | the scope of a strictly architectural
study, this collection is too interesting
to be passed without a word.
It has already been said that at the
dawn of the Renaissance, plastic art in
Spain had reached a flourishing stage
and was practiced by many foreigners
as well as natives. As the century
progressed it developed into some-
thing distinctly national. The figure
went on steadily improving, not in
the sense that it approached more and
more to the classic beauty of the
Italian, but precisely because it
diverged from that and became in-
tensely racy. It was curious, drama-
tic, yet always supremely dignified.
Even in purely architectural carving
this same independence and personal-
ity also prevailed and while grace was
not always attained the forms were
well balanced. The more sculpture
grew to be individual in expression,
the greater became the passion for
applying it. Mural painting mean-
while found no favor in the land.
The churches alone must have kept
an army of figure sculptors busy,
and secular work also employed them
lavishly. All materials used in build-
ing had to submit to the Spaniard's craving for form —
terra cotta, coarse granite, fine marble and alabaster, wood,
slate, and even iron were carved. But as time went on
one material — that best adapted to realistic portraiture —
came to hold the field of figure sculpture for itself; not
because of the greater facility with which wood could be
FIG. 58— Wooden Pul-
pit in the Colegiata of
Aranda del Duero.
183
ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTREMADURA 185
carved, but because it offered the best ground for the
application of color, and without color sculpture could not
be Spanish. Spain, except for the brief sway of Fancelli
and Ordonez, had remained faithful to polychrome and con-
FIG. 59 — Pulpit with Alternating Mudejar and Renaissance
Panels, Amusco, near Palencia.
tinued to do so even after sculpture was dead in the rest of
Europe; Zalzillo of Murcia, one of the most renowned poly-
chromists, lived in the eighteenth century. To the devout
Spanish soul monochrome saints could never speak as elo-
quently as those painted true to life; nor was it alone a craving
for realism that demanded color; centuries of contact with
Mussulman art had much to do with the painted and gilded
retablos and altars, the bright-hued azulejos, the gorgeous
damasks with their rich galloon and fringe, which were all
inseparable from Spanish worship. The process of coloring
wooden statuary was called estofado, that is, the simulating
of stuffs. It consisted of a foundation of heavy gold to be
186 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
painted upon, and the paint then scratched through with fine
lines until enough gold was exposed to impart the richness of
the fabric (generally brocade) imitated. Flesh, and especially
suffering or dead flesh, was counterfeited with appalling realism.
The first Italian-trained sculptor to turn back to the
national tradition was Alonso Berruguete whom we have al-
ready seen as an eminent architectural ornamentalist in
Alcala, Toledo, and Salamanca. His marvelous wood statu-
ary may be studied, along with that of several worthy disciples,
in the Valladolid museum. Berruguete was the son of Pedro
de Berruguete, one of the best known Castilian painters.
After his father's death in 1504 he left his native Paredes de
Nava, near Valladolid, and went to Italy. There he studied
painting, sculpture, and architecture. In Rome he knew both
Michelangelo and Bramante. The latter commissioned him
to make a copy of the Laocoon, and the remembrance of that
expressive group was always mixed up with the Titans of
Michelangelo in his work. In 1520, the year of Ordonez's
death, he returned to Spain and took that master's place as
the foremost of Spanish sculptors; not, however, as a maker of
marble monuments inspired by Italian models (although he
did execute several such) but as a wood carver who was to
return to medieval polychrome. Yet in his story-telling,
faithfully colored groups he nevertheless retained something
of the vigorous classic he had learned to execute under the
great Italian. Always noble and distinguished, his figures
became more and more ascetic until finally his lean nervous
saints seem to foretell the enraptured visions of El Greco.
Those preserved in Valladolid (Plate XXXVI) are fragments
from the colossal retablo of the Monasterio de San Benito el
Real, which was still intact when Don Isidor Bosarte made his
well reported Viage Artistico. In the magnificent Toledo
stalls carved by Berruguete and illustrated in Chapter II
(Fig. 16) a large portion of the work was necessarily entrusted
to pupils, but in the earlier retablo for San Benito we know
from the terms of the contract, dated 1526, that at least all
the faces and hands were to be carved and painted by the
master himself. Seeing that all these figures are much less
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draped than those in contemporary retablos we may consider
all except the garments to be his work. Not only the intense
masculinity of his sculpture but also the brilliance and skill
with which it was painted must have been a revelation to
other workers; we soon find not only Castilians but French-
men who were working in the province, falling into line.
Nearly all the architectural framing of the San Benito retablo
is missing, but its various stages were upheld, according to
Bosarte's description, by Lombard baluster colonnettes and
not by the more formal classic order. (According to M. Emile
Bertaux, * this style of colonnette, so recurrent in Plateresque,
first appeared in a retablo — that begun in 1505 for Palencia
Cathedral by Felipe de Vigarni — earlier, it will be seen, than
its use in the Mendoza palace at Lacalahorra.) The great
Berruguete died injToledo while working on the marble tomb
of Cardinal Juan de Tavera which he began in 1554, when
over seventy years of age. His influence had been profound
and far-reaching in Castile; and if it be advanced that the
exaggerated movements of his figures became a mannerism
with his followers Andres de Najera, Esteban Jordan, Ino-
cencio Berruguete and others, it must be remembered that,
even without his example, the Castilian turned naturally to
the deepest human emotions as the subject of his art. About
the end of the century which elapsed from the beginning of
Berruguete's career in Castile to the end of Gregorio Fer-
nandez's, an Andalusian school of polychromists arose quite
independently of the Castilian, yet along the same general
lines. To be sure the southerners selected by preference the
happier incidents of the Virgin's or saints' lives, but where
suffering had to be depicted, none exceeded them (Montanes,
for instance) in poignancy. We may assume then that these
strongly marked tendencies in sculpture expressed a truly
Spanish attitude of mind; in Berruguete's case they were un-
doubtedly crystallized'by the dignity and seriousness of Michel-
angelo, but not inspired by him.
We have already seen in the chapter on Salamanca, that
1 Histoire de 1'Art, par Andre Michel, vol. iv (with concluding chapter on the Re-
naissance in Spain by Emile Bertaux).
190 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Juan de Alava and others carried the new style to Plasencia
Cathedral in Estremadura. This province of Estremadura,
extending along the Portuguese border, is the most exclusive
and backward in Spain. It has no great architectural monu-
FIG. 60 — Portal Adjoining the Bishop's Palace, Plasencia.
ments, its one notable undertaking, the cathedral just referred
to, having soon come to a standstill. This church belongs in
reality to the group of late Gothic Castilian cathedrals. Juan
de Alava, Diego de Siloe, Francisco de Colonia, Rodrigo Gil
de Ontanon, and Alonso de Covarrubias are all in part respon-
sible but only the first mentioned, who was for awhile maestro
mayor, ever dedicated much time to it. Coro and transept
reached completion but the church still awaits a nave. While
structurally late Gothic its principal facade is in richest
Plateresque — that is, rich in quantity but with neither balance
ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTREMADURA 191
nor definite scheme. Alava displays a keener knowledge of
the style in the church of San Esteban in Salamanca. As for
the other distinguished architects resurrected by those who
have examined Plasencia's archives, their intervention led to
FIG. 61 — Palacio del Duque de San Carlos, Trujillo.
nothing distinctive. The church will always be more visited
for its extraordinarily impudent Gothic stalls by Rodrigo
Aleman (1520) than for its Plateresque front.
Far more pertinent to the province are the crude granite
palaces built by the returned conquistadores. Those hardy
men who went out to subdue the new savage world were
almost all Estramenos, and they invariably brought back
their Mexican and Peruvian gold and formed a mayorazgo
(entailed estate) in their native town. The palaces they built
are semi-medieval, romantic-looking, and not without a
192 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
certain grandeur, but they add nothing to the history of
Plateresque. Even where they acquired columnar patios
and vast stairhalls, the distinguishing feature of the style, its
beautiful ornamentation, is lacking; nor was the simpler art
FIG. 62 — Sacristy, Siguenza Cathedral.
Carved Vaulting and Wardrobes Attributed to Xamete.
of colorful surface decoration imported from Andalusia.
Throughout the century certain old-time traits persisted —
arched entrances with huge voussoirs, sparsity of windows,
and strong stone balconies which were merely converted
projecting turrets. The one innovation is a curious two-
sided window best described as a bite out of the corner; and
even this may be a peaceful modification of the defensive
ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTREMADURA 193
corner turret which permitted a survey in two directions.
This motif was very popular and often considerably architec-
turalized. Obviously its weak note is the arched top breaking
at the corner, nevertheless it was effectively used and even
FIG. 63 — Detail of Stairway in the Palacio de los Duenos, Medina
del Campo.
extended to neighboring provinces. Conquistador palaces
may be found in Plasencia, Badajoz, Zafra, Caceres, and
Trujillo, the most monumental being those of the Pizarro
family in the last mentioned town; one of these, the Palacio
de los Duques de San Carlos, is illustrated in Fig. 61. This
town of Trujillo is an altogether picturesque and primitive
spot in the Sierra de Guadalupe, far from any railroad. Pla-
sencia contains, besides the local type, the small house illus-
trated in Fig. 139 by Juan de Herrera, and Badajoz Cathedral
boasts one of the finest memorial brasses that ever came out
of Italy. It was made for the tomb of Lorenzo de Figueroa,
who died in 1506 as Ambassador to Venice.
Leon, far to the north of the kingdom, was never a Re-
naissance center but in it stands the masterpiece of one of
194 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
the most distinctive architects of the Plateresque period.
This is the Monastery of San Marcos by Juan de Badajoz.
The same architect is responsible for the notable cloister of
San Zoil in Carrion de los Condes, some forty miles or more
FIG. 64— Patio of Later Mendoza Palace, Guadalajara.
to the southeast. San Marcos was projected in the reign of
Ferdinand and Isabella but was not actually undertaken
until 1514; between that date and 1549 Juan de Badajoz
erected the greater part of the facade. After his death the
work dragged on until 1715 when it terminated in the central
entrance and absurd feature over it. Thus was marred one
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of the finest Renaissance facades in Spain. The architect's
earnest effort to express what is behind his exterior has re-
sulted in a most agreeable asymmetric
treatment. As has been remarked, the
Spanish conception of a facade was a
formidable wall that concealed rather
than revealed the arrangement behind;
San Marcos is therefore a departure.
The east end with its deeply recessed
entrance expresses the church, and is
as much Gothic as Renaissance; the
remainder, or monastery proper, is en-
tirely in the new style. Horizontally
the front is divided into equal stories,
the lower treated with pilasters, the
upper with engaged colonnettes. Par-
ticularly effective is the row of medal-
lion busts of the lower story (Plate
XXXVII). The golden limestone of
the region is the material used here,
but so unrestrainedly plastic is the
character of the ornamentation that it
gives one the impression of terra cotta.
As many of the little caprices in the
detail recur in the Carrion example it
is reasonably certain that the architect
himself must have been the dominant
sculptor. For Spanish work it is un-
usually low in relief and therefore less
realistic. The lower story, particu-
larly the fine medallions, has been
much maltreated, but now that the
edifice has been declared a national
monument depredations have ceased.
Of the interior, only the church and
cloister are interesting and these are more Gothic than Renais-
sance. The latter is in the style of the San Zoil cloister but
inferior to it in detail, which comment also applies to the same
FIG. 65 — Pier in the
Church of the Convento
de la Piedad, Guadala-
jara.
200 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
architect's work in the cathedral cloisters. An entirely different
conception of Renaissance is seen in the vast palace of the il-
lustrious Guzman family — a perfunctory product relieved by
picturesque gargoyles and corner windows. The most interest-
FIG. 66 — Detail from the Portal of the Capilla de los Caballeros,
Cuenca Cathedral.
ing feature is the main entrance with scrolls overhead support-
ing standing grotesques. This composition recalls the Alcala
University but the work here is only mediocre. The palace
was built in 1560 but the architect is thus far unknown.
In the cloister of the Benedictine Convento de San Zoil
at Carrion de los Condes, Juan de Badajoz's enthusiasm for
plastic forms has covered the entire vaulting of the four walks
ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTREMADURA 201
with reliefs of biblical personages, emperors, and heroes. Cer-
FIG. 67— Sketch of a House in Cuenca.
tain it is that the famous order was no longer heeding Saint
Bernard's plea for sobriety. The profusion of pendants and
bosses as well as the general disposition of the ribs recall Diego
202 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
de Riano's vestibule in the Seville Ayuntamiento, but here
at San Zoil the whole scheme is infinitely richer. It may be
said to be typically Spanish — a sculpturesque conception of
architecture, restless, but a marvel of execution. The finest
•MB .
FIG. 68 — Small Iron Reja in the Cathedral of Cuenca.
bay is that over the northeast corner above the entrance from
the church (Plate XXXVIII) containing effigies of the found-
ers, the Counts of Carrion, and their children. The five
pendants terminate in portrait reliefs, the center quatrefoil
is decorated with blazons, and the remaining panels have
figures in low relief. In the southeast corner is another par-
ticularly beautiful bay also shown in Plate XXXVIII, and
even more sculptural in character. Various saints here form
the decorative theme; in fact, it would be difficult to find a
personage mentioned in the Scriptures who is not represented
PLATE XXXIX
CLOISTER OF THE FORMER HIERONYMITE MONASTERY, LUPIANA.
203
PLATE XL
CARVED WOODEN DOORS OF THE SACRISTY, CUENCA CATHEDRAL.
By A lonzo de Berruguete.
14 205
ISOLATED WORK IN CASTILE AND ESTREMADURA 207
in this cloister. In addition to all this vigorous sculpture there
are some exquisite bits of miniature carving in the panels of
the piers, dancing fawns and shy nudes of the greatest delicacy,
but out of scale (and perhaps out of place). An inscription
FIG. 69 — Patio of the Palacio Espejo, Ciudad Rodrigo.
in the northeast corner says that the new cloister was com-
menced on the seventh of March, 1537, and finished in 1604,
after the master's death. The ensemble is Gothic, and Juan
de Badajoz, though interested principally in sculptural orna-
ment, preserved all the thoroughness of good Gothic vaulting.
The rest of the monastery is without merit, a fine Romanesque
church having been torn down to accommodate the present
ugly seventeenth-century one. But the claustral walk and
208 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
some rare examples of early printing in the convent library
make the tedious journey worth while.
In many other small towns of Old and New Castile there
are charming isolated bits of Renaissance, sometimes a whole
palace, sometimes a church portal, sometimes only a tomb or
a pulpit; but complete edifices, Renaissance through and
through to the same studied extent as the examples of Italy
or France, cannot be found. In Bribiesca, a little to the north
of Burgos, there is a renowned retablo; in Sigiienza, between
Alcala and Zaragoza, fine Plateresque portals in the cloisters,
and several chapels and rejas; also a sacristy (Fig. 62) re-
nowned for its barrel vaulting adorned with rosettes and
three hundred or more carved heads. In Lupiana, near
Guadalajara, is a very beautiful patio to the former monas-
tery (now the country home of a Madrid nobleman) ; this is
in the style of Covarrubias's patio at Alcala, but much per-
fected (Plate XXXIX). At Cuenca, in the cathedral, is the
most notable assembly of rejas of the period. Several of
these are set in exquisitely designed portals by Xamete, an
architect but little known, and whose name is now linked with
the famous vaulting in Sigiienza just mentioned. In Cuenca,
too, is a remarkable pair of doors carved in walnut and prob-
ably by Berruguete (Plate XL). Indeed it is precisely in
remote spots whither it was called by patrician or prelate
that detached bits must be sought; for as remarked at the
beginning of this book, the Renaissance did not answer to
any national demand in Spain. But few people needed it.
What the rich and educated wanted most was sumptuous
decoration, rich materials and stuffs ; the type of structure to
which these were accessory was very secondary. Only in
very few places, and these where the personality of a Fonseca
or other art patron was dominant, did the architectural move-
ment take deep enough root to change the medieval aspect of
a Castilian town.
CHAPTER VII
SEVILLE AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE RIANO
SEVILLE'S POLITICAL IMPORTANCE AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF AMER-
ICA— THE CASA DE CONTRATACl6N OR BOARD OF TRADE — DIEGO DE RIANO
ARCHITECT OF THE CASAS CAPITULARES OR CITY HALL — RIANO COM-
PARED WITH DIEGO DE SILOE WHO WORKED CONTEMPORANEOUSLY IN
GRANADA — RIANO's PROBABLE PLAN FOR THE CITY HALL — EXTERIOR OF
THE BUILDING — INTERIOR AND ARRANGEMENT OF RADIATING FIGURES IN
CEILINGS — RIANO'S WORK IN THE CATHEDRAL AS MAESTRO MAYOR — HIS
EARLY DEATH — MARTIN GAINZA AND OTHERS WHO SUCCEEDED AS MAESTRO
MAYOR AND THE CHANGES THEY MADE IN RIANO's PLANS — THE SACRISTJA
MAYOR — A FEW OF THE TREASURES GUARDED IN THE SACRISTY — RENAIS-
SANCE REJAS IN THE CATHEDRAL BY SANCHO MUNOZ OF CUENCA AND
FRAY FRANCISCO OF SALAMANCA — THE GIRALDA OR BELFRY OF THE
CATHEDRAL — ITS UPPER PORTION BY FERNAN RUIZ — LOCAL CRITICISM
OF RUIZ'S WORK
210
CHAPTER VII
SEVILLE AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE RIANO
only Andalusian cities to be discussed here are
Seville and Granada, and in addition a few small
towns near them to which their influence spread.
The scattered monuments in the rest of the province present
no features not covered in these centers. This statement
usually evokes some protest, for the reader is accustomed to
the notion that Andalusia is the incomparable part of Spain,
the scene of every great event in her history, and the cradle of
Spanish art; that the grim central and northern provinces were
in every way tributary to the picturesque and romantic south.
But when one pierces through the glamor which the Romantic
School cast over this undeniably delectable land wo die Citro-
nen bluhen and faces bald facts, one finds that most of the
cities which had been of prime importance under Moorish
rule dwindled to paltry towns after the Reconquest, and that
as a natural result there was but little building activity.
It was Fernando III (Fernando el Santo since his canoniza-
tion in the seventeenth century) who deprived the Moors of
all their Andalusian holdings save Granada. In 1236 he
took Cordova and then in quick succession Murcia, Jaen,
and Seville. The day was too late for the virile Romanesque
churches that had marked the reclaiming of Castile; and
although it was this same Fernando who had ordered the
three mighty Gothic cathedrals of Burgos, Toledo, and Leon,
he made no similar provision for his new cities. To do so,
and at the earliest opportunity, was no doubt his intention;
but things went badly with Spain under his successors, who
left the Christians of Andalusia to worship in ex-mosques,
211
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
and in fact to lag in every way. Cordova, that had been a
marvel of art and the intellectual center of the world under
the Khalifate, was forever extinguished. Except for the
unfortunate Plateresque coro in the mosque the Christians
gave it nothing; though it must be said to their credit that
they appreciated the Arab temple and fought off this incon-
gruous intrusion as long as possible. Seville might have
fallen into the same decay as Cordova had it not been that the
conqueror selected it as a royal residence.
As the incoming Christians of the year 1236 were no match
for the Moors in carpentry and kindred crafts, Moorish taste
in the arrangement and disposition of the house persisted.
In the ecclesiastical field the early Spaniards were content
with made-over mosques and did not order their Gothic
cathedral until 1401. Long before this, however, royal pre-
ference had turned north again and the city's good fortune
suffered a relapse. Political life continued to center in Castile
until the Catholic Sovereigns took the decision to fight the
Moorish campaign to a finish. This brought Andalusia, and
particularly Seville, into great prominence. Here the court
frequently resided while the war was in progress ; consequently
the nobles established themselves and built palaces.
Yet this resuscitation, since it had no economic founda-
tion, would have ended in nothing more than temporary
glamor except for that extraordinary event, the discovery of
the New World. This gave Seville material prosperity, for
the sovereigns invested it with the monopoly of transatlantic
trade and created the Casa de Contratacion and the Tribunal
de las Indias to deal with colonial affairs. With such advan-
tages Seville, although fifty miles up the Guadalquivir, became
the chief seaport of Spain. It is said that whenever the silver
fleet came in, a long procession of ox-carts was kept busy car-
rying the ingots from the wharves. A history published in
the sixteenth century gives an interesting picture of those
unexpected golden days: "The Casa de Contratacion in Sevilla,
such is the amount of business transacted by it, is the most
rich in the world to-day. It is the center of all the markets
of the earth, and Andalucia and Lusitania which formerly were
______^^
s
OH
213
SEVILLE AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE RIANO 215
the extreme end of all land are now, since the discovery of
The Indies, become as the middle of it ... the city hums
with all kinds of negotiations and buying and selling in which
enormous sums are exchanged; so that neither Tyre nor
FIG. 70 — Plan of the Casas Capitulares or City Hall, Seville.
Heavy portion by Diego de Riano, 1527, and remainder added in
XIX Century.
Alexandria in their day could have equaled it."1 Such bus-
tling trade naturally attracted foreigners. French, Flemish,
and Italians came, these last being mostly bankers to replace
the expelled Jews. And of course the Carrara contractors
sent their agents, knowing that prosperity would soon express
itself in monuments. It must be remembered that the great
discovery was not immediately a financial success for Spain;
rather the reverse; a fact to bear in mind when attention is
called to the many objects, even entire ceilings, gilded with
the first gold brought back by Christopher Columbus. The
few poor trinkets collected by Columbus in his first cruise
around the West Indies would not have gone far with Isabella's
goldsmiths or wood-gilders. It was not until after the con-
quest of Mexico and Peru that Spanish coffers began to swell ;
and so the sixteenth century had passed its first quarter before
an important municipal building rose.
This was the Casas Capitulares or City Hall begun in
1527 — not the large building as seen to-day but merely the
1 El Padre Mercada, Suma de Tratos y Contratos.
216 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
southern end which long sufficed for municipal needs and
which the eye can easily detach from the recently added
larger portion (see plan, Fig. 70). The architect was Diego
de Riano. Cean-Bermudez gives Juan Sanchez, but many
FIG. 71 — Detail from the Entrance Portal of the Casas Capitulates
of Seville.
Diego de Riano, Architect, 1527-34.
entries in the archives of the Ayuntamiento contradict him
as for instance: "The above Diego de Riano is to have 3333
maravedises and a half which are the second third of the
10,000 which are given him as his salary for the year which
was terminated at the end of December, 1527, for being
Maestro Mayor de la Obra." Riano came probably from
Valladolid to take charge of Seville Cathedral which was still
building. For its chapter he designed two sumptuous depend-
encies in Renaissance and one in late Gothic. His name is
SEVILLE AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE RIANO 217
as paramount in the Plateresque period of Seville as Diego
de Siloe's is in that of Granada, and as both were Castilians
and worked simultaneously in these two chief Andalusian
cities, a comparison is natural. The most accomplished ex-
ponent of Plateresque was he who infused into it the greatest
spontaneity and ingenuity — its very essence. Riano's is
fresh and inspiring even after the lapse of centuries ; and while
structurally he accomplished nothing so remarkable as Siloe's
dome to the Granada Cathedral (see p. 284) still his work is
much more Spanish; that is, more Plateresque.
The Casas Capitulares, or Ayuntamiento as it is more
often called, is a small building erected on the site of the old
fish-market whose removal had been ordered by the Catholic
Sovereigns because of its "bad appearance and disturbing
odors." Back of the Casas stood the Convent of San Fran-
cisco and it was into this that the vaulted archway seen on
the south end was designed to lead.1 Not even a fragmentary
sketch remains to show what the original intention was but
judging from the fact that in 1535 the impatient city fathers
suggested "that the plans be cut down in order that the struc-
ture may be more quickly finished" it would seem that Riano
had designed a north counterpart to the charming south wing.
If this scheme had been carried out and the building left free-
standing, there can be no doubt that it would have been one
of the architectural gems of Europe. Its diminutiveness
would not have forbidden the lavish treatment designed for it.
To-day this sixteenth-century facade (Plate XLI) forms but
part of a front 300 feet long, and on which it is intended to
continue the same copious ornamentation ; one doubts whether
the result, no matter how fine the carving, can escape being
over-rich and monotonous. Riano's plan without a patio
and with one and possibly two wings, was a marked departure
1 This monastery was of incomparable wealth and size; its church extended north to
the Calle Granada where one of the nave pillars may be seen incorporated in the north-
east angle of the new part of the City Hall. Its cloisters covered most of the present
Plaza de San Fernando. In 1810 Napoleon's troops sacked it and either intentionally
or accidentally burned it almost to the ground. The Franciscans were still rebuilding
when the Exclaustration Act came in 1835. It was then taken over by the government
as a barracks and finally removed for the enlargement of the Ayuntamiento.
218 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
from the accepted Spanish type of unbroken perimeter. It
may have been determined by the exigencies of the site, but
even so it indicates the architect's knowledge of the Italian.
In his ornament, however, he was thoroughly Spanish; but
FIG. 72 — The City's Escutcheon on the Facade of the Ayuntamiento
or City Hall, Seville, 1534.
with even more than the usual fervidness for the figure. The
eminent Professor Justi claims that Riano invented a new
system of ornament in which special emphasis was laid on the
figure. This can hardly be granted but it is true that his use
of radiating figures in the dome was an innovation — not a
new system of ornament, merely his personal caprice. Differ-
ing from the earlier system where concentrated ornament
contrasted with blank wall area, here, owing to the applica-
tion of the orders, it is distributed over the entire facade.
PLATE XLII
SCALE DRAWING OF A WINDOW OF THE AYUNTAMIENTO, SEVILLE.
Diego de Riano, Architect, 1527-35.
219
SEVILLE AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE RIANO
The facility of the execution is marvelous, as if the forms had
been carved in feverish haste before the artist's impression
could grow vague. Not a medallion or statue but repays
examination. One of the most naive motifs is the city's
FIG. 73 — Sculptural Panel from Facade of Ayuntamiento, Seville.
escutcheon (Fig. 72) — the Saints Fernando, Isidor, and Lean-
dro — most Gothically placed over a window perfectly Renais-
sance. Another point reminiscent of Gothic may be seen in
the reveals of window and door openings where splayed jambs
were preferred to the more classic form of architrave. In
contrast to this is the extraordinary purity of all the moulded
work, more classic in contour than most Spanish examples.
The chief carver, and at the same time superintendent, was
Juan Sanchez who, on Riano's early death, succeeded him as
maestro de la obra, along with Martin Gainza. It is not known
where Sanchez came from but certain aspects of the carving
take one back to Salamanca. There may be some connection
between this resemblance and the following entry in the
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Libro de Fabrica of the cathedral for the year 1530: "Seventy
ducats were given to Diego de Riano to pay a peon who had
been to Salamanca to hire artizans." Apparently Riano was
looking for carvers who could interpret his design free from
Mudejar influence.
The original City Hall was entered by the vestibule on the
southeast corner whose two enormous portals left it practically
open to the street. This room is entirely of stone with a
vaulted ceiling conceived in Gothic but with Renaissance
bosses and rib profiles (Fig. 74). The adjoining stairway is
likewise vaulted in stone, its ornamentation coarser than that
of the vestibule. It was done after Riano's death but shows
his designing in the radiating bas-reliefs of human figures.
The same arrangement is encountered on a much larger scale
in the sacristy of the cathedral designed by Riano and carried
out long after by Gainza. The most important room of the
Ayuntamiento is the upper council-room which has a magnifi-
cent ceiling of coffered wood richly gilded and with touches of
color in the soffits and ribs. This artesonado is of the time
of Philip II. Who designed it is not known but it is recorded
that Anton Velasquez and another image-painter claimed extra
money for some painting and gilding which they "were not
obliged by contract to do," also for "extra work on a frieze
which was ordered blue and later changed to Roman gold/'
This room must have been very sumptuous when hung with
the Cordova leather hangings or guadamaciles ordered for it
by the council in 1533, and which were to be "very good and
with the arms of the Emperor and of the city painted and gilded
upon them." This has all disappeared; also the embroidered
velvet which succeeded it and which was burned after a visita-
tion of the plague. Many sculptors, masons, wood carvers, image
painters, and "masters in making letters" had to be called in,
to judge from the old account books of the Ayuntamiento, be-
fore the structure was declared suitably finished and the following
inscription (now removed) carved on the facade: "Reigning in
Castilla the Very High and Very Catholic and Very Powerful King
Don Felipe II . . . this building was completed on the twenty-
second day of the month of August of the year MDLXIII."
SEVILLE AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE RIANO 223
The exterior of the foregoing having been nearly completed
before Riano's death in 1534 it offers a more satisfactory study
of his architecture than does his work in the cathedral, since
this had hardly been commenced before that date. As maestro
FIG. 74 — Ceiling of Vestibule in the Casas Capitulares, Seville.
Diego de Riano, Architect, 1527-34.
mayor he designed the small Sacristy of the Chalices in good
late Gothic, the main sacristy in Plateresque, and the chapter-
room decorated in the style of the classic revival, or as the
enthusiastic Sevillian Don Jose Gestoso y Perez expresses it,
Riano worked "in pious Gothic, joyous Plateresque, and
profound classic." This last is meant to qualify the chapter-
room but the fact is, one may see classic more profound in the
upper stage of the Plateresque sacristy. The chapter-room
was not started until after his death and dragged on with
224 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
many alterations until the end of the century; and as for its
decoration, classic revival was unknown to Riafio. Even
in the sacristy, so much more typical of him, it must be re-
membered that Plateresque is so personal, and so much depends
on the actual execution, that an artist's posthumous work
cannot be accepted without great reservations. The orna-
ment here is by no means as fine as that of the City Hall but
certainly what quality it has is due to the high standards set
in the earlier building. In the scheme, on the other hand,
there is more knowledge of classic forms than previously
revealed by him; this may be explained by the fact that the
cathedral chapter, distraught over his early death, immediately
called in "F. de Siloe, maestro mayor of the city of Granada,
to see the plans and visit the works of the sacristy"; which
F. de Siloe can be no other than Diego, already engaged in
erecting his Renaissance cathedral of Granada. This entry
in the records is the only ground for the claim made by certain
Granadinos that their "school" spread to Seville. It was
only three years before Riano's death that the chapter em-
powered him to order stone for the two sacristies from Utrera,
Puerta de Santa Maria, and Jerez. So it is plain to be seen
how little progress could have been made on them. One is
therefore thrown back on the Ayuntamiento for a concrete
estimate of the man's work. He died in Valladolid where
he was permitted to pass four months of each year by the
terms of his contract with the Seville chapter. His super-
intendent Martin Gainza, whose biography is not known but
whose name is Basque, was ordered by the canons to make
plaster models of the three dependencies according to the
late architect's plans. These plans they had safe in their
possession for shortly before they had paid Riafio fifty ducats
for various "conceptions" but on condition that he should
first deliver to them "all tracings, plans, and other papers
which he had made in order that the majordomo might deposit
them in the archives." When Gainza had complied Hernan
Ruiz, maestro mayor of Cordova, and a colleague were paid
to come and criticize both models and plans; and it is worth
recording as further proof of the extreme solicitude with
PLATE XLIII
REJA OF THE CAPILLA MAYOR, SEVILLE CATHEDRAL.
By Sancho Munez (and probably Fray Francisco de Salamanca), 1518-33.
225
SEVILLE AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE RIANO 227
which the canons proceeded that they sent for Diego de Siloe
and Rodrigo Gil de Ontanon to come and give their advice.
All reports being satisfactory Gainza, now maestro mayor,
was authorized to continue the work. On his death late in
1555 architects from all parts were invited to apply for the
position. By September of 1556 seven had presented them-
selves, among them Hernan Ruiz of Cordova, Andres Van-
delvira of Jaen, Diego de Siloe, and Pedro de Machuca of
Granada, but this last entry must mean Luis de Machuca.
Ruiz was chosen but the rejected were paid fifty ducats "for
their coming, sojourning, and returning and for the plans
they made for the masonry work." Ruiz did not live long
and again experts were invited to qualify. These details
are given to show to what extent Riafio's intentions were
subjected to various interpreters.
In plan the main sacristy is a cross of short arms sur-
mounted by a dome. Its ornament, as already mentioned, is
of the most exuberant, even to the point of concealing the
simplicity of the structure; but above the main frieze this
Plateresque exuberance gives way to more conventional
classic in the shape of swags, and panels of dancing warriors.
The actual dome and supporting pendentives are very fine,
and show none of the restless treatment seen below. There
are three horizontal stages to the dome, adorned with radiat-
ing figures supplanting ribs — an arrangement previously re-
ferred to as peculiarly Riano's. In the royal chapel by Martin
Gainza may be seen to what an extreme this treatment could
be carried; for here every principle of good decoration is
thrown aside in the unbridled desire for ornamentation.
Among the many treasures guarded in this sacristy is the
silver custodia by Juan de Arfe y Villafan, third generation
in Spain of the famous Arfe family, and author of a treatise
on classic and Renaissance design. The custodia stands nearly
ten feet high and is in the form of a classic tempietto (Fig.
75). Aside from its consummate skill in execution, this piece
is interesting because it is about the last in which the real
quality of beaten metal is preserved, as may be seen by com-
paring it with the same master's later work in the cathedral
228 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
of Valladolid. Another masterpiece in metal to be seen in
the sacristy is the huge bronze tenebraria or candelero placed
on the high altar during Holy week. The colossal amount of
fine Plateresque rejena (iron grilles) in this cathedral offers a
pretext for saying something about
the renowned ironworkers Sancho
Mufiez of Cuenca and Fray Fran-
cisco of Salamanca. Their pro-
found knowledge of the Italian style
is exemplified in the rejas of the
capilla mayor and coro, one of which
is illustrated in Plate XLIII. The
church records are very confused
as to which was Mufiez's and which
the friar's, and contradict themselves
many times over, which strengthens
the suspicion that the striking har-
mony between the two rejas is the
result of close collaboration on the
part of the rejeros. Cuenca, whence
Mufiez had been summoned in 1519
by the canons, was famous for its
ironworkers and possesses several
specimens by him in which the
Seville motifs reappear; it is there-
fore not unreasonable to assume
that he was the leading spirit in the
fashioning of these mighty Sevillian
grilles. The resplendent portion of
each is the cresting, consisting of
wreaths and scrolls framing biblical
personages; the capilla mayor reja has, in addition, a panel
of the Entombment which is a magnificent piece of embossing
in iron.
Seville is not as interesting in the early architectural
periods as it should be considering its prominence under the
Romans and Moors. As was usual the latter quarried from
Roman monuments and the Christians destroyed the Moorish,
FIG 75— Silver Custodia
ten feet high, Seville Cathe-
dral.
Juan de Arfe y Villafdn.
1580-87
PLATE XLIV
r !
LA GIRALDA, THE CAMPANILE OF SEVILLE CATHEDRAL, SEEN IN
DIRECT ELEVATION AND IN PERSPECTIVE 300 FEET
FROM ITS BASE.
229
SEVILLE AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE RIANO 231
Of these last but two important examples remain and one of
them, the Alcazar, was almost entirely rebuilt by Peter the
Cruel and later kings; the other, the alminar or prayer tower
of the chief mosque, was converted into a belfry and is known
all the world over as the Giralda (Plate XLIV). It takes its
place here because in the sixteenth century a Spanish architect,
Hernan Ruiz, son of the maestro mayor of Cordova, crowned
it with a Renaissance stage, and the result is a most skillful
welding of Asiatic and European architecture. The Arab
portion consists of a core and an outer shell, the latter measur-
ing 45 feet square; between the two there is an ascending
ramp of easy grade. As originally built the core rose some
40 feet above the outer wall and both were finished off with
pointed battlements, in addition to which the core bore a
dome of polychrome tiles crowned by four diminishing bronze
spheres. All this, it is plain, must have been a perfectly
satisfactory Oriental conception. In this first form the prayer
tower stood intact from the twelfth century until the four-
teenth when an earthquake shattered the iron supports of the
spheres. These and the dome were removed, and as the city
was now Christian, they were replaced by a crude bell sup-
port. At the same time a row of pointed arches holding a
bell, was substituted for the battlements of the outer wall.
Thus the alminar became a campanile. The chief mosque
alongside had served as a cathedral until the opening of the
fourteenth century, as already stated, when it was torn down
to make place for the slow-building Gothic structure. In
1568, Ruiz, maestro mayor of the cathedral, was instructed
by the chapter to design a Renaissance termination to the
tower, and crowned it with an enormous bronze statue of Faith
holding the banner of Constantine. This Faith (instead of
being fixed and unchanging) is the glraldillo or weather-vane
which gives the whole tower its popular name, for the statue,
though weighing a ton and a quarter, is so adjusted as to
turn with the wind. Ruiz's portion of the Giralda consists
of a first arched stage of equal diameter with the old and built
around the same core; but it does not extend to the full height
of the core which rises above and forms the base of the Renais-
232 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
sance spire. The structure now measures 287 feet high; and,
as the eye travels upward, one is unconscious of any abrupt
transition in the union of the new with the old. The same
color of brick, but not the same kind, was used in the sixteenth
^ century as in the twelfth, but no
P^L attempt was made to imitate the
f%pL exquisite patterning of the Moors;
^J^Lj instead the two stages are tied
together principally by carrying
the important vertical lines of the
older portion up through the new.
Ruiz's belfry piers, necessarily
solid, were made to echo the light-
ness of the lower portion by means
of an inlay of black tiles suggest-
ing perforations. The openness of
the design at this point affords an
opportunity of studying the con-
struction, entirely carried out in
brick and in a manner no less
thorough than the work below by
the Moorish architect Jabir. The
transition between the slender pro-
longation of the core and the main
of the Giralda Tower, Seville, shaft is more happy in perspective
By Herndn Ruiz, 1568. than in direct elevation, due to
the skillful handling of the balus-
trade motifs and the curious corner pinnacles (Fig. 76)
built up of stone and iron.
Judging the tower as a whole, it is assuredly an inspiring and
monumental composition. It is as homogeneous as if it had
been erected from the ground up in the sixteenth century, a
symbol of Spanish culture itself which was so largely built
on Moorish foundations. Yet modern critics, faithfully re-
peating each other year after year, deplore Ruiz's work as
a "mutilation" and claim that he might have done much
better "if only he had had some feeling for art, as had his
contemporaries who were filling all Spain with architectural
FIG. 76 — A Corner Pinnacle
SEVILLE AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE RIANO 233
marvels. There is nothing to admire in the outline of the
tower, nothing graceful to exalt the spirit, and nothing finally
which is remarkable in its constructional daring." The
architect, like the average layman of Seville who loves his
Giralda passionately, will be inclined to dispute each one of
these points. It does uplift the spirit, for Ruiz's portion
embodies what all the Gothicists tried to express in their
lofty spires; also it is structurally adventurous. Seeing that
Moorish towers had to be christianized, it is doubtful whether
it could have been done better. Furthermore, seeing that
the Spaniards had a mania for tearing down Moorish edifices
we may be thankful that the prayer-tower has been preserved
even though "mutilated."
CHAPTER VIII
THE SEVILLIAN HOUSE AND THE MONUMENTS AT OSUNA
PREVALENCE OF MUDEJAR TRADITIONS IN DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE —
COLOR FREELY USED IN INTERIORS — THE PATIO CHIEFLY AN EXPRESSION
IN YESERIA — METHODS OF WORKING PLASTER — AZULEJOS AND THEIR
USE — INTRODUCTION OF RENAISSANCE DESIGNS BY THE ITALIAN CERAMIST
FRAY NICULOSO OF PISA — HIS PORTAL TO THE CONVENT-CHURCH OF SANTA
PAULA — SEVILLIAN GARDENS AND THEIR TREATMENT — HOUSE OF THE
DUKE OF ALBA, KNOWN LOCALLY AS THE CASA DE LAS DUENAS — OTHER
MUDEJAR HOUSES — THE RIBERA TOMBS IN THE CHAPEL OF THE UNIVER-
SITY— THE TOWN OF OSUNA NEAR SEVILLE — THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH
AND THE SEPULCRO DE LOS DUQUES
234
CHAPTER VIII
THE SEVILLIAN HOUSE AND THE MONUMENTS AT OSUNA
/" | "\HE Renaissance had comparatively little effect on the
domestic architecture of Seville, as was natural in
,M a city where Moorish traditions had survived the
Reconquest. The same observation has already been made
with reference to Toledo, but the type of dwelling evolved
by the Moors of Andalusia was altogether gayer and more
attractive than that in the stern Castilian city. Outside,
the Sevillian house was little more than white stucco and this
continued to suffice even during the era of great prosperity.
In 1586 Alonso de Morgado wrote in his Historia de Sevilla
that Sevillians were commencing to ornament their houses on
the street side "having in the past spent all their money on
the interior as in Moorish days without thinking of the ex-
terior"; but his next sentence describes nothing more in the
way of outer additions than rich rejas. The poetic chronicler
appears to have been led into an undue exaggeration of the
architectural importance of rejas by the fact that "an infinite
number of noble and chaste ladies honor said rejas by their
presence." True, a few marble entrances were imported from
Genoa but it cannot be said that facades achieved any real
architectural treatment. The nearest approach to such is
the little top-story loggia now walled up in many examples.
In default of architecture, the interior offers a wealth of
inspiration in the decorative field. Color was the dominating
note supplied by polychrome azulejos in floors and walls and
by painted wooden ceilings. Marble was always used for
the slender patio column which supported richly worked
yeseria arches ; and many such columns are in fact from older
235
236 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Moorish buildings. As for plan, that was the usual grouping
of rooms around the patio; but as the needs and wealth of the
family grew this arrangement was repeated with interesting
irregularity until, to cite the Ribera house (now the Alba),
the scheme included no less than eleven patios. The principal,
which was rarely the first one entered, kept its character of
an outdoor room and was covered with an awning (toldo)
while the others were either paved or treated as gardens. As
a rule only the principal one was architecturalized.
The patio was primarily an expression in yeseria, the motifs
of which show an imaginative combination of Moorish, Gothic,
and Renaissance. It is odd that plasterwork and tiles, both
directly due to the Moslems, should have been the chief
vehicle of Renaissance expression; but it must be remembered
that of stone carving there was practically none, and that in
woodwork — doors, shutters, and ceilings — Moorish carpentena
prevailed. The yeseria arches of the patio are semicircular
and stilted, and the archivolt is profusely worked. This last
instead of resting on the classic entablature rests on a moulded
box whose spread permits of the most characteristic detail
of the style — the secondary pilaster between the arches, which
is a survival of the vertical Moorish inscription band. In
the Sevillian house such pilasters are nearly always treated in
pure Plateresque no matter how Oriental may be the rest of
the design. The spandrel was rarely ornamented at first
but later was filled with Plateresque forms or, as in the Pinelos
house, with portrait busts. Yeseria again appears in the
ornamental frame around the lofty openings leading from the
patio, and in the friezes that support the wooden ceilings
inside. This early Spanish yeseria was not cast but carved
— the practice prevailing in Morocco to-day. The plaster
was cut into blocks 2 inches thick and varying from 18 inches
to 3 feet in length; these were laid up in much the same man-
ner as stone would have been, except that in curved surfaces
such as the soffit of an arch the usual method of plastering
was followed. The proposed ornament was then scratched
on. Presumably the Moorish artizans employed on this
work went about it much as in Morocco to-day; without a
PLATE XLV
r/£Tfv
,vM,.>
l/r^^
YESERIA PANELS FROM THE CASA DEL DUQUE DE ALBA,
SEVILLE.
237
THE SEVILLIAN HOUSE
239
pattern, having at their finger-tips all the combinations possible
within the limits of their geometric design. When Renaissance
arabesques and figure work were demanded, however, it is
probable that a stencil was furnished, which proceeding would
FIG. 77 — Panel of Iridescent Azulejos in the Casa Pilatos, Seville.
account for the regularity seen in the units of such design.
Original work is found only in odd bits but where restorations
have been undertaken casts have been made from the old
blocks to supply the missing portions. In a patio thus filled
out one is able to gather a fairly good impression of its former
effectiveness. None of the sixteenth-century yeseria was
colored; it was employed for its own charm and was not, as
240 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
in Moorish edifices, a field for that bewildering polychrome
decoration which so often suggests the pastry-cook's art.
Left uncolored it assumes a rich old ivory tone. In texture
it is no longer the fine dense substance the Moors produced;
FIG. 78 — Sunken Patio in the Casa de los Venerables Sacerdotes, Seville.
that process appears to have been lost; but being coarse and
the tool marks evident, it has its own charm as may be seen
in Plate XLV. It is when used as a frieze that yeseria most
appeals to the modern.
Another feature peculiar to the Andalusian house is the
incorporation on a very large scale of enameled earthenware
in the form of tiles. This fashion is believed to have been
brought to Seville along with patterned brickwork by the
invading Almohades in the twelfth century. The tile still
retains its popularity as well as its Arab name azulejo (<2/ = the,
and 'Lulecha — glazed brick, according to the most recent
students). It would be impossible to form an idea from mere
description of the extent to which the azulejos were used in
Seville and its region. The zocalo, corresponding to our wain-
scot, is entirely of azulejos, and in older houses it runs to a
height of ten feet, as in the Casa Pilatos. Here it is divided
PLATE XLVI
ALTAR OF AZULEJOS IN THE REAL ALCAZAR, SEVILLE.
By Francisco Niculoso of Pisa, 1503.
16
241
PLATE XL VII
AZULEJO PORTAL OF THE CONVENTO DE SANTA PAULA, SEVILLE.
By Fray Francisco Niculoso of Pisa.
243
THE SEVILLIAN HOUSE
245
off by different patternings into a series of panels (Fig. 77)
and these, with their splendid coloring and luster, give the
effect of a row of Oriental silk rugs ; which no doubt is precisely
what they were meant to suggest in the Spanish Arab's home.
FIG. 79 — Azulejo Treatment in the Gardens of the Real Alcazar, Seville.
In many coffered wooden ceilings a tile forms the center of
each casetbn; in floors and stairs they are usually combined
with bricks or dull red square tiles; in gardens and patios,
whole benches, paths, and fountains are made of them (Fig.
78) and there is even an entire azulejo facade on a sixteenth-
century house in Carmona, near Seville.
The first Moorish azulejos were true mosaics, the tile
maker cutting innumerable small pieces from white, black,
blue, and green baked squares, and fitting them together in
geometric patterns. The process was difficult and wasteful
and was superseded by the cuerda seca (dry line). By this
method the pattern, after being impressed on the wet clay
by a matrix, was outlined with a mixture of grease and man-
ganese which prevented the colors from running together
246 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
when floated over the intervening spaces. The colors on
being baked formed a low relief and the cuerda seca of grease
acted like the metal line in cloisonne. About the early six-
teenth century two new processes appeared, the cuenca and
the pisano. In that known as the cuenca (concavity) the
design was pressed in, leaving a fine ridge of clay to form the
barrier between the various colors; the result was the exact
contrary of the cuerda seca, the body of the design being
depressed and its outline raised. In the pisano process, so
called because introduced by Fra Francesco Niculoso of Pisa,
the subjects were freely painted on the clay. Renaissance
arabesques and decorative figures comprised the first designs
but later the process degenerated into mere servile imitation
of large paintings (Plate XLVI). The monk's backgrounds
were usually yellow, but two tones, blue on white, were also
used. Until the middle seventeenth century, cuencas and
pisanos were made in countless numbers. The painted tile
while not as interesting in surface as the others was more
easily made and became a most popular architectural adjunct.
As such it may be seen in Fray Niculoso's beautiful doorway
to the convent-church of Santa Paula (Plate XLVII).
Seville still has many fine Moorish ceilings but this feature
is even more abundant in Granada and will be examined in
Chapter X. Sevillian gardens, however, have no counter-
part anywhere and are particularly grateful after the dearth
in Castile. With no relation to any European prototype they
were entirely a Moorish conception — a cool retreat from the
Andalusian sun. Even as early as the thirteenth century
they had attained fame, for the eminent Granadino Eben
Said wrote in his Description de Espana y Africa: "At present
[1237] the splendor of Andalusia appears to have spread to
Tunis where the sultan is constructing palaces and planting
gardens in the Andalusian manner. All his architects are
natives of Andalusia . . . also his gardeners." What sur-
vives to-day of the extensive Moorish scheme is a small per-
manent or planted portion of green, with flowering plants
used sparingly and always in pots so as to be variously grouped
from time to time. This Seville garden is small, intimate,
PLATE XLVIII
GARDEN OF THE MUSEO PROVINCIAL, SEVILLE.
247
THE SEVILLIAN HOUSE
249
never visible from the street, in no sense a setting for the
house but rather the reverse — the white-walled house a setting
FIG. 80— Garden of the Casa Pilatos, Seville.
for the garden. Being restricted and personal its success
depends largely on the neat study of its detail. The nucleus
is always the basin,, its water fed from a low centerpiece of
ceramics; this is generally octagonal and entirely constructed
of azulejos. Basin and paths leading to it form a unit of
design, repeated according to the area to be treated and thus
keeping the scale uniformly small. The whole layout is an
250 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
interesting study in primary colors; the field of green is fre-
quently secured by a low creeping vine instead of grass and
serves to set off the positive reds, blues, and yellows of the
azulejos; for azulejos, more often than flowers, are the domi-
nating note of color in the green scheme. Paths are of either
dull red tile interspersed with azulejos or bright yellow sand,
and outlined in either case by colored curb tiles. The poly-
chrome of the azulejos, while used effectively, is not a neces-
sity, for results just as distinctive are obtained in two colors,
blue and white, green and white, or yellow and white. In the
former Convento de la Merced, now the Provincial Museum,
is a recently made-over example carried out in this manner
(Plate XL VIII). The basin is of the two dominant tones
but richer color notes are used in the bottom of the pool.
The main paths are tiles — a basket-weave pattern of dull red
bricks interspersed with blue and white azulejos; subsidiary
paths are sanded. All are bordered with alternate blue and
white tiles 2 inches wide and 8 long. Around the various
centerpieces and on the edges of the pool are placed blue and
white flower-pots containing geraniums. The whole treat-
ment is one of precision and orderliness — a sort of glorified
mosaic. In old examples that have fallen into decay, natu-
rally this excessive orderliness has disappeared and though
these have the charm of all abandoned gardens the distinctive
Andalusian note is felt less.
One of the most admired Mudejar houses in Seville and
justly so is that of the Dukes of Alba. It was founded by the
Pinedas who had to sell it in 1484 to the Riberas in order to
raise money to ransom the head of their house from the Moors
of Granada. The sixteenth-century part is therefore due to
the Riberas, who later intermarried with the Albas. These
Riberas were of princely estate and built simultaneously the
other renowned example in the city, the so-called Casa de
Pilatos; but the latter is much more Moorish in spite of its
portal and thirteen of the patio columns having been executed
in Genoa (along with the well-known Ribera tombs). The
Alba palace has the advantage, so infrequent in towns even
of Andalusia, of an extensive forecourt (see plan, Plate XLIX),
PLATE XLIX
PLAN OF THE CASA DEL DUQUE DE ALBA, SEVILLE.
251
THE SEVILLIAN HOUSE 253
but as it is known that the existing house was but a portion
of the earlier, the forecourt may have been enclosed by build-
ings formerly and thus conformed to the Spanish custom of
building on the street. The entrance to the forecourt dates
from the seventeenth century; at its left is the porter's lodge
and at the right a secondary stable. The exterior of the main
building, it is said, was originally of red brick relieved by
bands of azulejos ; now it is all in white stucco and the composi-
tion is simplicity itself with no architectural treatment what-
ever.
On passing into the first vestibule or dismounting space
with its inevitable long bench one sees a good sixteenth-cen-
tury beamed ceiling, undecorated. A more elaborate one,
but also unpainted, is in the small recibidor approached by
several steps at the left end of the vestibule. Separated from
this recibidor by a good reja is an interesting stairhall, but
not the principal one, treated in azulejos. Returning to the
main patio it is amusing to dissect it and classify its various
features: arches and door frames of Mudejar yeseria; painted
ceilings both Renaissance and Moorish; Gothic rejas and a
Gothic parapet of stone, and lastly huge Mudejar wooden
doors swung on pivots as in the Alhambra, the lower pivot
sunken into the floor and the upper received by a projecting
corbel above. Such a patio, needless to add, is distinctly
Oriental in its ensemble but on examining the various features
much pure Renaissance detail is revealed (Plate L). As may
be seen in the plan, the even number of bays prevents it from
being on axis with either the entrance, the surrounding rooms,
or the garden. Opening off from it are several fine salons
with beautifully decorated ceilings; but the most striking
room here is the chapel with the ribs of its vaulted ceiling,
also the altar and zocalo, all of iridescent azulejos. These
tiles are admitted to be the finest extant specimens of metallic
reflections (reflejos metdlicos) and the whole room is aglow with
gold. From the left end of the large salon passed through
to reach the chapel opens a smaller room whose beamed ceil-
ing has never been restored and is one of the finest in the house.
The general background is red brown, the soffits of the large
254 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
beams are patterned in black, and the panels between the
beams are also practically black, with decoration picked out
in red, light blue, and gold. The ceiling rests on a yeseria
frieze about three feet high. On this floor the remaining
FIG. 8 1 — Decorated Wooden Ceiling in the Casa del Duque de Alba,
Seville.
important salon, that to the north of the patio, was apparently
used as a summer dining-room (for it was, and still is, cus-
tomary to move down to the cooler ground floor in summer).
This dining-room had no windows but was open at one end
to the garden. Here, too, is a fine ceiling and a rich yeseria
frieze. The principal stair is vast and constitutes a wing to
the building; but it is unattractive and bare, its former arte-
sonado having disappeared. As was customary, one side
of the patio, or rather of the whole structure, was left open
at the second story level to form a terrace overlooking the
255
THE SEVILLIAN HOUSE
257
garden, which lies to the right of the house. On this second
floor are some beautiful ceilings recently brought to light after
FIG. 82 — Doorway in Upper Cloister of the Casa del Duque de Alba,
Seville.
having been plastered over for centuries; the finest is that in
the lofty salon in the northwest corner under the cupola. In
its treatment the Alba house is typical of sixteenth-century
domestic work in Seville; that is, the Renaissance did little
more than penetrate into the applied decoration.
The Casa Pilatos already referred to is more pronouncedly
258 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Moorish although its building continued throughout the entire
century. The yeseria in particular is more Oriental but several
of the ceilings and rejas are Renaissance. Similar ceilings
are in the well-known Palacio Olea in the street of Guzman el
Bueno. The most Plateresque yeseria in the city is in the
Pinelos house in the Calle Abades, but this has been greatly
restored. Here, in the treatment of the secondary pilasters
and the reliefs in the spandrels, Renaissance is more architec-
turally appreciated than elsewhere. In the Calle Levis, the
former Jewry, is a neglected old palace which appears to have
been more distinctly Renaissance than any other example.
It has been converted into a tenement for half a hundred
families, but many of its ceilings, carved eaves, and other
fragments of the century are still well preserved.
It has been mentioned that the princely Ribera family
ordered their tombs from Genoese sculptors. These sculptors,
Antonio Aprile and Pace Gazini, were apparently a firm with
agents in Seville and they also furnished marble accessories
for the Ribera palace and the Alcazar. The tombs were first
placed in the rich Carthusian monastery in Triana (now a
pottery) but were removed by the family and placed in the
University Chapel on the secularizing of the monasteries.
Most praised are the wall monuments of Don Pedro Enrique
de Ribera by Aprile, and of his wife Dona Catalina by Gazini
(Plate LI) ; but the truth is that these works display a lack
of sentiment rare even in the most commercial work of the
Genoese stone-cutters. The ornament is formal and is not
helped out by the cold bluish marble in which it is carved.
The tombs are nevertheless very sumptuous and "attracted
so much attention when first set up in the Cartuja that the
sculptors received several contracts from important Sevillian
families." Too much cannot be said for another Ribera
monument of a different sort — the magnificent large floor slab
commemorating Per Afan de Ribera, Viceroy of Naples (d.
1571). This is in bronze, with a characteristic full-length
engraved figure and an exquisite border. The provenance of
Per Afan's monument is unknown but it is as fine in its way
as the beautiful Venetian bronze in Badajoz Cathedral to
259
THE SE\7ILLIAN HOUSE
261
another ambassador to Italy, Lorenzo de Figueroa. This
University Church contains other treasures including several
statues by the great polychromist Montafies.
Osuna, some sixty miles east of Seville, is the ancient seat
FIG. 83 — Detail from Patio in the Sepulcro de los Duques, Osuna.
of the Dukes of Osuna and possesses a monument of great
interest to the student of Plateresque. This is the collegiate
church with the beautiful sepulcro de los duques under the
high altar. It was in 1548 that an illustrious member of the
family, Don Juan Tellez Giron, "chief gentleman in waiting
to the king and one of the four grandees named in 1539 by
the Cortes of Toledo," founded the university and converted
the simple parochial church into a colegiata, both to be a
memorial to his parents. The university has no architec-
tural merit but the pantheon and the church possess consider-
able and are in purest Plateresque notwithstanding their
late date. The mausoleum is built at the base of the apse
of the church and is for the most part underground, forming
262 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
a remarkable succession of rooms. The diminutive patio,
15 feet square with two bays to a side (Plate LII), is first
entered. Treated all in white except for the beamed ceiling
in red and gold, this patio is particularly striking, and the
FIG. 84 — Garden Entrance to the Sepulcro de los Duques, Osuna.
same scheme, with the addition of some vermilion lacquered
chairs, is carried out in the little reception room. The basis
of the whole pantheon treatment is plaster of rich Plateresque
ornamentation. While the detail is purely Italian many of
the forms are distinctly Spanish, as, for example, the little
impost between the arches (Fig. 83), the baluster colonnette
at the corners, and the curious entablatures of the marble
PLATE LII
PATIO IN THE SEPULCRO DE LOS DUQUES, OSUNA.
263
THE SEVILLIAN HOUSE
265
columns. This yeseria is not carved but cast. In effective
contrast to the white background are the several little wall
FIG. 85— Portal of the Colegiata, Osuna.
altars decorated in green and gold. Beyond the patio is the
sacristy with a good wooden ceiling, and from this point on
the chapel and sepulchral chambers are all underground.
The same diminutive scale characterizes all, the coro of the
chapel having only nine seats, but these exquisitely carved.
There is a wealth of sixteenth-century ironwork in the shape
of rejas and small fittings and also a fine display of azulejos.
266 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
In the vaults below are the ancient coffins, nearly all of black
jasper, the epitaphs in archaic lettering. This pantheon has
recently been commendably restored.
Interest in the colegiata centers on the west portal (Fig.
85). The work would seem to date from the first quarter
of the century but the use of the crowning pediment advances
it into its proper decade. In the architrave of the doorway
and the base of the pilasters there is a marked resemblance to
Enrique Egas's Santa Cruz doorway at Toledo. A curious
terra cotta relief fills the tympanum of the arch. Much of
the detail is very beautiful, recalling the Salamantine school,
a comparison further borne out by the two smaller aisle en-
trances each side of the central. These have the abbreviated
side pilasters supported on corbels, also the stone candelabra
above the entablature with the custodia motif between, so
freely used in the facade of San Esteban in Salamanca.
CHAPTER IX
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE
ATTITUDE OF THE CHRISTIAN CONQUERORS TOWARDS MOORISH ART-
IMPORTATION OF CASTILIAN ARCHITECTS — THE ROYAL CHAPEL OR MAU-
SOLEUM FOR THE CATHOLIC SOVEREIGNS THE FIRST UNDERTAKING — ITS
FURNISHINGS ORDERED BY DON ANTONIO DE FONSECA — THE TOMB OF
FERDINAND AND ISABELLA BY DOMENICO FANCELLI — THAT OF JOAN AND
PHILIP THE FAIR BY BARTOLOME ORDONEZ — THE RETABLO BY FELIPE DE
VIGARNI — THE REJA BY BARTOLOME OF JAEN — ENRIQUE DE EGAS AND
THE NEW CATHEDRAL — THE COMMISSION TRANSFERRED TO DIEGO DE
SILOE — HIS MANNER OF ADAPTING A RENAISSANCE PLAN TO EGAS'S GOTHIC
FOUNDATIONS — SILOE's DOME — HIS CARVING ON THE PUERTA DE PERDON
AND THE PUERTA DE SAN JERONIMO — SILOE AND THE CONVENT-CHURCH
OF SAN JER6NIMO — SILOE AS AN ARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENTALIST — THE
CASA CASTRIL — SILOF/S LONG LIFE IN GRANADA — HOSPITAL REAL BY
ENRIQUE DE EGAS AND JUAN GARCIA DE PRADAS
268
CHAPTER IX
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE
GRANADA, capital of the last Moorish kingdom on
Spanish soil, was surrendered to Ferdinand and
Isabella on January 2, 1492. Here was a curious
circumstance, a modern European power acquiring possession
of a completely Asiatic city within in its own geographical
domain — a city unique in artistic aspect, and one which it
would have been the part of wisdom and foresight to preserve
if possible. But the Spaniards who conquered Andalusia
did not possess that sympathy with Arab culture which Don
Alfonso VI had manifested after the fall of Toledo in the
eleventh century. In the late fifteenth the stamping out of
heresy was the order of the day and the process concerned
itself not only with the innermost thoughts of the infidel but
also with such outward and visible expressions as the art and
literature which embodied his wrong-headedness.1 Granada
mosques were immediately altered into Christian churches.
Innumerable new churches and convents were erected, to
accommodate which, Moorish buildings were swept away.
True, Ferdinand had recommended that "so noble a resi-
dence as the Alhambra be respected " but his grandson soon
sacrificed a portion of it to his own palace ; the splendid royal
mosque alongside, in which had been celebrated the first mass
1 The venerable Archbishop Talavera and the Count of Tendilla, to whom princi-
pally the government of Granada was confided, sought to convert the Moors who
remained by more or less gentle suasion; but the results were too slow to satisfy either
the race hatred of the mob or the pious zeal of the drastic primate, Cardinal Jimenez
de Cisneros. He in 1499 ordered the compulsory baptism of the Moors (so quaintly
carved on the retablo of the Capilla Real) and in addition burned thousands of precious
Arab manuscripts.
270 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
after the surrender, was torn down and replaced by an ugly
Herrera structure for which there would have been abundant
space elsewhere. For all the new work Castilian architects
were called in. The most important of these, Diego de Siloe,
of Burgos, founded a distinct Granadine school which in time
crossed the Sierra Nevada to Jaen and Ubeda. This school
was in no way affected by the Arab art it was supplanting;
nor by the Italians who came to Granada. In domestic work,
however, many Mudejar methods still persisted, and various
convents and small parish churches are also so completely
in that style that the student of conventional church archi-
tecture and decoration will meet many surprises — wooden
ceilings richly painted and whole interiors of glowing metallic
azulejos.
We have seen in the chapter on Burgos how the young
artists trained there soon passed to more active building
centers. Granada with its physiognomy rapidly European-
izing could not fail to attract them. Probably most of them
came with a special recommendation from Bishop Fonseca
whose brother Antonio, one of Queen Isabella's executors,
was arranging for the embellishing of the Capilla Real. The
Queen had ordered this chapel to be built as her mausoleum
and it was begun soon after her death by the old maestro
mayor of Toledo Cathedral, Enrique de Egas. It adjoined
the chief mosque of the city, which had been selected as the
cathedral (and which was replaced in the eighteenth century
by the present Sagrario). The Capilla Real is a fine and
dignified piece of late Gothic finished in 1517* but later added
to by Charles who found it "too small for so great a glory/*
By the time Egas had his structure completed the new style
1 According to the decorative frieze of huge Gothic capitals, silver on a blue ground,
which runs around the interior:
This chapel was ordered to be built by the very Catholic Don Fernando and Dona
Isabel king and queen of the Spains Naples Sicily Jerusalem who conquered this king-
dom of Granada and reduced it to our faith and built and endowed the churches and
monasteries and hospitals of it and gained The Canaries and The Indies and the cities
of Oran Tripoli and Bugfa and destroyed heresy and put out the Moors and the Jews
from these kingdoms and reformed religion the queen finished on Tuesday the twenty-
sixth of November of the year 1504 the king finished on Wednesday the twenty-third
of January of the year 1516 and this chapel was finished in the year 1517.
PLATE LIII
TOMBS AND REJA IN THE CAPILLA REAL, GRANADA.
271
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE 273
was well under way, so that the furnishings ordered for it
were Plateresque. They consist of rejas, retablo, chancel, and
the royal tombs themselves, all making a veritable museum
of early Renaissance (Plate LIII). Of these the two tombs,
FIG, 86 — Detail from the Tomb of Ferdinand and Isabella, Granada.
Domenico Fancelli, Sculptor, 1517.
even were they less beautiful, would claim attention first
since they are the raison d'etre of the structure. The finer is
that of Ferdinand and Isabella by the Florentine Domenico
Fancelli (Plate LIV) ; the other, of their daughter Joan and
her husband Philip (Dona Juana la Loca y Don Felipe el
Hermoso), is by the Spaniard Bartolome Ordonez. It was
18
274 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
long supposed that this sculptor was the author of the Ferdi-
nand and Isabella tomb because his Carrara testament, un-
earthed by the Canon Pietro Andrei (see p. 169), reads: "I
declare that I am leaving finished the principal part of the
sepulcher of the Catholic King and Queen of Spain and that
it is packed in its corresponding boxes or chests." Now it
happens that the title of "Catholic Kings" bestowed upon
Ferdinand and Isabella was not destined to extend to their
successors; Ordonez however appears to have assumed that
it would do so and in that wise referred to Joan and Philip
whose tomb he was engaged on at the time of his death.
Spanish writers continued to take Ordonez literally until
Professor Justi disagreed. He insisted that the Ferdinand
and Isabella sarcophagus was Italian and the work of the
same sculptor who had made that of their son in Avila; fur-
thermore, that the Joan and Philip tomb so long anony-
mous was the one made by Ordonez in Carrara.1 As this
dissenter could offer no documentary grounds for despoil-
ing the Spaniard of the finer tomb, his verdict was not
accepted by the Spanish until Don Jose Marti y Monso
discovered in the Archivo Histbrico Nacional de Madrid
the contract between the executors of Cardinal Jimenez
and the Italian sculptor, which document, as may be seen
from the following extracts, settled the Granada matter
definitively.
The conditions by which are to be made the sarcophagus and
effigy of the Most Reverend Cardinal Franco Ximenes de Cisneros
may he be in glory are the following :
First the sarcophagus and effigy and figures are to be of Carrara
marble and said marble is to be as good as that of the sepulchre of
Prince Don Juan who now has holy glory which is in Sancto Tomas
of Abila and the same as are the effigies of the King and Queen
which are in Granada and certainly better if it were possible and
not worse; and said marble is to be white [here follow measure-
ments, etc.] and the base is to be well carved and its mouldings are
1 Estudios sobre el Renacimiento en Espana, por Carlos Justi, traducidos por Don
Francisco Suarez Bravo, Barcelona, 1892.
CO
II
s
SI
275
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE 277
to be in the antique style . . . and in each corner a griffin very
triumphant adorned with its wings and with foliage . . . and the
epitaph ... is to be lettered in the antique style with a compass
as such letters are made . . . and the effigy all in one piece . . .
all to be well carved as already said and as good as that of the
Prince and the King and Queen may they have holy glory and more
polished if possible and all to show the experience gained by the
master since he made the aforesaid effigies who is the one who is to
make this tomb.
The Very Noble and Magnificent Senores Fray Fco Ruiz Bishop
of Avila and Don Fco de Mendoza and the Reverend Sefior Doctor
Miguel Carrasco Rector of the College and University of Alcala de
Henares executors of the Most Illustrious and Most Reverend Don
Francisco Ximenes de Cisneros Cardinal of Spain Archbishop of
Toledo who is in glory agree on the aforesaid work with Micer
Domenico de Alejandre Florentin for the price of, etc., etc.
Comparing Domenico's Avila and Granada productions
one sees that the latter has lost the abstract decorativeness of
the former and has become more personal, more Spanish; this
not merely because of the ostentation of the national emblems,
but because the quality of the sculpture throughout is now
assertive and realistic. Fancelli was drifting into the Spanish
vein and had he lived to serve the great ones of the land
longer, would undoubtedly have become markedly Spaniol-
ized. The smaller figures are in three-quarter relief; corner
griffins have all the robustness of the antique ; and the effigy
of Ferdinand is a piece of searching portraiture; yet despite
the intense interest infused into the detail it is always prop-
erly subservient to the mass. The whole tomb is less ex-
quisite than Don Juan's, with less of beauty for beauty's
sake, but it has other qualities in full measure.
The extent to which the Spaniard Ordonez was influenced
by Fancelli is not surprising considering that he had previ-
ously executed the latter's design for the Cisneros tomb, and
that furthermore he may have been instructed to make a
companion piece to the already completed Catholic Kings'
monument. Especially in the detail is the likeness striking
(see Fig. 87), Ordonez's being even finer in certain parts;
278 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
but in the composition, where he had to fall back on his own
resources in order not to be too imitative, he is distinctly
inferior. After constructing a base of identical proportions
with the other (though less reposeful in contour) he added a
I
im
.
FIG. 87 — Detail from the Tomb of Dona Juana and Don Felipe, Granada.
Bartolome Ordonez, 1520.
secondary base above it for the recumbent figures. This
stands high out of the lower mass and breaks the outline un-
pleasantly; and while to Charles V the exalting of his parents
may have been flattering, to our modern sense of fitness it is
disturbing to find the greater monarchs lying low beside their
undistinguished successors. Ordonez had to leave this com-
mission unfinished and it may consequently represent some
PLATE LV
POLYCHROME WOODEN RETABLO IN THE CAPILLA REAL, GRANADA.
Felipe Vigarni, Sculptor.
279
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE 281
divergence (though it would be only slight) from his design1;
nevertheless, all considered, he was hardly as great a sculptor
as the splendor of his patrons would warrant one to expect.
Excellent as an artizan he lacked the distinct personality that
marked some of the lesser known Spanish sculptors. He was,
as mentioned, a Burgalese. He appears to have left Burgos
early for Italy where he remained several years. In 1518
he returned to Spain and established a botega in Barcelona on
the plan of the Genoese. From the cathedral chapter he
promptly secured an order to decorate the exterior of the coro
with scenes from the life of Santa Eulalia. When in 1518 the
Cisneros commission was transferred to him he repaired to
Carrara, although the Emperor had to intervene before the
canons would consent to his abandoning the Santa Eulalia
scenes. The few panels he had completed are much praised
but are in reality a perfunctory and academic piece of work
in which the artist had not yet found himself. His career
did not really begin until he went to Carrara, and it was
destined to be very brief for in less than two years death
overtook him (1520) and his work had to be completed by
various Italian marmorari and shipped to Spain. The
royal tomb arrived in Granada about 1526 and as Dona Juana
was still living it was stored in the Hospital Real where it
lay forgotten until long after her death.
The polychrome wooden retablo of the chapel (Plate LV)
is by Felipe de Borgona (also known as Viguerny, Vigarni, and
Vigarin) and is one of the most beautiful of the period. To
be sure, the Burgundian's sculpture varies little from that of
the Gothicists but his architectural frame shows an advanced
knowledge of composition and detail. Polychrome is limited
to the statuary, the frame being treated in white and gold.
This combination of white and gold is repeated in the marble
chancel, the work of an Italian. Another important, and
according to many the greatest, work of art to be examined
1 In the inventory of works left unfinished in Ord6nez's Carrara atelier at the time
of his death it is specified that there remained to be made for the royal tomb "diversi
pezzi del basamento, il deposito, e due angoli con due figuri de San Michele e di San
Giovanni Evta" Several of the Fonseca tombs for Coca also occur in the list of incom-
plete works.
282 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
here is the reja which divides the transept from the nave.
While there is much about it that is Gothic both in design and
technique, the embossed pilasters and horizontal bands are
exquisite bits of Renaissance design. Particularly interesting
as a translation into Renaissance language is the painted and
gilded panel above the gates containing the arms of Ferdinand
and Isabella and their grandson. The cresting contains
some thirty figures more than half life sized and marvelously
forged. The reja was made in 1523 and is signed by Maestre
Bartolome. This rejero did a quantity of work in Jaen and
Ubeda (see p. 328).
Hardly had the Capilla Real been started when the canons
began to feel that the mosque adjoining it was inadequate for
the greatness that had been thrust upon it, so Egas was asked
to make plans for a new cathedral. The bishop had to keep
nagging at the crown for many years before the corner-stone
was actually laid. This was in 1523 and immediately after
came the plague; so that by 1528 when Egas was given conge1
by the chapter little more than the foundations had been built.
When work was resumed it was under the direction of the
young Diego de Siloe who was erecting the Plateresque convent-
church of San Jeronimo at the time. Siloe proceeded in the
new style. Granada thus claims the earliest cathedral in
Renaissance, and built, at that, on Gothic foundations, for
Egas had been closely following Toledo Cathedral as is evident
in the plan (Fig. 88).
Considering that Siloe agreed to conform to the portions
already built the resemblance between Granada and Toledo
1 No writer appears to know why Egas was dismissed but his path in Granada had
never been a smooth one. He had several disagreements with the Majordomo of the
Royal Works concerning the Royal Chapel, the Cathedral and the Royal Hospital.
Moreover as he had been only three times to Granada during these five years the
chapter may have preferred a more attentive architect. His last visit was early in
1528 according to the cathedral archivo of April 2d of that year: "To Master Enrique
for twenty-five days consumed in corning from Toledo remaining in Granada and re-
turning to Toledo at five hundred maravedises each day which make twelve thousand
five hundred mrs. and twelve thousand five hundred for certain samples and tracings
which he made for said church." A few days later the painter Pedro Vasquez was
summoned to examine the foundations; whether he influenced the chapter against
Gothic and towards Renaissance is not known but certain it is that the work was sus-
pended shortly after.
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE 283
Cathedrals is natural. Both have a nave and double aisles
with a ribbon of chapels between the outer piers, and both
are characterized by a semi-circular ambulatory; but while the
ambulatory of the Castilian church is double-aisled that of
FIG. 88 — Plan of Granada Cathedral.
Enrique de Egas and Diego de Siloe, Architects, 1523 et seq.
the Andalusian is single, with the inner aisle space given over
to the radiating piers of the dome. A secondary circulation
is nevertheless provided by means of openings in the piers.
What Siloe did was to expand the semi-decagon of the Toledo
284 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
capilla mayor into a full decagon in order to support his dome.
To demonstrate how this could be done he started various
French and Spanish carvers to work on a model of his project.
This had been under way for nearly three years when the
Emperor heard of the scheme and commanded that the cathe-
dral should not be built a lo romano as that style would be out
of harmony with the Gothic Royal Chapel. The chapter there-
upon sent Siloe to court "to reply to His Majesty and defend
his work and intention/' From this errand the architect
came back triumphant and the building proceeded rapidly;
not to be finished by him however, for the Gothic vaults were
not closed in until after 1700.
Given the peculiar circumstances it is to be expected that
the Granada Cathedral should be different from the basilica
type in Italy and from subsequent examples in Spain where
the dome marks the crossing. Imposed on a circular capilla
mayor and its contiguous ambulatory it is admirably worked
out, but naturally it has lost the logical simplicity of the dome
over the crossing. Nevertheless, the successful manner in
which this feature was tied into a plan to which it was utterly
foreign caused Fergusson to say in his History of Architecture
that "the cathedral of Granada, is, in respect to its plan, one
of the finest churches in Europe." The dome, which is 155
feet high, is supported on two superposed Corinthian orders
but the effectiveness of the treatment is unfortunately
marred by seventeenth-century decorations. Many perplex-
ing problems naturally developed, such as carrying the spring
of the dome over the nave opening and managing the radial
piers and openings. In solving such problems Siloe displayed
rare skill and a thorough knowledge of classic principles. In
the former instance he ingeniously created a proscenium arch
with so broad a soffit that the amount eaten into it does not,
so far as the eye is concerned, materially weaken it. In the
second instance where the radial arches had to conform to
the treatment of the capilla mayor on the inner side and to
the vaulting arches of the ambulatory on the outer, he has been
not merely skillful but has secured an impressiveness hardly
less than classic (Fig. 89). Perhaps the only criticism admis-
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE 285
sible is his manner of vaulting the ambulatory and his placing
of the receiving columns. Here was a difficulty which had
long beset Gothic architects. Two practical solutions were
thrown over for a compromise; the columns could have been
FIG. 89 — Ambulatory Arch in Granada Cathedral.
Diego de Siloe, Architect, 1525-63.
so placed that the transverse arches were radial to the dome
center, or the main panels opposite the openings could have
been parallelograms and the intervening ones triangles. This
latter was the method followed in the Gothic vaulting of the
ambulatory at Toledo but had Siloe used it his triangles would
necessarily have been truncated (see plan, Fig. 88).
The main body of the church (Plate LVI) is dignified in
the ensemble but disappointing in detail, most especially in
the decadent Gothic vaulting. For this Siloe is not responsible
286 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
for the building dragged on into the eighteenth century. It is
probable that his design for the nave piers was followed, how-
ever, and while they are wholly classic and most impressive,
they lack certain niceties; the pier entablature supporting
FIG. 90 — Exterior of Granada Cathedral.
Diego de Siloe, Architect, 1525-63.
the arches, for instance, a feature which both classic and Re-
naissance architects in Italy gradually diminished and finally
eliminated, is here overpoweringly heavy. Aside from this
the great Corinthian piers are noble enough. They are com-
posed of four half-columns with three minor breaks at the
corners. The high pedestal with semicircular faces following
the section of the shaft carries down the lines with true Gothic
solidity. This pier is far superior to that of the cathedral of
Malaga designed by the same architect and where the pillars
are two orders in height.
Exteriorly Granada Cathedral presents a heterogeneous
aspect due to the long duration of its building and the num-
ber of artists employed. Siloe is directly responsible for the
ambulatory and dome, for the Puerta del Perdon, and, along
with Maeda, the Puerta de San Jeronimo. As seen from the
narrow surrounding calles the mighty dome plays a rather in-
conspicuous part as is apparent in Fig. 90. Siloe's hand is
evident up to the actual tiled roof from which point all archi-
tecturality ceases. While not conforming to or expressing
PLATE LVI
INTERIOR OF GRANADA CATHEDRAL.
Diego de Siloe, Architect, 1525-63.
287
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE 289
the interior it is nevertheless admirable in its substantiality
and interesting in the disposition and design of its buttresses;
a similar arrangement can be better studied in the church of
San Jeronimo. In the carving of the two portals mentioned,
over which Siloe's countrymen wax most enthusiastic, the
stranger is apt to experience some disappointment. The
architectural forms are none too good to begin with and are
moreover reduced to insipidity by a profuse amount of
meaningless detail. All the ornament is characterized by a
disturbing disparity in scale. It is improbable that Siloe did
much of the actual cutting here ; but the design, which really
was his, has lost the decorative and spontaneous quality to be
seen in his early e sealer a dorada in Burgos Cathedral.
Diego de Siloe may be further examined in various edifices
in the city (though in by no means all that are ascribed to
him and for which his pupils are largely responsible). His
best known work is that on which he was engaged when called
to the cathedral, San Jeronimo. Here again he was not the
architect from the beginning. Jacopo the Florentine, of
Murcia fame, is known to have worked here, and the cloisters
of the monastery and the foundations of the church were well
started when Siloe intervened. Shortage of funds had been
holding back the building until the widow of Gonsalvo de
Cordova, El Gran Capitan, offered to pay for its completion
if the Emperor would assign its capilla mayor as the mauso-
leum for her distinguished husband. It was then, 1525, that
Siloe was called in and at once started on the capilla mayor
and transept. From the exterior these form the only note
of interest and while presenting nothing new structurally,
the buttresses, the bald square end of the transept, and the
crucero, build up into a very impressive ensemble (Fig. 91).
What small merit the interior ever had has been submerged
under ugly eighteenth-century decorations. In the small
western, or coro, gallery (now closed because of threatened
collapse) is a fine but by no means incomparable sillena carved
by Siloe; and in the adjoining monastery, now a cavalry
barracks, are several doorways. Only one of them — the
entrance to the tower — is good. The panels of its splayed
19
290 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
sides are filled with typical Siloe arabesques, but in the reveal
of the arch above are some excellent busts. The remaining
doors attributed to him are difficult to appreciate owing to
repeated and heavy coats of paint; but it is immediately
FIG. 91 — Cimborio of the Convent of San Jeronimo, Granada.
Diego de Siloe, Architect.
evident that they are as mannered in their way as are the
Francisco de Colonia portals in the Burgos region. Always
the same archway flanked by pilasters, the same ornamental
frieze, and over the cornice the same flattened motif consisting
of a medallion head in the center supported by scrolls and
terminated by winged griffins. This disposition may be
seen in innumerable doors and windows throughout the city,
faithfully adhered to by all Siloe's disciples. On the whole,
Diego de Siloe, son of one of the greatest Gothic sculptors
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE 291
of Spain, is not the accomplished ornamentalist his compatri-
ots claim.1 His sculpture never attains that vitality which
one grows to demand of Spanish work. Technique aside,
sculpture when it adorns a building ought to be as carefully
FIG. 92 — Entrance to the Casa Castril, Granada.
Attributed to Diego de Siloe.
proportioned as any other architectural embellishment, and
here again Siloe is at fault as witness the incongruous group-
ing in his Puerta del Perdon. For his successful imposing of
the noble Renaissance dome on the Gothic plan of the cathe-
dral, however, he is entitled to rank with the masters of the
1 Not his countrymen only, for Professor Justi, usually so reserved in his apprecia-
tions, says: "The worthiest and most imaginative development of the style [Grotesque]
is shown in the works of Diego de Siloe on the north side of the cathedral at Granada
which are characterized by an inexhaustible fancy, a rhythmical stream of movement,
a unity of general effect combined with a constant flux of motives, and ebullient vitality.'*
292 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
century; but in the rest of his Granada work, for he was kept
busy erecting dwellings for Spaniards who had received emolu-
ments under the new regime, he was merely a high class com-
mercial architect, of precisely that type which would attract
a large following. No one can question this statement after
examining such specimens of his work as the Casa Castril.
The house at Number n Cuchilleros is also accredited to him
but is not at all characteristic. The first mentioned, which
is very extensive inside, has only a small facade and this covered
with ornament (Fig. 92). The chief motifs are the doorway
and the corner window of the second story. All the detail is
coarse and presents that same lack of scale noticeable in the
Puerta del Perdon. Siloe by no means dropped out of Castilian
affairs after coming to Granada for he is known to have entered
several competitions along with Covarrubias, Vigarm, and
others working in Toledo. His repute was high throughout
Andalusia where he was called upon to design the cathedral of
Malaga and was appointed visiting architect to Seville Ca-
thedral at eighty ducats for an annual visit of fifteen consecu-
tive days. He died in his Granada house (still preserved)
in 1563 "very rich, owning houses, slaves, jewels, silver and
precious stones, which went to the Hospital de San Juan de
Dios and other religious institutions, not omitting the cathedral
of his native city Burgos."
The remaining Plateresque monument of importance in
Granada is the Hospital Real de Dementes, a combined
insane and infant asylum which Enrique de Egas began in
1511. It had been commissioned long before and the follow-
ing quaint inscription in one of the patios gives an idea of its
slow progress: "Fernando y Isabel los Reyes Catolicos ordered
the building of this house from the foundations up although
their death prevented them from arriving at the roof but
Carlos Quinto el Emperador Invincible y Rey de todas las Es-
panas their grandson ordered that the work should be continued
and this part was finished in the year of Our Lord 1536 in
the which by the grace of the Lord the Emperor took by force
the city and kingdom of Tunis and punished the violence
and piracy of the Africans." The fact is that Egas had com-
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE 293
pleted only the first story when Ferdinand's death (1516)
put a stop to the work. When the "Invincible Emperor"
resumed it another architect was appointed. Juan Garcia
de Pradas, Egas's successor, also built the Gothic southeast
FIG. 93 — Portal to the Capilla Real, Granada.
Juan Garcia de Pradas, Architect, ca. 1520.
portal of the Capilla Real (Fig. 93) and the charming little
Lonja alongside of it (Fig. 94). On the hospital he appears
to have made some attempt to work in Egas's style, hence the
four Lombard windows of the second story; but some claim
that these are due to Juan Garcia's having worked at La-
calahorra rather than to his having followed Enrique's original
drawings. The marble entrance is a perfunctory piece of
seventeenth-century work and it is this lack of a portal com-
parable either to the Toledo or Santiago hospital that most
294 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
dissociates the facade from the first Renaissance architect.
Inside, one is immediately aware of him in the long perspective
of the north and south arms of the cross which now serve as a
vast hall leading to modern buildings at the rear. The east
FIG. 94 — The Lonja, Granada.
Juan Garcia de Pradas, Architect, 1518-22.
and west arms have been recently walled up and are used as
a refectory and a school, for the building at present holds
some nine hundred inmates. Such use, with the exception
of the walling up, may be no great departure from the original
intention for these arms were provided from the beginning
with windows on both front and rear patios, whereas the
great circulating north and south hall has none. The crossing
is covered with ribbed vaulting over the first story but on the
second is left open to the lofty cupola. Here it was formerly
that the altar was placed; — not an enclosed chapel but a
free-standing altar with the arms of the cross left open so that
the sick might hear mass from all sides. The magnificent
GRANADA AND THE WORK OF DIEGO DE SILOE 295
artesonados of the arms, all left undecorated, were made by
the maestro carpintero Juan de Plasencia. Of the four patios
the two on the east or right side of the building are bare of all
treatment, but were to have been provided with arcaded walks ;
that on the west front was the finest of all but only the
marble columns, arches, and frieze were ever completed.
There is more knowledge of Renaissance principles displayed
here than in Egas's earlier patios but the detail is so poor and
spiritless that one apprehends at a glance that the fertile and
capricious maestro gave it but little of his personal attention.
The patio to the rear of this, and the only one finished, is
even poorer; according to the date in the inscription already
quoted, it was decorated long after Egas had ceased to direct
the work and there is nothing about it that even suggests his
designing. It seems, then, that so far as he was concerned
there is little more than the cruciform plan of the Granada
hospital to be considered.
CHAPTER X
THE ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA AND PROVINCIAL WORK
PEDRO DE MACHUCA RECOMMENDED TO THE EMPEROR — CLASSIC PLAN
OF THE PALACE AND ITS AWKWARD ADJUSTMENT TO DOMESTIC NEEDS —
VARIOUS INTERRUPTIONS TO THE WORK — THE SOUTHERN OR SECONDARY
PORTAL BY MACHUCA — THE WESTERN OR PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE BY HIS
SON — THE CIRCULAR PATIO — DOMESTIC WORK IN GRANADA — TWO KINDS OF
WOODEN CEILINGS — CEILING IN THE EMPEROR'S APARTMENTS IN THE
ALHAMBRA — TILED STAIRCASES — PEBBLE MOSAICS — THE MENDOZA CASTLE
AT LACALAHORRA — ITS STAIRCASE AS A POSSIBLE INSPIRATION TO EN-
RIQUE DE EGAS — JAEN AND THE WORK OF ANDRES VANDELVIRA — VANDEL-
VIRA'S CHURCH OF SAN SALVADOR IN UBEDA — SILLER|A IN THE CHURCH
OF SANTA MARIA — PALACES IN UBEDA — THE AYUNTAMIENTO OR CITY
HALL OF B AEZA — THE BENAVENTE PALACE
296
CHAPTER X
THE ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA AND PROVINCIAL WORK
PEDRO MACHUCA was the architect chosen when
Charles V decided to build within the precincts of
the Alhambra. Two men more opposite than the
popular Siloe down in the town and the reserved Machuca
who lived and worked up on the hill could hardly be imagined.
Machuca was architect, painter, and sculptor, and had studied
in Italy "beside the divine Rafael da Urbino and was the
first to bring to Spain the maxims of the Renaissance in all
their classic purity" according to the authoritative Grana-
dino Don Manuel Gomez Moreno. No one gives Machuca's
birthplace but from 1524 he was residing in Granada and
carving retablos. The Conde de Tendilla, for whom he was
standard-bearer, recommended him to the Emperor, and
although the young man appears to have had no previous
architectural experience, he was immediately accepted and
instructed to plan a Renaissance palace to be erected ad-
jacent to the Moorish. (In this connection it must be re-
membered that Charles, although enamored of Italian art
and a lavish patron of Titian, never once harbored the thought
of bringing an Italian architect to Spain.)
The cost of the new structure was to be defrayed by the
Moriscos (baptized Moors) in return for royal permission to
retain their turbans. To accommodate the project a por-
tion of the Alhambra was destroyed, if not by the Emperor's
command, at least with his consent. Charles is reported to
have rebuked the cathedral chapter of Cordova, only a short
time before, for erecting a Plateresque coro in the center of
their thousand-pillared mosque. "You have built what you
297
298 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
or others might have built anywhere," he told them, "but
you have destroyed something that was unique in the world/'
Yet in this same year he altered the Alcazar of Seville (in
which he was married to Isabella of Portugal) and removed a
part of the Alhambra. The Arab and the Renaissance shoul-
der each other in most incongruous fashion, and though the
latter is a splendid piece of architecture it can never appear
otherwise than as an intruder within the precincts of the
acropolis. However, some justify its royal builder by stating
that he erected the new palace in order to save the old from
the modifications necessary to convert it into a European
residence.
The royal palace was never completed. Pedro Machuca
died in 1550 leaving it in the hands of his able son Luis; but the
annual tribute money which had kept it going ceased when
the Moriscos rebelled in 1568, and from then on the work
was taken up only in desultory fashion and by less skillful
architects. After the completion of the magnificent colon-
naded patio in Philip Ill's reign (1616) building operations
practically stopped. It is said that the wealthy Due de
Montpensier, before fixing upon Seville as his residence in
the last century, offered to buy and complete the royal palace
of Granada. The fact that his offer was declined is still
regretted by the Granadinos since their city lost thereby the
immense fortune spent in, and bequeathed to, the rival Anda-
lusian capital. From the artistic point of view, however,
there is nothing to lament in the fact that the palace has
remained in impoverished hands, for it is vastly more impres-
sive unfinished. It is primarily a monument. The composi-
tion of the plan (Fig. 95), particularly of the circular patio,
is based on Roman traditions; and while the scheme is of
noble simplicity, the elements that build up a fine amphi-
theater are ill-suited for domestic architecture. It was in
Machuca's efforts to harmonize the two that certain weak-
nesses developed in his design; such are the corner staircases
with their cramped approaches, and the medieval chapel
tower so inharmonious and out of scale. Furthermore he
appears to have been embarrassed to accommodate interior
SOUTH PORTAL OF CHARLES V'S PALACE ON THE ALHAMBRA HILL,
GRANADA.
Pedro Machuca, A rchitect, 1526 et seq.
299
ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA 301
walls to fenestration ; many of them butt square against window
openings, and apparently there was no intention of concealing
this clumsiness by blind openings; some more superficial trick
SCALE OP O 15 50 ^ 1OO 115 FEET
FIG. 95 — Plan of the Palace of Charles V at Granada.
Pedro Machuca, Architect, 1526.
was to be resorted to. In short the palace, though admirably
bold in idea, lacks nicety and finesse of plan.
Yellowish sandstone from the Sierra Nevada supplied
the material for the facade, along with marble from the Sierra
de Elvira for the portals and patio columns. The scheme is
a two-storied quadrangle 207 feet square, enclosing a circular
court. The exterior is a combining of classic and Renaissance
styles, the former found in the two principal portals, the
302 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
latter in the Florentine rustication of the lower story and the
Roman palace windows of the upper. During the quarter
of a century which Machuca devoted to the building he com-
pleted the extensive subterranean vaulting and the main
FIG. 96 — West Fagade of Charles V's Palace at Granada.
Pedro Machuca, Architect, 1526 et seq.
walls, exterior and interior. This does not include the portals,
however, of which only a portion of the south entrance was
by him. Machuca's son, following his father's design, built
the first or Doric stage of the imposing circular court and most
of the octagonal chapel; he also finished his father's south
door and began the main or west entrance. Of his work the
most admirable is the annular vaulting of the patio. The
main entrance which he began suffers at the outset from the
squareness of its proportions and the very obvious uselessness
of the diminutive door each side of the main. The fault may
not be the orignal designer's, for when work was resumed
after the Morisco outbreak, Juan de Herrera, Philip IPs
ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA 303
official architect, ordered his pupil Juan de Mijares to continue
this main entrance; between them they altered lamentably
Machuca's design. After another long interruption one of
the four projected staircases was built (1635) and very poorly
adjusted to the angle destined to receive it. This was the
last touch; the roof including the chapel dome that was to
tower above all the buildings on the Alhambra hill was never
finished; the triumphal arch springing from the southwest
corner likewise remained only on paper. It will be readily
seen that this much checkered enterprise in which so many,
and often unsympathetic, hands intervened does not offer
favorable opportunity to judge this first Spanish architect
who had studied in Italy. But his detail of cornice moulds,
his triglyph frieze with alternating skull and rosette motif,
and above all his two portals give ample evidence of how
abundantly he had imbibed the spirit of Italy.
Of these imposing entrances the southern or secondary
(Plate LVII), executed under himself and his son, may rank
as the best piece of Greco-Romano-Renaissance in Spain —
the best, indeed, outside of Italy. A Fleming, Antonio de
Leval, and an Italian, Nicolo da Corte, executed the sculpture
of the lower portion; and for the upper this last named ar-
ranged with Machuca in 1548 to carry out his drawings. It
appears to be his work although it is known that he tried to
let out the contract in Genoa. The pedestals of the columns
are ornamented with bas-reliefs in the manner of the antique,
but instead of the customary classic trophies, Christian,
Arabic, and Turkish ones, all reminiscent of the Emperor's
conquests, have been substituted. Machuca's tendency to
set the orders on too high a pedestal is particularly noticeable
here, but what few defects the door may have are mitigated
by the excellent sculpture. A further illustration of the
master's close knowledge of the antique are the archaic tapered
pilasters at the sides, probably the only instance of their use
in Spain.
The western or principal entrance begun by Luis Machuca
and finished by Herrera's pupil is inferior to the southern in
composition. The only noteworthy sculpture is that of the
304 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
battle scenes on the lower pedestals, one of them supposed
to be Pavia where Charles V took Francis I prisoner. The
FIG. 97— Patio of Charles V's Palace, Granada.
Designed by Pedro Machuca in 1526, and built by Us son Luis.
Fleming Leval made these reliefs, while Juan de Cubillana
(whose nationality is not stated in the records) made the
Delia Robbia swags, classic mouldings, and ornamentation
in the architrave. The carving of the upper portion of the
door is by Andres de Ocampo. Nothing here has the senti-
ment of the sculpture nor the archaic quality of the tapered
<
3 .
w ^
Q *o
VJ
305
ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA 307
pilasters on the south portal, but the detail throughout shows
Machuca's classic designing.
The interior of the palace is less coherent than the exte-
rior. Only the circular patio and the four approaches were
ever completed and of these only the patio (Fig. 97) is really
noteworthy. It is perfectly academic and therefore not Span-
ish but it is well proportioned and extremely well detailed.
The stone construction is admirable, especially the annular
vaulting of the lower story which is a continuous unfeatured
elliptical vault. The span between the columns is made by
a flat arch of three keystones resting on a huge block over the
columns. The upper story is unroofed but it is evident from
the holes left in the masonry that the ceiling was to be of
wooden beam construction. It is a testimony to the endur-
ance of good masonry that the interior has suffered no dilapi-
dation during the centuries it has stood open to the sky.
This imposing monument remained a detached piece of classic
architecture in Spain giving nothing to the classic movement
initiated later by Bartolome Bustamente in the Hospital
Afuera of Toledo (1541). Machuca also designed the fine
fountain near the Emperor's palace (Plate LVIII) and the
entrance gate to the Alameda.
Turning from the palace on the hill to the typical domestic
work down in the city, there is nothing remarkable architec-
turally in the casas particulars which all too soon replaced
the Moorish ones distributed by the conquering sovereigns
among their followers. The new homes were designated by
contemporary writers as casas castellanas because built for
Castilians, but in most respects they clung to Moorish build-
ing traditions. To say that Siloe was architect of a house
meant that a stereotyped Siloe door and window were inserted
into a plain stucco facade; the inside was a mere haphazard
assembly of rooms conforming to a plot more often irregular
than not, and with patio corresponding. There was no nicer
sense of plan here than elsewhere in Spain yet the interiors,
like those of Seville, are well worth studying for certain deco-
rative features. Of wooden ceilings in particular there is
great abundance. These are of two distinct kinds, peaked
308 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
with open construction and ornamented tie-pieces, and flat
with richly carved coffers (Figs. 98 and 99). The peaked is
exclusively Moorish but the flat may be either Moorish or
Spanish — either small units arranged in geometric patterns,
FIG. 98 — Ceiling in the House of Luis de Cordova, Granada.
Dated 1592.
or polygonal coffers ornamented in Renaissance. It is the
peaked ceiling which is most often met, not only in Granada
but throughout Andalusia, and as it is simple in construction
it is very adaptable for modern use. The room it covers is
usually twice as long as wide since squarer proportions would
bring the hipped ends too close together. The top of the
peak is truncated into a long flat panel and across the face
of this the rafters pass in a continuous line; where they meet
each other at the hipped corners the actual intersection is
visible between the double hip-rafters as may be seen in Fig.
98. Underneath runs a diagonal cross-piece not necessary
structurally, but merely an interesting survival of the old
Moorish canted corner supported by stalactites. The chief
PLATE LIX
CEILING IN THE COUNCIL ROOM OF THE AYUNTAMIENTO VIEJO,
GRANADA.
309
ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA 311
feature of this type of ceiling is the elaborate coupled tie-
pieces (although in Cordova twisted iron rods were preferred).
The coupled tie-pieces always rest on carved corbels and are
about 14 inches on center. In smaller examples they are
left unconnected while in larger they are united at intervals
by cabinet patterning. Great refinement is imparted to the
beams by beading and scoring the soffit. A more effective
result from a simple process could hardly be imagined, for
by truncating the peak and featuring the hip, the two un-
gainly passages of the ordinary open roof are happily over-
come. An excellent example of this type may be seen in the
Mudejar Casa Chapiz, but it has lately been pierced by the
chimney of the bakery below. In the front salon of the now
dismantled palace of Luis de Cordova is another (Fig. 98)
still complete, but open to the sky in many places and there-
fore discolored by the rain that trickles through. Both these
houses were built about 1590. The best preserved example,
although dating back to Moorish days, is in the Casa del
Cabildo Antiguo or Ayuntamiento Viejo (now a warehouse),
opposite the Royal Chapel (Plate LIX). This is one of the
few treated in color. The decoration was added after the con-
quest in 1492 when the Catholic Kings decided to use the
building, which had been the Moorish University, for civic
purposes. A great number of these ceilings have disappeared
of late years and those that remain are in sad need of repair.
The flat paneled ceiling, as already stated, is of two vari-
eties, Moorish and Spanish. Of these the one built up of
complex Moorish cabinet work is out of the realm of modern
carpentry and, indeed, ceased to be made in Spain when
there were no more Moriscos left to patiently put it together.
As to the coffered ceiling whose combination of Renaissance
design with Moorish carpentena makes the most interesting
of all types, it is not specially Granadine, but is met with
everywhere in Spain and has already been described. The
finest specimens in Granada are in those apartments of the
Alhambra which were made over for the occupation of the
Emperor pending the erection of his new palace. These
aposentos de Carlos Quinto (one of which was later occupied
312 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
by Washington Irving) were unorientalized by removing
their yeseria and carpinteria and putting in Renaissance
ceilings and " linen-fold " shutters and doors. The ceilings
are said to have been designed by the royal architect Pedro
FIG. 99 — Ceiling in the Apartments Remodeled for Charles V in the
Moorish Alhambra, Granada.
Machuca, and executed by the same Juan de Plasencia who
made the splendid but badly lighted series in the Hospital
Real. In both buildings they are of reddish pine, undecorated,
save for one unimportant example in the royal suite. The
most purely Spanish of all (Fig. 99) is in the Washington
Room (named for Washington Irving). It rests on a delicate
Renaissance frieze supported on small modillions. The
panels are deeply coffered octagons with flat portrait heads
in the soffits. Perhaps the most skillful part of the design is
the flat square panel between the octagons, which is left un-
moulded and is filled with a beautifully carved acanthus
scroll.
Old tiles, even a few with metallic luster, can still be found
PQ
CO
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3
8
313
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY 315
in the most ancient Granada houses but appear to be less
numerous than in Seville. Nevertheless they form the princi-
pal material for floors, wainscoting, and staircases. In the
last mentioned one frequently finds the following practical
FIG. 100 — Window by Jacopo Florentine, Cathedral of Murcia.
and interesting application: The tiles of the tread are held
in place by a heavy wooden nosing and are so arranged that
every third or fourth unit is a colored azulejo set in a field of
red tile or brick; the tiles of the riser sometimes carry out the
same scheme though more often, this being the protected por-
tion, it is entirely of azulejos ; and the treatment of the land-
ing is generally a simple red field enclosed in a border of colored
azulejos. The diversity of effects obtained by this simple
process is surprising. A Toledo stair of the foregoing type
is illustrated in Plate IV. Another material interestingly
used in vestibules, patios, and garden paths is the small egg-
shaped stones from the river bed. These, black and white,
316 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
are laid in bold patterns with heraldic beasts and escutcheons
predominating, especially the double-headed eagle.
Earlier than, but without exerting the least influence on,
the Granadine school, was the beautiful Italian work done in
the castle of Lacalahorra some forty miles east of the city.
This castillo, the last to be built in Spain, was the home of
Don Rodrigo de Mendoza. Immediately after the conquest
this nobleman had been created Marquis del Zenete by Fer-
dinand and Isabella, and was charged to keep the Moriscos
of his new possessions in order; but before he had time to
build himself a residence in his marquisate he incurred the
displeasure of his sovereign by kidnapping the noble Maria
de Fonseca from the royal nunnery of Las Huelgas, near
Burgos. Hence it may have been as much for the purpose
of resisting royal authority as Moorish uprisings that he
resorted to defensive architecture. The exterior offers noth-
ing of interest to a student of Renaissance. It is a massive
rectangle accentuated at the corners by sturdy round towers
and with a large wing thrown out from one side. The stones
are roughly dimensioned and the masonry crude. There is
but one entrance, a simple round-arched opening with thick
wooden doors plated and studded with iron. The plan (Fig.
101) is Spanish — patio and claustral stair accompanied by
the usual plethora of large and similar salons and the usual
non-emphasis on domestic or service apartments. The lower
floor was given over to the retainers and above were the large
family salons. These are covered with coarse wooden ceil-
ings, have a few marble chimney-pieces, and a poor Palladian
motif in the salon de justicia (whence many a recalcitrant
Morisco was dragged to the oubliettes below). The surprise
is that in the midst of this rude exterior and unstudied interior
is a beautiful patio and stair-loggia treated in the Italian
style. Here we have the taste of the owners revealed to us,
for Don Rodrigo was deeply versed in Latin culture and his
wife was a Fonseca from Coca, niece of the Bishop of Burgos.
In fact a Latin inscription on one of the Fonseca shields in
the patio reads munus uxoris (the gift of the wife) and it may
be that Dona Maria herself was the one who ordered the
PLATE LXI
STAIRWAY OF THE CASTILLO DE LACALAHORRA.
Michele Carlone of Genoa, Architect, 1508-12.
317
ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA 319
embellishments. The architect (at least of the patio) was
Michele Carlone of Genoa. Carlone's name is associated in
Genoa with the gallery in the Palazzo Fornari (1497) and the
portal of the Palazzo Pallavicini (1503). At Lacalahorra
FIG. 10 1 — Sketch Plan of the Mendoza Castle at Lacalahorra.
he not only had assisting countrymen on the spot but sent
back many drawings of balustrades, capitals, cornices, etc.,
to be executed in the busy marble yards of Carrara. A year
after the work began, more sculptors, most of them Lom-
bards, were brought to Lacalahorra and their presence may
explain the fact that the detail of the upper story of the patio
is superior to that of the earlier portion.
It was natural that the Genoese should endow this castle
with one of those sumptuous stairways such as were highly
developed in their own city to meet the exigencies of its hill-
side palaces. It is grand in proportions and simple in detail
(Plate LXI). Walls are carried up only to the principal story
where it opens out into a vast circulating area, the whole
320 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
occupying the greater part of a wing specially built to receive
it. It is this feature that has been cited as the possible in-
spiration of Enrique de Egas's effective but clumsily construc-
ted Toledo stairway built by order of Don Rodrigo's father.
FIG. 1 02 — Patio of the Castillo de Lacalahorra.
Michele Carlone of Genoa, Architect, 1508-12.
The Lacalahorra balusters are good in profile, double-bellied
in form, and constructed unit for unit in the Italian manner.
In the doorways are further reminders of the Santa Cruz
hospital. One of the best leads from the stair landing at the
mezzanine level; the ornament employed in its pilaster panels
and frieze is of purely Italian conventionality, and as the
ornament of the Santa Cruz entrance has not yet branched
out towards that realism which became characteristic of the
later Plateresque, one is further inclined to believe that Egas
may have seen this Lacalahorra example. The staircase wing
is a prolongation of the patio on an axis transverse to the
purely military portion of the castle and gives the impression
of a secondary idea worked out within the primary structure
PLATE LXII
Jf-'t
WEST FRONT OP THE CATHEDRAL OF JAEN.
Andres de Vandelvira, Architect, begun in 1532.
321
ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA 323
(explained perhaps by the Fonseca inscription, "the gift of
the wife")- It is this transverse unit of wing and patio that
is Italian, not only in decoration but in actual structural
methods such as vaulted instead of beamed ceilings. Both
stories of the patio are faced with semicircular arches (Fig.
102). The columns of the upper are pure Florentine Corin-
thian but those of the lower are cruder and their capitals
made excessively heavy by a superfluous band above the
necking. The cloister walks have groined vaulting supported,
where it springs from the wall, on pilaster capitals. In the
flat elliptical vaulting of the loggia and the rooms surround-
ing the stairway at the mezzanine, the ceiling is made interest-
ing by little penetrations at the spring. All this vaulting is
held in by the iron tie-rods so common in Italy but so unusual
in Spain. The most admirable work aside from that already
described is to be found in the half dozen entrances leading
into the salons. These are of varying merit, detail being
generally superior to design; but there is one (Fig. 103), to
the Salon de los Marqueses, which is exceptionally fine with
charming niched figures at the sides that recall similar motifs
in the Malatesta Chapel at Rimini. After all the art and
wealth expended to produce this oasis on the bleak mountain
side, the castle was inhabited only for eight years, from
1512-20, since when it has been left to fall to pieces. Except
for the echo of its stair in far-off Toledo (and this may be
accidental) this walled-in bit of Italian art stands quite apart
from Spanish Plateresque.
The province of Jaen north of Granada has three towns
in which the Renaissance made a notable showing — Jaen,
Ubeda, and Baeza, the last two being only five miles apart.
Jaen, once capital of the Moorish Kingdom of Jayyan but
now a small town, has an unduly magnificent cathedral at the
base of a bare African-looking rock; Ubeda contains several
churches and crumbling palaces, and Baeza is famed for its
city hall. The first place will be recalled in connection with
Maestre Bartolome of Jaen who made the superb reja in the
royal chapel in Granada, and who left in these less known
places a great amount of interesting ironwork. The Renais-
324
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
sance Cathedral of Jaen was begun in 1532 and dragged on
until the end of the eighteenth century. It belongs to the
Granada-Malaga group, and the most eminent architect
associated with it was Andres de Vandelvira, follower of
FIG. 103 — Doorway in Upper Story of Patio, Castillo de Lacalahorra.
By Michele Carl one of Genoa, 1508-12.
Diego de Siloe. The handsome sacristy and chapter room
are plainly his but the rest of the church is difficult to identify.
The structure while perfunctory is a noble one (Plate LXII)
and the exterior, even that part of it built in the seventeenth
century, fortunately managed to maintain a certain classic
purity and consistency, as if the wilder ways into which archi-
tecture was then falling did not penetrate into this remote
corner of Andalusia.
PLATE LXIII
SILLERIA IN THE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA, UBEDA.
By Juan de Reolid and Luis de A guild.
325
ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA
327
One can better study Andres de Vandelvira in Ubeda where
he built for Don Francisco de los Cobos, a native of that city
and secretary to the Emperor Charles V, the opulent church
of San Salvador. Don Manuel Gomez Moreno who deserves
the credit of unearthing all that
is known of this architect and
dissociating him from Pedro Val-
devira (who probably never ex-
isted) suggests that Andres went
to Italy in the service of a rela-
tive of the imperial secretary.
If so he was more preoccupied,
and this is true of most Spani-
ards who went to Italy, with
what he saw there in the field of
decoration than in architecture
per se. The church of San
Salvador shows two distinct in-
fluences: unpretending local tra-
ditions in the apse and tower;
and rich Granadine in the west
facade and transept entrances.
Indeed, the west portal might
have been bodily removed from
Granada — arched opening with
soffit of paneled saints, huge
figures in the spandrels, draped
columns at the side with niches
between, and pictorial relief over
all. In the same spirit of imitation is the ornament — equal
and monotonous diffusion recalling Siloe's Puerta del Perdon.
For the interior arrangement Vandelvira borrowed directly from
Siloe and placed his dome over the apse; while the remainder
of the church with its western gallery and poor late Gothic
vaulting follows the same master's church of San Jeronimo.
Why a man who appreciated the excellence of Siloe's dome
and carried it out so well* should also have turned to the infe-
rior ceiling of San Jeronimo for inspiration is difficult to under-
FIG. 104 — Custodia in the Sac-
risty of the Cathedral of Jaen.
328
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
stand, unless Siloe's name then as now cast a magic spell over
the Spaniard's critical faculty. There is good carving in the
sillena of the western gallery, executed probably by the same
hands that made Santa Maria's (Plate LXIII), known to be
FIG. 105 — Patio of the Casa de las Torres, Ubeda.
by Juan de Reolid and Luis de Aguila. To the left of the
sumptuous retablo (erroneously, one would say, ascribed to
Berruguete) is a niche containing a specially beautiful figure
of a boy; nothing is known of its origin but it is unquestion-
ably Italian and forcibly recalls Sansovino. Attached to the
church is a good sacristy, which, executed entirely in gray
stone, is in marked contrast to the gorgeousness of the main
interior. In its arrangement of recessed arches at the sides
and barrel vault above it recalls the sacristy of Sigiienza
Cathedral (see Fig. 62) but the spiritless character of the
ornament makes it inferior to the more famous example.
In the neighboring church of Santa Maria may be seen the
charming little coro already mentioned and several fine rejas
by Maestre Bartolome.
PLATE LXIV
PATIO OF THE CASA DE LAS TORRES, UBEDA.
329
ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA 331
Ubeda's further claim to architectural distinction is her
remaining sixteenth- and seventeenth-century palaces. These,
preserving local traditions, are picturesque and appealing,
and it is to be regretted that many are falling into decay and
that their marble caps, well curbs, and other carved bits are
lying about in fragments. What remains of the home of
Francisco de los Cobos, which undoubtedly was the finest,
is now a corral (tenement). The Casa de las Torres built
by Don Ruiz Lopez Davila about 1535 or IS4° *s m better
shape. On its facade (Plate LXIV), alongside of barbaric
medieval touches, is some exquisite Plateresque ornament,
but as the carving is in a coarse stone much of the fine execu-
tion has worn down. This facade, in its repeated use of the
family blazon, its gigantic voussoirs and ornamental cresting,
recalls early provincial work in Castile, especially Avila; at
the same time there is a flatness, almost a timidity, in the
decoration of the columns and friezes that is most un-Spanish.
This same quality may be noticed on the Torrente palace
where the charm of this local work is better preserved.
The Casa de las Torres is in a ruinous state inside
but the patio (Fig. 105) retains much of its architectural
splendor. It has none of the archaic quality of the facade
though the interlacing of the archivolts, the patterning of
the parapet, and the presence of gargoyles are all reminiscent
of the preceding century. On the other hand, there is some
Renaissance carving in the spandrel busts that displays a
refinement rarely encountered outside of the important centers.
Of course local historians insist that these busts are the work
of Berruguete who was a friend of Vandelvira; some claim
them for Caspar de Becerra who was born either here or in
nearby Baeza and who has been pronounced the greatest
Spanish sculptor of the century by those who consider as best
that Spanish art which most closely imitates Italian; still
another searcher ascribes them to Xamete who, it has been
mentioned, is believed to have carved the hundreds of por-
trait busts in the barrel vaulting of the sacristy of Sigiienza
Cathedral and to have done other fine work in Cuenca. Ubeda
has a large provincial hospital planned by Vandelvira and
332
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
commenced in 1567, but its dull facade has every appearance
of having been finished in the following century.
The combined Ayuntamiento and Carcel (prison) of Baeza
(Fig. 106) is chiefly remarkable for gracing such a small pro-
FIG. 106 — Patladian Windows of the Ayuntamiento, Baeza.
vincial town. The long facade of two stories is interesting
in composition and really unique in the disposition of its
windows and intervening decorative cartouches. These win-
dows are a purely local interpretation of the infrequent Pal-
ladian motif, whose use in this unexpected spot may be
explained by the fact that it made its first appearance in the
not-distant Lacalahorra. The stone cornice is a patent trans-
lation of Moorish wooden eaves with carved brackets. In
a facade that shows so many ingenious traces it is a pity
that it should be stamped all over by the insipidity of the
Granadine school of ornament. The architect is not men-
ROYAL PALACE AT GRANADA 333
tioned in the inscription that records how "this work was
ordered by the most illustrious senores of Baeza when the
very illustrious Don Juan de Borja was regidor in the year
I559-" Considerably earlier in date is the one well-preserved
and rather over-restored palace of the town, the Palacio de
los Benavente, to-day a seminary for priests. As mentioned
earlier in this work, there is much resemblance between its
exotic facade and that of the Infantado Palace at Guadalajara.
Both have an open loggia across the top and both are probably
by the same Flemish architects, Juan and Enrique Guas.
CHAPTER XI
ZARAGOZA AND THE PROVINCE OF ARAGON
ZARAGOZA'S RENEWED PROSPERITY AFTER THE UNION OF ARAGON AND
CASTILE — RESTORATION OF THE MOORISH ALJAFERIA — ROYAL ARCHBISHOPS
IN ZARAGOZA — ENRIQUE DE EGAS's CIMBORIO TO THE CATHEDRAL OF
LA SEO AND OTHER PERSIAN FEATURES — THE ITALIAN GIOVANNI MORETO
IN ZARAGOZA— HIS INFLUENCE ON DAMLAN FORMENT — THE PORTAL OF
SANTA ENGRACIA BY JUAN AND DIEGO DE MORLANES — TUDELILLA AND
THE TRASCORO OF LA SEO — HIS ALTAR OF THE TRINITY IN JACA — THE
DISPUTED CAPILLA DE SAN BERNARDO IN LA SEO — IMPORTANCE OF MUDE-
JARES IN ZARAGOZA — MUDEJAR TOWERS AND TILED CUPOLAS — MUDEJAR
PALACES OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY — THE LONJA AND ITS RESEMBLANCE
TO THE RICCARDI PALACE OF FLORENCE — ITS MASSIVE WOODEN CORNICE
— INTERIOR OF THE LONJA — TWO TYPES OF WOODEN CORNICE OR ALERO
— THE CAS A ZAPORTA OR DE LA INFANTA, NOW REMOVED TO PARIS — THR
PALACIO DE LUNA OR AUDIENCIA — BRICKWORK OF THE FACADE — OTHER
HOUSES IN THE CITY — TARAZONA AND OTHER ARAGONESE TOWNS
334
CHAPTER XI
ZARAGOZA AND THE PROVINCE OF ARAGON
IN Zaragoza (the English Saragossa), which is the dust-
colored capital of Aragon, the church as elsewhere brought
Italian sculptors to its service ; and as the city was enter-
ing upon a wave of prosperity at the dawn of the sixteenth
century a number of civic and private buildings also arose
and embodied certain of the new elements. It is these palaces
of Zaragoza, rather than the imported and fragmentary works
in the churches, that are the chief interest to the student for
they are a native expression. With their huge, bleached-out
pine cornices and their vast brick facades constructed of the
very material of the Aragonese desert, they may be taken as
typifying the architecture of the whole province.
During the three and a half centuries before the Renais-
sance appeared, that is ever since the union of Aragon and
Catalonia, the former, being inland, had been eclipsed by
the latter with its long seacoast and important trade; but
after the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon, or to put it more
accurately, after Isabella became Queen of Castile, his capital
began to lift its head once more. These sovereigns at once
proceeded to restore the Moorish Castillo de la Aljaferia for
their Zaragoza sojourns. What its magnificence was can
only be judged to-day from the few remaining ceilings and
the grand stairway, for these are all that survived successive
occupation by French and Spanish troops during the War of
Independence, and its later adaptation as a barracks; but the
restoration mentioned must have been a stimulating event
to the nascent activities of the century. The next impetus
came when King Ferdinand gave the diocese to his illegitimate
335
336 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
son Don Alonso de Aragon. Don Alonso was then but a
mere youth, and as his two sons succeeded him in the episcopal
chair the see was in royal hands for about seventy-five years.
These princes were versed in letters and the fine arts, and
acquired many Renaissance accessories for the churches.
Although the new movement came into the province
from the Mediterranean side, principally Valencia, rather
than from the Castilian, still the first notable architectural
undertaking of the century was given to the Castilian Enrique
de Egas. This was the rebuilding of the collapsed cimborio
of the cathedral of La Seo. Egas, it appears, represented to
the youthful archbishop that he was too occupied with the
King's hospital in Santiago to come to the capital of Aragon.
If, notwithstanding, Don Alonso prevailed upon his father
to relinquish his claim in favor of La Seo, it can hardly be
believed that Egas's connection with the work went beyond
a sketch for the interior; indeed one may further doubt
whether his sketch was ever followed; for the dome, as has
been remarked by the illustrious Iranian authority M. Marcel
Dieulafoy, "could not be more purely Persian if the cupola
had been built at Ispahan or Bidjapur for the tomb of Mah-
mud."1 It is an interesting arrangement of vaulting based
upon an eight-pointed star (Fig. 107), with the points pro-
longed down into Renaissance colonnettes and the whole
supported upon squinches. The first, or colonnette, stage
is completely Renaissance in decoration. The exterior is a
beautiful piece of Mudejar, surely the work of some Zaragoza
builder and true to the best Mudejar traditions of the pro-
vince. It is of the customary non-lustrous bricks interspersed
with faience and repeats the fine treatment in the famous
northeast wall (Plate LXV), built about 1375 by Archbishop
de Luna — the wall of which George Street wrote: "The general
character of this very remarkable work is certainly most
effective: and though I should not like to see the Moresque
character of the design reproduced, it undoubtedly affords
valuable suggestions for those who are attempting to develop
a ceramic decoration for the exterior of buildings."
1 Art in Spain and Portugal by Marcel Dieulafoy, p. 211.
PLATE LXV
MUDEJAR BRICKWORK OF THE CATHEDRAL OF LA SEO, ZARAGOZA.
337
ZARAGOZA AND THE PROVINCE OF ARAGOX 339
Neither Egas nor his dome had any influence on the new
movement in Aragon; but early in the century an Italian,
Giovanni Moreto, went traveling through the province and
doing pure Florentine work in the cathedrals of Jaca and
FIG. 107 — Interior of the Cimborio of La Seo.
Attributed to Enrique de Egas, 1505.
Tarazona. He finally settled down in Zaragoza where he
made the handsome stalls (Fig. 108) now in the cathedral of
El Pilar, the later of Zaragoza's two metropolitan churches.
Moreto was undoubtedly an important factor in the career
of the greatest sculptor of the Aragonese school, Damian
Forment. Forment came as a Gothicist from Valencia in
1509; his first production was the magnificent retablo which
is also now housed in El Pilar. Then he went north to make
one even finer for the cathedral of Huesca. In the predella
of the former and the whole of the latter his sculpture has
ceased to be Gothic and has become sensuously Italian, but
the frames of both remain Gothic. In 1527 he carved the
lofty retablo (Fig. 109) for the Monastery of Poblet near
Tarragona, one of the few objects that escaped wreckage
when the Liberals looted the place in 1835. Here the entire
340 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
work is pure Renaissance and is one of the finest of its kind.
This by no means exhausts the list of Ferment's productions,
for he was called to work for churches in Barbastro and Santo
Domingo de la Calzada where he died about 1541. Jusepe
FIG. 1 08 — Silleria of El Pilar, Zaragoza, from a Cast in the Museo
Provincial.
Giovanni Moreto, Sculptor, 1542.
Martinez (d. 1682) says in his Discursos "Damian made an
infinity of works in alabaster and wood; but of those in wood it
is known that they were mostly the work of his disciples
following his drawings and models. He never had less than
twelve or fourteen pupils, without whose aid he could never
have accomplished one fifth of the work credited to him."
Forment was really a great sculptor but the inscription on
his tomb nevertheless overstates his skill in declaring him
to have rivaled Phidias and Praxiteles: "Arte statuaria Phidiae
Praxitelisque aemulus."
There is considerable discussion as to the author of
Zaragoza's next piece of Renaissance, the portal of Santa
Engracia (Fig. no). The church was begun by Juan Mor-
lanes under the Catholic Sovereigns but had not proceeded
ZARAGOZA AND THE PROVINCE OF ARAGON 341
far when Ferdinand left for Naples. An interruption of fifteen
years ensued and when the work was resumed, either the son
Diego Morlanes or Forment carried it on. The portal is of
the material preferred by all Aragonese sculptors — alabaster
FIG. 109 — Retablo in the Ruined Monastery of Poblet.
Ascribed to Damidn Forment, 1527.
from the hills of the lower Ebro. The composition was well
described by Philip when he said that the monks of Santa
Engracia had taken the retablo out of their church and put
it at the entrance. It is not an admirable work and Forment's
admirers need not be so zealous in claiming it for him. The
sculpturesque quality which he as a Gothicist carried into his
Renaissance is entirely lacking, and the architectural forms
are dry and perfunctory. True the statues of Ferdinand and
Isabella are often pointed to as initiating the change from
342
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Gothic conventionality to Renaissance realism. It must be
admitted that in the way of portraiture, they are an improve-
ment on the doll-like faces of these same monarchs by Felipe
Vigarm in the Renaissance retablo of the Capilla Real at
FIG. no — Portal of Santa Engracia, Zaragoza.
Granada. The facade of Santa Engracia, now freely restored,
is all that was left of the once great- convent-church after the
siege of 1808. The convent which stood back of it and which
was also much battered had an excessively rich Plateresque
patio by Tudelilla, another distinguished sculptor-architect
of the Zaragoza group. This patio in plaster and stucco
evoked much praise from George Street, one of the last critics
to examine it and one who had small sympathy with Plat-
eresque. Tudelilla also designed the trascoro of La Seo,
in yeseria, though it was probably not erected until after his
ZARAGOZA AND THE PROVINCE OF ARAGON 343
death. It is a work of much merit in parts though restlessly
rich. He is seen to better advantage in the altar of the Trinity
at Jaca (1538). Here the domination of architectural motifs,
well understood and well executed, differentiates it from his
trascoro at Zaragoza; differentiates it to such an extent that
it might credibly be ascribed to Moreto. The central figure
of God the Father has the grandeur of Michelangelo, and
in the frieze are smaller figures of great charm.
This artist Tudelilla is one of the few working in Zara-
goza of whom details have come down to us. His real name
was Martin de Gaztelu. Born in either Tudela or Tarazona
in the late fifteenth century, he studied in Italy and on his
return established himself in Zaragoza, where he was popularly
known as Tudelilla. It is said that "many palaces and large
houses in Zaragoza were built by him or under his direction."
He is known to have helped the younger men in the profession
and to have lived so prodigally that when he died in 1569
"his heirs found nothing more than drawings, plaster models,
books, and the instruments of his art; for which reason Do-
mingo, son of the great master, had to sell the house of said
Martin in the Calle San Bias facing that of Juan de Arbas the
silversmith." The alabaster chapel of San Bernardino is
another sumptuous piece of Plateresque in the cathedral of
La Seo. It was built by Bishop de Hernando of Aragon,
grandson of King Ferdinand, to hold his own and his mother's
tomb. The sarcophagi supporting the fine recumbent figures
are beautifully carved and superior to the altars above.
These tombs are variously ascribed to Tudelilla, Diego Mor-
lanes, and to two pupils of Damian Forment named Juan de
Liceire and Bernardo Monero.
From this partial list of sixteenth-century acquisitions it
will be seen that Zaragoza was no stranger to the new style.
The valley of the Ebro was the natural route for artists passing
to and from Italy, and the Aragonese capital the most impor-
tant stopping place. It was here in 1518 that Domenico
Fancelli died on his way back to Carrara to execute the
Cisneros tomb. Ordonez, Berruguete, and Caspar de Becerra
of Baeza all tarried here, the last mentioned spending a week
344 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
in the house of Diego Morlanes and leaving with him many
Italian sketches. All this influx of Italian art, though it modi-
fied the secular architecture of the city, never swerved it from
its traditional road. Zaragoza was more strongly Mudejar
FIG. in — The Cathedral of El Pilar, Zaragoza, from across the Ebro.
than any other large city in Spain. The wise Aragonese had
early appreciated the conquered Moors who remained as a
valuable asset in the city's industrial life. From the time of
the Reconquest the Mudejares had their own gremios or guilds
and carried their banners in the civic processions. When,
in 1503, King Ferdinand tried to enforce Cardinal Jimenez
de Cisneros' decree of banishment or baptism the Mudejares
had become so important in commerce, agriculture, and the
arts, that the Aragonese authorities themselves opposed the
order. They were successful in warding it off until 1526
when the zealous Charles compelled its execution. In the
field of architecture, Moorish brickwork and carpentry had
been an unbroken tradition ever since the coming of the Arabs
to the region. On the Christian occupation it was Mudejares
who built the churches. One of these, San Pablo, dating from
the middle of the thirteenth century, is referred to by Fergus-
son as of such oriental aspect that "it might pass for a church
ZARAGOZA AND THE PROVINCE OF ARAGON 345
in the Crimea or the Steppes of Tartary." The most distinctive
note of the medieval city was its Mudejar brick towers with
their polychrome tile cupolas, eastern looking, naturally,
since they had as prototype the Arab prayer tower. Even as
late as the sixteenth century a new brick tower was added to
the already large group comprised by San Pablo, San Miguel,
Santa Magdalena, San Gil, and many others. In this case it
was a free-standing clock tower, the famous Torre Inclinada;
but this unfortunately must be spoken of in the past tense,
for though its lean had not increased in two centuries it was
taken down in 1894. Without it Zaragoza is what Seville
would be without the Giralda. In these towers the brickwork
was not only patterned but in many cases embellished with
colored tiles in the manner of the previously mentioned north-
east wall of La Seo.
The bulk of Zaragoza's sixteenth-century architecture was
not, however, ecclesiastic. Though many palaces have dis-
appeared a surprising number remain considering the extensive
modernizing which the city has undergone. Fortunately
the most noted civic monument has been saved intact; this
is the Lonja or Exchange (Fig. 112) finished in 1551 at the
expense of Bishop Fernando of Aragon. The Lonja preserves
in material and detail all the salient characteristics of Aragon-
ese architecture; at the same time it is reminiscent of the early
Florentine palaces, particularly the Riccardi, built nearly a
hundred years before. Comparing the two the inspiration
seems obvious; but on analyzing the points of resemblance-
bigness of scale, huge cornice, arch motif at the top, and general
exterior ruggedness — one has to admit that these characteristics
were common to each of these centers aside from all question
of contact. In both the Lonja and the Florentine example
the cornice is one tenth the total height and the facade is
divided horizontally into three stages; further similarity
would be apparent had not the ground floor arches of the Ric-
cardi been walled up by Michelangelo. And yet the Lonja
is not Italian but typical Zaragozan. The architect, like
all Aragonese designers, realized the importance of strong
shadows in brickwork; by means of deeply recessed windows
346 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
with successive reveals, and by panels set in various planes,
he imparted an interest not less than that which the Italian
secured through his cyclopean stonework. A most effective
handling of the material is seen in the band that extends
FIG. 112 — The Lonja, Zaragoza.
Architect unknown. Dated 7551.
around the two exposed sides of the Lonja just above the first
story arches. This band is made up of an impressive mono-
tony of blank openings, decorative only, since they have no
relation to the interior. At the top of the building is the
Aragonese arcaded motif which, often walled up in Zaragoza
palaces, is left open in the Lonja, as is the case in the milder
climate of Palma de Mallorca, once part of Aragon. Across
this top story are inserted terra cotta busts of the ancient
PLATE LXVI
• v?
±-2E * LZiiJUJjlj, JM^I^
RED PINE CORNICE OF THE LONJA, ZARAGOZA, 1551.
347
ZARAGOZA AND THE PROVINCE OF ARAGON 349
kings. The extreme depth of the reveals throughout the ex-
terior is made possible by the enormous thickness of the
walls, a thickness imposed by the Gothic vaulting of the
interior. The dominating feature of the whole exterior is
the wooden cornice (alero or
more accurately cornisa), one
of the finest in a province fa-
mous for them (Plate LXVI).
It is nearly 7 feet high and
projects over 5 feet. Its profile
is more classic than most Span-
ish wooden cornices but its
detail is as exotic as one expects
to find in a Mudejar region.
As a wooden interpretation it
is remarkable for its solidity
and crowns the edifice quite
as nobly as if it were in stone.
These pine cornices were never
painted and are no longer
oiled, so that their once rich
reddish color has bleached out
to the same dusty hue as the
brickwork.
The interior of the Lonja is a vast hall 123 feet long, 80
feet wide, and 50 feet high to the crown of the pointed vault-
ing (see Figs. 113 and 114). From the fact that the transverse
arches are semicircular and that the columns are Ionic, one
might suspect that the original idea had been to treat the
ceiling in Renaissance, but that certain difficulties, such as
the bays not being square, had caused the builders to fall back
on the earlier and more elastic style. Their solution resembles
the Gothic vaulting of La Seo even to the amorini grouped
around the spring of the ribs. Where no structural problems
perplexed them the interior is Renaissance. The very charm-
ing little upper windows with splayed reveals resemble closely
those added to San Pablo by Juan de Miraso in 1571. The
only Mudejar touch of the interior is the lettered frieze, gold
FIG. 113 — Plan of the Lonja,
Zaragoza, 1551.
350 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE X^7I CENTURY
on blue, and playing the same decorative part as similar
friezes in the synagogues of Toledo and other Mudejar monu-
ments. The inscription is interesting for the side-light it
throws on the obstinate Aragonese character: Joan the Mad
FIG. 114 — Interior of the Lonja, Zaragoza, 1551.
shut up in her tower at Tordesillas had ceased to exist politi-
cally for the Castilians, but Aragon refused to admit Charles's
claim to the throne during the lifetime of his mother;
hence the inscription: "In the year 1551 A.D. Madama Joan
and Don Charles ruling together this exchange was built."
The architect of the Lonja is unknown. Every writer is
ready with an attribution, generally Diego Morlanes; but
the Lonja facade, noble though it is, is merely traditional
PLATE LXVII
r WOOD CORNICE
SECTION
rtHRD CQRNBCE
.SIZE OF BRICKS. ±5 X ifc IN-—
CORMCE^DJVPPER. ^K«y
PALACIO DEIA
EEALJV^AESTRANZA.
ZARAGOZA
PINE CORNICE AND FACADE OF THE REAL MAESTRANZA, ZARAGOZA.
351
ZARAGOZA AND THE PROVINCE OF ARAGON 353
Aragonese brickwork devoid of any personal touch by which
its author might be identified. The same is true of the fronts
of the city's palaces, and the mere fact that certain architects
are recorded in cathedral archives as having been employed
on sumptuous altars and tombs is the only reason for assum-
ing that they did the civic and domestic work of the city.
Before and during the erection of the Lonja many solar es
or town houses were rising in the city. These were of brick
with far projecting wooden cornices, an arcaded gallery across
the top, few but large and severely plain windows, and an
entrance portal generally round-arched with stone trim of
imposing section. Many such examples may be seen in the
Calle Yedra and surrounding streets, which old quarter pre-
sents a picture of what Zaragoza was before the broad new
thoroughfares were cut through. The type of facade was
determined by the narrowness of the streets — 13 or 14 feet;
the entrance and overhanging cornice being the only features
that could be appreciated, embellishment was limited to
them. Cornices were invariably carved in soft reddish pine.
They are of two distinct types, one based on Moorish, the
other on classic precedent. The former is distinctly a wooden
eaves, as may be seen in Fig. 115, and consists of a series of
brackets with carved ends and paneled sides supporting the
rafter purlin. This type is generally seen on the smaller
houses. The second follows its stone prototype but is en-
riched by a wealth of Mudejar carving. Besides the Lonja,
other examples of this second type are the Audiencia (Courts
of Law) and the Real Maestranza (Royal Cavalry Club)
which is illustrated in Plate LXVII. On the Casa Consistorial
of Huesca some forty miles north is another famous example.
Little is known of the men who carved them but it is on record
that about the middle of the century Antonio de Prado made
the hood over the portal of San Pablo and also the very elab-
orate but rather wild example on the Argillo Palace, now the
Colegio San Felipe. These same cornice workers were un-
doubtedly responsible for the magnificent ceilings of various
edifices in the city.
Very few Zaragoza palaces remain intact. Patio columns,
23
354 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
rejas, ceilings, and other portable parts have disappeared and
the most perfected specimen, the Casa Zaporta, was recently
taken down and reerected in Paris. This house, because of
a Spanish princess having lived in it in the eighteenth century,
FIG. 115 — Wooden Cornice of Moorish Type, Zaragoza.
was also called the Casa de la Infanta. It is known that
Tudelilla finished the patio in 1551 and that the whole in-
terior was very sumptuous, yet it faced on the narrow Calle
San Jorge near the typical Yedra Street just mentioned. Its
patio was naturally the focus for the ornamentalist, and draw-
ings of it may be seen in Prentice's well known portfolio.
Among extant palaces the most conspicuous is that of the
illustrious Luna family to which belonged the Antipope
Benedict XIII. Considerably remodeled, it is now the Audi-
encia. The patio, probably altered soon after the last owner
died (1728) and bequeathed the building to the Royal Tri-
bunal, is of small merit. Nor does much else of the interior
remain in its original state except the fine wooden artesonados,
all built up of panels, carved, but neither painted or gilded.
In the chapel the ceiling takes the form of a simple barrel
vault richly coffered and supported by a beautifully carved
355
N
u
357
ZARAGOZA AND THE PROVINCE OF ARAGON 350
frieze. The noble facade of the Audiencia, however, has
undergone but little change (Plate LXVIII). It is 156 feet
long, flanked by two square towers. That the building was
planned to be symmetrical on all four sides seems probable,
FIG. 116 — A vSmall Brick Palace in the Calle Mayor, Zaragoza.
but the elevation on the Coso was the only one ever completed,
and even here, the grotesque entrance is a much later addi-
tion. The lower portion is stone, with the brick beginning at
the piso principal; this latter, by its austerity and great scale,
is particularly impressive. Across the top of the building
and embracing the towers runs the typical arcaded motif,
in this case bricked in; above is the usual wooden cornice.
The upper part of the towers is paneled and patterned in
contrast to the plain laying up of the rest of the facade. A
few remarks on the brickwork on the Audiencia will apply to
all in the city. The units, clay colored, are of a uniform size
measuring 13 x 5XXI^ inches. They are rough but fairly
true, laid up alternate header and stretcher, nine courses to
every twenty-four inches inclusive of the joints, which are
troweled flush. Irregularities are frequently met. There
are no moulded bricks, string courses being formed by pro-
360 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
jecting the ordinary units, nor are arch bricks ever rubbed.
Patterning is confined to panels and effect is easily obtained
in this strong light by slight and varied projections. Among
the other notable brick edifices of Zaragoza is the palace now
used by the Real Maestranza, the
Convento Santa Fe later used as the
Provincial Museum (Plate LXIX),
the Guara Palace now the Banco de
Credito, and a number of smaller
houses in the old part of the town.
That of the sculptor Morlanes, in
this old quarter, presents the novelty
of decorated windows, but these
have been so covered with paint
that it is impossible to judge of their
original merit.
Huesca, Tarazona, Daroca, Ter-
uel, and other Aragonese towns
possess interesting examples of
brickwork of the period, combined
with wooden cornices and ceilings.
Of these Huesca, farthest to the
north, close in fact to the Pyrenees,
boasts in its Casa Consistorial, the
best civic building of the province
after the Lonja of Zaragoza. To a certain extent it recalls
the Audiencia but the arcaded motif has grown to a fully
developed loggia. This is crowned by the magnificent wooden
cornice already mentioned (Fig. 117). Tarazona, almost in
Navarra, is picturesquely situated on the side of a cliff and
is very medieval in appearance. The brick cimborio added
by Canon Juan Munoz to the Romanesque Cathedral is a
good piece of Renaissance inside similar to La Seo of Zaragoza,
but externally it is more picturesque than structural. Since
George Street's day the cloister he so admired has fallen into
sad ruin; hardly any of its once famous terra cotta tracery
remains and the cloister enclosure is now a weedy patch which
no one is interested in cleaning up. The cathedral tower is
FIG. 117— Detail of the
Pine Cornice on the Audi-
encia, Huesca.
ZARAGOZA AND THE PROVINCE OF ARAGON 361
much later than and inferior to that of Santa Magdalena in
the same town; this latter in fact is one of the finest towers
in the province. With the exception of its cupola it dates from
the fifteenth century and would therefore be the work of Mu-
dejares, who terminated it in the usual eastern truncated
manner. But unlike most of these early Aragonese towers
which were later topped off with lead cupolas, this Santa
Magdalena example received a brick termination. The
only other building of importance is the archiepiscopal palace
rising high from the river. Its great arched buttresses give
it a medieval aspect though in reality it dates from the six-
teenth and seventeenth centuries. In Calatayud there are
a number of typical Mudejar towers but nearly all in dilapi-
dated condition. Entirely abandoned is the one interesting
Renaissance palace, a small structure on the Rua or main
street. The rich Plateresque portal of the collegiate church
of Santa Maria built in 1528 by Juan de Talavera and Etienne
Veray is a mediocre production made interesting chiefly by
its great projecting hood. It too was in sad state until recently
restored.
CHAPTER XII
OLD PALACES IN PALMA DE MALLORCA
THE MALLORCAN ARISTOCRATS OF THE EARLY SIXTEENTH CENTURY-
SIXTEENTH CENTURY FURNISHINGS STILL IN DAILY USE IN PALMA HOMES—
MALLORCAN ARCHITECTS IN GOTHIC DAYS — JUAN DE SALES FIRST RE-
NAISSANCE ARCHITECT IN THE CATHEDRAL — HIS LARGE PULPIT — DOMES-
TIC ARCHITECTS UNKNOWN — INSULAR TYPE OF PALACE — FACADE DICTATED
BY NARROWNESS OF STREET — PECULIARITIES OF 1HE PALMA PATIO,
CALLED ZAGUAN — SUPERIOR CHARACTER OF ITS MASONRY — UNIQUE
STAIRWAY CONSTRUCTION THROUGHOUT THE CITY — SHEET-IRON BALUS-
TRADES— CONCENTRATED PLAN OWING TO BUILDING OVER OF ZAGUAN
AREA — PALACE OF THE MARQUES DE VIVOT — THE CASA DEL MARQUES
DE PALMER AND ITS FLEMISH TOUCHES — THE OLEZA HOUSE — OTHER EX-
AMPLES IN THE CITY
362
CHAPTER XII
OLD PALACES IN PALMA DE MALLORCA
IT is a far cry from Granada to the island of Majorca which
lies some two hundred kilometers out from Barcelona
and Valencia respectively; but as one follows the Medi-
terranean coast up from Andalusia to Barcelona, the inter-
vening country contains only fragmentary bits of the period
under consideration, as explained in Chapter I. Out on the
island, however, things went differently. Majorca was able
to maintain itself aloof from the troubles that beset Catalonia
and Aragon during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Likewise it failed to share in the revival of those provinces
(though it needed it less) and consequently it has escaped the
modern German influence so disturbingly paramount in the
new Catalan school of architecture.
The delightful old city of Palma, capital of the Balearic
Islands, is quite crowded with simple sixteenth-century palaces
of a distinctive character, these with the added interest of
being still inhabited by the descendants of the very nobles
who built them. Back in the thirteenth century Don Jaime
the Conqueror divided the island among those fierce Aragonese
warriors who had helped him to wrest it from the Moors.
These families figured in the government of Mallorca through-
out the Middle Ages and had a solar in Palma as well as their
country holdings; but of the old Gothic city hardly a trace
remains except the cathedral because of a disastrous fifteenth-
century conflagration. This razing nearly coincides with
the return of a number of nobles who had been off helping
Ferdinand of Aragon in the conquest, or rather reconquest,
of Naples, a service for which they were handsomely rewarded.
363
364
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
In the next reign further enrichment and honors came through
fighting for the Emperor Charles V in Lombardy and Ger-
many.1 It is plain, then, that these islanders were by no means
outside the main activities of their day; that they had seen
FIG. 118 — Stairway in the Palacio de Moncado, Barcelona.
Italian architecture and naturally turned to it for a model
when building themselves new houses in Palma. In succeed-
ing centuries the island city dropped out of the current of
Spanish events but fortunately with sufficient resources to
maintain a high degree of prosperity; hence its aristocracy
has not been overcome by that poverty which has dismantled
1 "The Emperor was so desirous of expressing his gratitude to Don Nicolds Despuig
that with his own royal hands he armed him caballero at Augsburg and authorized him
and all his descendants male and female to use the double-headed eagle in their es-
cutcheon." Nobiliario Mallorquin, by Joaquin Maria Bover.
365
OLD PALACES IN PALMA DE MALLORCA 367
and ruined most of the Castilian family seats. Palma palaces
offer the unique opportunity of seeing the sixteenth-century
house not rearranged as for museum purposes but merely
left untouched from the period when its furnishings repre-
sented the very latest comfort and elegance that money could
import. Many a vast salon is still hung with Flemish tapes-
tries or rich Valencian damasks; the four-poster is curtained
with Genoese velvets, and alongside, to mitigate the rigors
of the bare stone floor, stands an enormous antique brazier.
But the antiquarians who haunt the island have long since
marked all these furnishings for their own and whether the
foregoing remarks will be true a decade hence is doubtful.
From the annals of Palma Cathedral one learns that the
city came honestly by its traditions of noble masonry. As
far back as the fourteenth century the native architect Jaime
Fabre showed such skill in constructing its wide-naved
cathedral that he was called upon to become maestro mayor
of the more important temple in Barcelona. Another Mal-
lorquin, Guillermo Sagrera, built the wide-naved cathedral
of Perpignan and then came back to erect the charming Lonja
of Palma in 1426. Whenever political disturbances did not
prevent there were always Mallorcan Gothicists to carry on the
building of Palma Cathedral; but the sixteenth-century archi-
tect responsible for the introduction of Plateresque was the
Aragonese Juan de Sales. To him are due the pulpits (1529-
35), the silleria, and perhaps the west portal.1 Nothing of his
training is known but apparently it was not obtained in Italy.
His work, like the productions of all the secondary men
of his day, has the stamp of the high class journeyman —
fluent, of varied composition, but utterly uninspired. It sug-
gests the elaborate trascoro of La Seo in Zaragoza ascribed
to Tudelilla, and one would probably not be far wrong in
assuming that Sales had worked there before coming to Palma.
x" Sales saluted the aurora of the Renaissance in Mallorca. . . . But what do
these Greco-Roman portals signify in the house of God? What do those grotesques,
those rich festoons, those dishonest sirens, those nude or nearly nude angels, those
mannered and affected statues of the saints devoid of all inspiration and character — •
what can these say to the Christian soul?" lamented Don Pablo Piferrer in his volume
entitled Las Islas Baleares, one of the series, Bellezas y Recuerdos de Espafia.
368
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
The larger pulpit (Fig. 119) is the best of his works— quite the
best piece of Plateresque in the city, in fact. It is very large
as pulpits go, being 13 feet in diameter. While the composi-
tion is very Italian the use of the uncouth bearded figures as
FIG. 119 — Pulpit in the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca.
By Juan Sales, 1529.
corbels is very Spanish. It is carved from piedra de Santam,
Santam being a town in the south of the island which fur-
nished most of the building stone of Palma. The smaller
pulpit is in no way remarkable although the two when con-
nected by the balustrade which was removed a few years
ago made a dignified and original treatment. The Plateresque
main entrance to the cathedral dated 1595 is a perfunctory
specimen of the style.
OLD PALACES IN PALMA DE MALLORCA 369
Neither Sales nor anyone under him is known to have
been employed on the domestic work of the city. The only
architect recorded is Cesar Faccio, a Genovese, who built
the Quint-Zaforteza Palace. This example is of no impor-
tance nor was the name of the architect famous in Genoa.
Romantic people determined on discovering Moorish influ-
ence paramount in Spain assert that everything in Palma
points to Africa. This is least of all true of Palma architec-
ture. In no other large city where the Moors held out so
long (they were not overcome till 1229) would it be more
difficult to find traces of Moorish artizans. There is little
carpinterla, no yeseria, no azulejeria to speak of, and nothing
Moorish in plan or construction. There is no such legacy
as the windowless, exclusive looking facades of Toledo, the
brick towers of Zaragoza, or the highly domesticated patio of
Seville ; and as for actual Moorish remains only a bano exists.
Yet the Moors kept trying to reconquer the island until as
late as 1575 or thereabouts; and every time they effected a
landing they were overpowered and sold as slaves. The
advanced agriculture of the island would suggest that they
were all employed in husbandry rather than in the arts.
The Palma residence is not the product of architects but
of intelligent master builders, hence the striking sameness of
arrangements and details in all the houses. The palaces are
commodious to the point of vastness and almost invariably
built on a pinched and crooked street. Only in the one broad
thoroughfare of the town, El Borne, do they show any diver-
sity of treatment; but the Borne used to be the bed of the
now diverted Reira on whose banks and bridges the populace
gathered for public festivals such as tournaments and autos
de fe, and the loggias and balconies seen here were for the
accommodation of spectators. In Palma as elsewhere the
narrowness of the street governed the type of facade which
is here so severe that even the family escutcheon is reserved
for the patio. The word patio must not be taken in the
Castilian sense; it is never lived in, has no arcaded gallery
running around it, and only a portion of it is open to the sky.
The natives call it all the zaguan which term in Castile would
24
370 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
apply only to the forecourt, or covered passage from street
to patio. Incorporated with it and challenging the attention
the moment one enters is the noble stairway, always the chief
architectural feature of the Palma house. On this ground
FIG. 1 20 — Stairway in a Small House, Palma de Mallorca.
floor the only living rooms are the porter's; the rest of the
space is given over to stables, store-rooms, and zaguan. This
last frequently opens on two or more streets, and such ampli-
tude along with the visible stair, is in marked contrast to the
restricted circulating space and hidden stair of houses on the
mainland. Most interesting among the details of the zaguan
is the character of the masonry itself. A very superior know-
OLD PALACES IN PALMA DE MALLORCA 371
ledge of the science of vaulting is exhibited, and intricate
intersections are handled with masterly skill. The confidence
which these old-time constructors had in stone astounds the
timid modern who would never dare to trust the whole weight
FIG. 121 — Stairway in the Casa Palmarques, Palma de Mallorca.
of the house on these isolated zaguan columns and their low
connecting arches. The columns are arranged in bays meas-
uring about 1 8 by 25 feet. In a small house one such bay
might constitute the entire patio but in larger examples, the
Palacio Vivot for instance, there are six. To keep a bay of
some 450 square feet at a height appropriately low for a
service story meant the evolving of a special arch — not the
flat segmental arch for that was never popular with the Spa-
niards, but a segmental arch with elliptical casings at the spring.
Two or four of these low, wide arches spring from one column
and rest on a haunch block cut with the necessary seats from
a single stone. Devoid of any moulded treatment whatever
the shapelessness of such blocks reminds one of the crude bow
372 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
and stern pieces cut daily in the Palma shipyards from the
curiously twisted tree trunks brought in from the country.
Between the wide-span arches the actual ceiling is of wood
framing, very heavy, for it supports the piso principal flooring
which is of great granite blocks. The columns of the zaguan
are thick and almost always of ungraceful contour; their
capitals are a clumsy combination of Ionic and Doric indiffer-
ently carved. A coarse mottled reddish marble quarried on
the island is used here but the rest of the house is of the now
yellowed S ant am.
The Palma stairway is entirely unlike the claustral type
seen in the rest of Spain. In humbler examples it ascends
in one flight from the side of the zaguan but in more preten-
tious it rises from the center in a single run, then divides into
two returning flights which lead to the loggia-like passage at
the level of the piso principal or main floor. Each example
presents some new little attainment in masonry, for varying
conditions demanded a distinct solution for each one. Where
it is a long single run it is supported on an arch so flat that
there hardly appears to be key enough to hold the stones in
place. This long sweep intersects the short semicircular
arch of the landing in such a way that the two appear to be
one graceful parabolical curve, as in the Oleza house in the
Calle Morey. Another feat difficult in stonework yet common
enough in Palma is the intersection of the flat elliptical arch
supporting the second story loggia with the semicircular
vaulting behind upholding the stair itself. With such tho-
roughness has this problem been solved that out of a hundred
or more cases it has been necessary to reinforce but very few.
In addition to their excellent masonry all these stairways
possess a decorative feature encountered only in Palma — the
simulated baluster cut from sheet iron, as seen in all the stairs
illustrated. The eye is never deceived into taking these flat
spindles for the round, and it is precisely because they look
flat that they are admirable. The profile is cut, with markings
following the rake of the stair, from well-hammered sheet
iron about three sixteenths of an inch thick; this flat piece
is never pierced with patterning. The slender newels and
W
373
OLD PALACES IN PALMA DE MALLORCA
375
intermediate supports are tipped with brass. Such balustrades
constitute about the only use of decorative ironwork in Palma
architecture. The window reja is conspicuously absent, and
the few balconies are of Baroque ironwork.
PALMA DE MALLOR.CA : PALACIO VIVOT
CILOVMD FLOOR. PLAN
iCAix or0*
PRINCIPAL FLOOH. PLAN
y *?° rtBT
FIG. 122 — Plan of the Casa del Marques de Vivot, Palma de Mallorca.
Owing to the building-over of most of the zaguan area the
Palma plan, as compared with the Castilian, permits of much
more concentration in the piso principal. The plan of the
Vivot house shows this (Fig. 124). To the principal floor
there are always two entrances one at each end of the stair
loggia. They are treated alike and open into the large salon
on one side and into the small recibidor at the other. The
loftiness of all these rooms is extraordinary, 26 feet being a
common height. The floor throughout is paved with huge
blocks of Santam, which those who tenant the house declare
to be warmer in winter than either brick or glazed tiles. To
add to the medieval severity of all this, window openings
were merely shuttered not glazed; and of the few fireplaces
seen not one was part of the sixteenth-century equipment.
376 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Interior stairs leading to the servants' apartments give the
Palma plan a little more coherency than the average Spanish
arrangement but the rooms are nevertheless merely a suc-
cession of vast chambers devoid of all architectural treatment
FIG. 123 — Lofty Salon in the Casa O'Neil, Palma de Mallorca.
(Fig. 123). In many houses a seventeenth-century frescoist
has been called in to paint a frieze around the main salon
but architecturally all that the rooms offer are their impres-
sive dimensions and their solidly framed ceilings of madera
encarnada (red pine).
Examining a few of the Palma palaces in detail we find
that the largest, the Vivot, has a facade reduced to nothing
6 <
1 H
§ H
377
OLD PALACES IN PALMA DE MALLORCA
379
more than a stretch of wall pierced by four openings — entrance
archway and three widely separated windows on the main
floor. This house stands in the Calle Zavella, a ten-foot street,
yet it has a court measuring 60 feet by 90 not counting the
FIG. 124 — Patio of the Casa Vivot, Palma de Mallorca.
spacious stairhall. Thus on entering one gets an impression
of great amplitude, which statement may be only partially
appreciated from Fig. 124. Six bays of varying dimensions
make up the court but only one is open to the sky, the re-
maining five being covered by the main floor. The marble
columns are a heavy stunted form of Corinthian coarsely in-
terpreted. Owing to the narrowness of the street interior
instead of exterior buttresses were frequently employed in
Palma and may be seen much developed in this zaguan.
There are entrances on several streets, thus inviting the
populace to use this ground floor as a thoroughfare; noisy
children play there but such is the democracy of the land
that the family are entirely oblivious. The Vivot stairway is
the most monumental in the city. It rises in a single cen-
380
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
tral run to the first landing and then continues in two side
flights. This dictated a change in the vaulting sustaining the
upper landing and so we see three spans instead of the usual
single wide one. It is regrettable that the two back supports
which form newels to the stair are not also columns instead
of the more recent Baroque posts.
The interior (see plan, Fig. 122) is the typical series of
lofty salons, many with painted friezes of the same style as
those executed in the early eighteenth century by a Carthu-
sian monk in the convent-church of Valldemosa. There is
a quantity of interesting old furniture, tapestries, costumes,
rich equestrian trappings, and family portraits. While these
last are never masterpieces there is a solemnity about them
which is in perfect harmony with the stately apartments they
adorn. From this floor a terrace garden is reached overlooking
a large court towards the front and also the street towards
the back. This is a feature in so many houses that it would
seem as if the Mallorquins demanded this little green supple-
ment to their severe stone zaguans. Facing this palace is
another with a good Plateresque window in the cresting of
which appears a bust of Charles V.
The Marques de Palmer's house in the Calle del Sol has
the finest facade in the city (Plate LXXII). Instead of having
merely an isolated window or two on which embellishment
has been bestowed the entire front has been treated architec-
turally although the fact is difficult to appreciate owing to
the narrowness of Sun Street. The main and only entrance
does not depart from the typical large round arch, severely
plain and enclosing very heavy paneled doors built up of red
pine. On either side the few windows are small and have the
escutcheon over the architrave. Thus far the Palmer house
is like many of its neighbors but at the main floor there is
a difference for all the windows are richly treated and regu-
larly spaced. The end one bears the legend "Finished April
XI 1556." Unfortunately its companion at the other end
has been ripped out and sold. All adornment here exhibits
a Flemish touch particularly the tapering pilasters, super-
posed busts and diagonal panes of glass, these last seen else-
OLD PALACES IN PALMA DE MALLORCA
381
where in Palma but not on the mainland. As the balconies
on the Sollerich house are known to have been received from
Flanders in exchange for wine and oil, similar deals may
account for other Flemish details seen in Palma. In the top
PALMA DE MALLORCA
PATIO : PALACIO OLEZA
SECTION
BALVS TRADE/ DETAIL
ARCH SECTIONS
SCALE FOR. SECTIONS 9. ...? !2 £-
SCALE FOR. DETMLS ? I ?
FIG. 125 — Details from the Patio of the Oleza House, Palma de Mallorca.
story of the Palmer palace there is a complete return to insular
traditions. The Gothic ventilatory loft extends across the
entire front without one attempt to classicize it, a remark
which could be equally applied to eighteenth-century buildings.
Through its openings the simple roof construction is visible.
First come the heavy rafters 6 or 8 feet on center, then the
cross purlins 4x4 inches and nailed to these the battens
which sustain the ridge-and-furrow tiles; battens are placed
about 7 inches on center according to the size of the tiles and
these are laid between them and held in place by their own
weight. This makes an ideal roof in a climate which knows
but little frost and no snow. In this house the zaguan and
382
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
stair have been too much modernized to be interesting but
the interior is still typical— cavernous salons with painted
friezes and hung with gorgeous red damask, an almost indis-
pensable background for the fine old furniture. There is the
FIG. 126 — Window in the Casa Villalonga, Palma de Mallorca.
secondary or garden patio, small and secluded, and filled with
orange trees and date palms.
Another rambling palace is the previously mentioned
Oleza in the Calle Morey. The facade was never finished but
it has a few good windows, the usual plain rounded entrance,
and good carved brackets upholding the wooden eaves. The
facade is so long that these latter with the interminable repeti-
tion of the gallery motif underneath make a great impression
as one turns into the narrow street. The zaguan here is smaller
than others previously described and its stair arrangement
PLATE LXXIII
PALMA DE MALLORCA
QETTHE CASA CON5I5TOIUAk
tile roop
-~ * WoocL
CORNICE OF
NATIVE RED
PINE.VNDEC-
ORATED
PLAN OF SOFFIT
10
OF F&ET
WOODEN CORNICE OF THE CASA CONSISTORIAL, PALMA DE MALLORCA.
383
OLD PALACES IN PALMA DE MALLORCA
385
simpler, all of which imparts a feeling of domesticity often
lacking in larger examples. To the left and right on entering
are the customary little half-story steps with carved doorways
leading to the service portion of the house. This mezzanine
FIG. 127 — Entrance to the Burga-Zaforteza House on the Borne, Palma
de Mallorca.
scheme is made possible by building the stables and cellars
partly below grade. The stairway here is particularly grace-
ful in form (see Plate LXXI). Compared with those of the
Vivot or Morell-Sollerich houses, both of the divided type,
the single stair is more suitable for this reduced zaguan. It
begins with a short run, turns a right angle and makes a long
run to the stair loggia. This last run faces the zaguan and
permits one on entering to appreciate the subtle sweep of its
supporting arch. It is difficult to convey either by words or
25
386
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
drawings the system of these vaulted stairs and landings;
but it hardly seems overstating the matter to say that stone
surfaces were bent, warped, twisted, by these island builders
with as much facility as if they had been of plastic material.
For adornment the stair depends wholly upon its sheet iron
balustrade. The only other feature to be noted in the patio
besides the stairs and the two carved small doorways is the
Plateresque window inserted in the stucco wall near the well;
this shows some beautiful detail which is in marked contrast
to the coarse carving of the capitals. Like many other win-
dows it is based on Gothic forms though the little jamb colon-
nettes here have not the Gothic bases so often seen. From
the stair loggia one enters the Oleza house by a vestibulo
which surpasses most of its contemporaries in dimensions and
impressiveness. This room is simplicity itself in treatment-
whitewashed walls hung with solemn old portraits, a floor of
huge stone slabs guiltless of a rug, a lofty ceiling framed with
gigantic timbers of redwood, and severe unglazed casements
protected by stout wooden shutters.
There are many more examples to examine in the city—
the Casa O'Neill, the Burga-Zaforteza, the Villalonga, the
Sollerich, this last of the eighteenth century but hardly differ-
ing from the others except in its French furniture of the Empire
period and its exterior loggia overlooking the Borne. In
practically every case the same characteristics will be noted;
there is no finely executed carving, no style, no period of
development. In poverty of design all are much alike, and
all have the homely attractiveness of simplicity and good
construction. In their very absence of refinement they have
attained sufficient homogeneity to entitle them to consideration
as a separate type.
CHAPTER XIII
THE INFLUENCE OF PHILIP II
PHILIP'S INTEREST IN ARCHITECTURE WHILE YET PRINCE — THE CHILL
HE CAST OVER PLATERESQUE — FORETASTE OF HIS PREFERRED STYLE TO
BE FOUND IN THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST IN TOLEDO — ITS
FOUNDER ARCHBISHOP TAVERA RENOUNCES COVARRUBIAS AND SELECTS
THE PRIEST BARTOLOME BUSTAMENTE — BUSTAMENTE AND THE MAESTROS
OF THE CATHEDRAL — SIMPLICITY OF THE PLAN — THE CHURCH OF THE
HOSPITAL CONTAINING ARCHBISHOP TAVERA's TOMB BY BERRUGUETE —
THE ONLY COMPLETED QUADRANGLE OF THE PLAN — THE UNFINISHED
FACADE AND LATER ADDITIONS — THE ROYAL ALCAZAR OF TOLEDO AND THE
CHANGE OF STYLE IN THE PLATERESQUE ARCHITECTS EMPLOYED ON IT—
THE PATIO BY COVARRUBIAS AND THE STAIRWAY BY VILLALPANDO — THE
PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL OF SEVILLE — THE PALACE AT SALDANUELA
388
CHAPTER XIII
THE INFLUENCE OF PHILIP II
THE Plateresque of Spain may be cited as an architec-
tural style that had no decline. At a moment when
it was far from showing deterioration, when in fact
it was full of vitality, a monarch of overpoweringly cold and
rigid temper ascended the throne. Philip II ruled from 1556
to 1598 but even before his reign actually commenced his
father had given him the powers of regent, so that for over
half a century he was in a position to impress an inflexible
sternness on the Spanish court. This was reflected in all the
arts but most specially in architecture to which the monarch
gave a great deal of his personal attention. In his cabinet in
the Madrid Alcazar he was surrounded by plans of the royal
edifices in course of erection or reformation, and used to dock
them of all levity in the shape of ornament. Thorough
constructiveness, however, he always insisted on; structural
beauty at least he was able to appreciate else he would never
have stopped for two weeks in Merida examining the Roman
ruins. A law was made that no public building should be
undertaken without first submitting the plans to the state
architect Juan de Herrera, who met with his royal master
twice a week and received as much of Philip's attention as did
the prime minister. Small wonder that to this new order of
things — to these initiators of the Estilo Desor name nt ado —
the exuberant and pictorial charm of Plateresque were an-
tipathetic. Architecture ceased to be spontaneous; the
products of the latter half of the sixteenth century show a
cold standardization.
The great monument of Philip's reign is the royal monas-
389
390 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
tery called the Escorial. This had no direct predecessor
but a foretaste of its severity may be found in the Hospital
de San Juan Bautista in Toledo and in the reforms made in
the Alcazar in the same city; also in several religious mo~hu-
ments in outlying districts like Ucles and Alcantara. Of these
early stages of classic the Toledan examples here described
present a complete break with Enrique de Egas's innovation
in that same city. They are of granite exclusively, which
in itself forbade the wealth of carving that had enlivened
Plateresque. Pedantic and without any of the sentiment
which Machuca infused into his early classic attempt at
Granada, they nevertheless command attention for their
dignity and solidity. It is significant that the first distin-
guished patron of the new order in Toledo, the same cardinal-
archbishop who had sanctioned Covarrubias's Plateresque in
Alcala, commissioned the first classic structure after having
come in close touch with the already somber Prince Philip.
It was about 1541 that Don Juan Tavera, Archbishop of
Toledo, Grand Inquisitor, and Governor of Castile and Leon,
decided to give Toledo another hospital. Heedless of the
warning offered by Mendoza's unfinished foundation he too
ordered an immense structure. This is the half-built Hospital
de San Juan Bautista (Plate LXXIV) popularly known as
the Hospital Afuera (outside) from its position outside the
city walls.
For architect, Tavera turned from Covarrubias and chose
his secretary, a priest named Bartolome Bustamente. Busta-
mente had accompanied the cardinal to Naples in 1535 when
he went there to receive Charles after the conquest of Tunis.
That Bustamente had great feeling for the simplicity of Italian
his work shows; also that he had a fine understanding of plan
and construction; but there is no imagination in the product
and one recognizes the approaching extinction of the creative
spark. As to the extent of his connection with the hospital
there is the usual amount of confusion. Doctor Salazar de
Mendoza who published a life of Cardinal Tavera in 1603
says: "Through Bustamente's hands passed all the drawings
nd plans of the hospital because he was a very singular
PLATE LXXIV
HOSPITAL DE SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, TOLEDO;
Bartolome Bustamente, Architect,
391
THE INFLUENCE OF PHILIP II
393
architect"; but the same author also states that it was "built
by the maestros mayores of the cathedral, specially Francisco
Gonzales de Lara and Nicolas de Vergara and his son, who were
all valiant in this art." A modern writer, the Vizconde de
FIG. 128 — Plan of the Hospital de San Juan Bautista, Toledo.
Bartolome Bustamente, Architect, 1541 et seq.
Palazuelos, declares in his Guia de Toledo that it was not until
Bustamente had entered the Jesuit Society in 1552 that the
maestros of the cathedral intervened, which was probably
the case. These Vergaras were typical Castilians from Burgos
and accustomed to the Spanish version of Renaissance, whereas
the entire conception of the San Juan Bautista is so Italian
that there can be little doubt of the learned priest's authorship,
the others having been called in to assist in the practical working
out of the scheme.
394 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
The original plan was for an edifice covering an area of
260 by 350 feet and embracing two vast quadrangles. Fig. 128
indicates how much of this was carried out. The first quad-
rangle is divided into two patios by means of a two-storied
arcade — a motif not met with elsewhere in Spain and here
used on a much more monumental scale than in any example
in Italy. In the second and unfinished quadrangle stands the
chapel on axis with the gallery. It was built between 1561
and 1624 and is in reality a fair-sized church with a lofty
dome, bare in treatment and interesting chiefly because it
holds the cardinal's sumptuous tomb by Berruguete (Plate
LXXV) and his fine portrait by El Greco (who also designed
the large retablo). The tomb is conceived in a much more
classic spirit than this sculptor's earlier productions thereby
losing some of his Spanish quality. It was his last work, for
he died while at it "in the room under the clock" according
to the hospital archives. In this rear quadrangle nothing
else but the church was ever completed and the rest is in a
neglected condition; but the first enclosure with its arcade
and two Doric patios was finished under Bustamente and,
although academic in execution, is an impressive arrangement.
The arcaded gallery is vaulted and carries around the lines
of the patio each side of it (see Fig. 130). Every material
but stone was banished from the structure, and the change
from trabeation with its accompanying' decorated wooden
ceiling marks one of the most striking departures from earlier
Spanish architecture; yet with all its stoniness the Hospital
de Afuera escaped that cold precision which dominates later
classic buildings. The interior is too strictly utilitarian to
detain one, but a visit to the pharmacy is worth while for the
sake of its original supply of Talavera apothecary jars with
their old-fashioned contents indicated in quaint Gothic letter-
ing. Along the north side of the building where the grade
falls away is a series of buttresses so gigantic as to contain stair-
ways and small rooms. A descent to the vast cellars and store-
rooms reveals the very impressive masonry of the soubassement
where, curiously enough, some of the vaulting is still Gothic.
If Padre Bartolome had remained at his work long enough
a. s
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PQ
395
THE INFLUENCE OF PHILIP II
397
to finish off the fagade with the stone cornice appropriate to
its Florentine design and treatment, one would not have to
regret the patched-out top, along with a poor eighteenth-
century portal, which prevents us from justly appreciating
FIG. 129 — Arcade Between Two Patios of the Hospital de San Juan
Bautista (Afuera), Toledo.
Fray Bartolome Bustamente, Architect, 1541.
the architect. The front is a forceful design in rustication,
a practice seldom encountered in Spain except in a decorative
way. But it is the fenestration most of all that dissociates
the facade from previous buildings of the century, for it is
absolutely symmetrical. While in this case the disposition
is excellent, it proved a bad precedent ; soon after, fenestration
degenerated into multiple tiresome openings that corresponded
to no interior requirement and the charm of blank wall treat-
ment was forever lost sight of.
398
SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Bustamente appears to have done some building in Anda-
lusia also and it is frequently stated that he built the chapel
of Seville University— an edifice so undistinctive that anyone
might have built it. At any rate, his most important incur-
FIG. 130 — Window in the Hospital de San Juan Bautista, Toledo.
sion into the field of architecture was the Hospital in Toledo.
Little is known about him though he moved in the most distin-
guished milieu of the day. He was learned — one of the early
graduates of Cardinal Jimenez's University of Alcala. After
entering the Compania de Jesus (the Jesuit Society) he ac-
companied its vicar general Francisco de Borja on his visit to
Charles V in his monastery at Yuste.
The imposing Alcazar of Toledo is a much more difficult
building to study in its relation to the period in question, it
being an amorphous castle of several styles, burnt down and
restored many times (see plan, Fig. 131). It was in 1557
that Charles V appointed Alonso de Covarrubias and Luis de
Vega to remodel both it and the royal Alcazar of Madrid,
THE INFLUENCE OF PHILIP II 399
the curious order reading that the architects were to be paid
twenty-five thousand maravedises each, "with the which
each was to reside six months with the respective works, three
months at a time; and that besides this sum they should be
FIG. 131— Plan of the Real Alcdzar, Toledo.
paid on every day of the said six months four reales for main-
tenance." Afterwards Charles with the hope of hastening
matters decided to dissociate the collaborators, allotting the
Madrid castle (now destroyed) to De Vega and the Toledo to
Covarrubias. Covarrubias, it will be recalled, was at the
time maestro mayor de las obras reales and was also busy
on the Alcala palace for Cardinal Tavera. Whether, before
this change was made by the impatient emperor, the two
architects had together finished the Toledo design or whether
it was the idea of Covarrubias after he had begun to work
alone, is hard to say. Llaguno takes the former view but
400 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
gives no reason for doing so; and further claims that the patio
was executed under Gonzales de Lara, then Caspar de Vega,
and lastly Francisco de Villalpando who finished it in 1554.
Villalpando also designed the grand stairway, though it looks
far more like Herrera's work. These points are difficult to
settle now since those touches which might reveal the various
authorships have disappeared and only the larger outlines
are left. The Alcazar was burned in the war of the Spanish
Succession (1710). After Cardinal Lorenzana had made a
thorough restoration at enormous cost the French set fire to
it in 1 8 10 ; and in 1887 it was the victim of a third conflagra-
tion. On each of these sinister occasions it was the stately
patio of Covarrubias that suffered most. The massive out-
side granite walls stood the ordeal better but offer little of
special architectural interest. There is a portal of archaic
charm on the west side (ordered in the reign of the Catholic
Sovereigns) and attributed by some to Covarrubias and by
others to his brother-in-law, the younger Enrique de Egas.
Also of interest are the portal and windows of the north side,
built, it is said, by the elder Egas but too dry and perfunctory
to be his. The sculpture on this portal is by Juan de Mena
and while very correct, it too is lifeless. In fact the only
spirited note on the facade is the carving on the first story
windows by Berruguete.
The most monumental feature of the interior is the grand
stairway leading from the rear of the patio. In its dimensions
it is one of the most impressive in Europe and if by Villal-
pando, shows an appreciation of classic simplicity not to be
found in his ironwork. This refers to the reja of the capilla
mayor of Toledo Cathedral (1548) which, while full of charm-
ing detail, is hardly satisfactory in the ensemble. It has
been recently established that this rejero and architect was
one of a famous family of plaster workers in Valladolid and
this may explain the delicacy of his ironwork; as to his grasp
of the broader principles of architecture exhibited in the
Alcazar stairway, it may be due to his having completed a
short time before (1551) his translation of Serlio. The stair,
still denuded of all treatment as a result of the last fire, is
THE INFLUENCE OF PHILIP II
401
imposing now only through its fine proportions and its solid
masonry. The patio is less colossal but nevertheless of
considerable dignity. Built entirely of granite its coarse
detail is well suited to that stone, and the corners where the
FIG. 132— Patio of the Real Alcazar, Toledo.
Attributed to Alonso de Covarrubias.
arcading intersects offer a particularly good solution of this
always perplexing problem. Throughout the patio classic
precedents prevail (see Fig. 132); still there is a departure
from cut and dried rules as laid down by Vignola which has
resulted in an interest sadly lacking in later day work. The
triple arch motif (Fig. 133) by which the patio is entered is
specially good and its mould sections worthy of notice. In
the little pineapple pendents of the soffit of the arch may be
observed a free touch undeniably Spanish.
It must be borne in mind by the student who examines
402 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
the Alcazar that it is not a sign of the men employed but of
the times. What Covarrubias left there has nothing in com-
mon with the versatile Plateresque architect who designed
the Capilla de los Reyes Nuevos and the patio at Alcala;
FIG. 133 — Entrance from Vestibule to Patio of the Real Alcazar, Toledo.
similarly the massive stairway seems wholly unrelated to that
exuberant offshoot of the Villalpando yeseros who created the
wealth of minute Plateresque ornament on the reja and pul-
pits in the cathedral. In this center of Castile a coming
event was casting its shadow before. Philip, whose earnest
study of the classic must be admitted, had begun while still
a prince to interfere with his father's architects ; as for instance
when he ordered Covarrubias not to leave Toledo for any other
work but to devote all his attention to the Alcazar.
This same sobering influence was early felt even beyond
Castile for in Seville we find Martin Gainza and Hernan Ruiz,
two men who had produced rich unbridled Plateresque in
the cathedral, suddenly conforming to the royal taste. Their
b ft,
I
g
403
THE INFLUENCE OF PHILIP II
405
Hospital Provincial or de la Sangre, on which Ruiz was work-
ing at his death in 1559, is a great bare rectangle accentuated
at the corners by low towers. The facade (Fig. 134) is divided
into equal stories with no variation of motif from one end
FIG. 134 — Hospital Provincial (de la Sangre), Seville.
Martin Gainza and Herndn Ruiz, Architects, IS59 & seq.
to the other except a poor entrance of later date ; but if like
all the work of this period it is monotonous, it is impressively
so. The interior is lifted out of dullness by the several bright
patios treated in ajulejos, stucco, and marble. The plan is
so direct and practical that it might well serve for a similar
institution to-day. Only on the chapel was anything archi-
tectural attempted. This is said to have been designed by
406 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
Ruiz who will be recalled for his upper stage of the Giralda. It
is distinctive, but of that calculated precision seen in the
following century in the Sagrario adjacent to the cathedral
and in the Hospital de la Caridad. Just to what extent Gainza
FIG. 135 — Ruined Palace at Saldanuela, near Burgos.
was responsible in the Hospital Provincial is not known but
there is nothing here to suggest the cooperation of the archi-
tect who designed the royal chapel of the cathedral with its
opulent ornamentation. It is more than likely that many
architects followed each other on both the hospital and the
chapel mentioned; there is record of an Italian employed by
the Duke of Alba being called in on Ruiz's death, and Cean
Bermudez mentions still another. A late Sevillian structure
of more classic ambitions is the chapel of the university built
for the Jesuits between 1565 and 1579 and long erroneously
attributed to Bartolome Bustamente. The exterior, a massive
pile of brick crowned by a polychrome cupola, is more inter-
esting than the very orthodox interior. Also in brick is
Herrera's Lonja, described in the next chapter. Fig. 135 is
an example of domestic architecture in this late style, but
almost too interesting to be typical. It is in Saldafiuela on
THE INFLUENCE OF PHILIP II 407
the highroad from Burgos to Lerma (in which town are the
ruins of the vast palace of the Dukes of Lerma). The popular
and unrepeatable name of the Saldanuela house indicates the
use it was put to or for which, perhaps, it was deliberately built.
The architect is unknown and the only clue to his client is the
fact that the corner consols in the ball-room windows have
portraits said to be of Philip II and the intriguing Princess
Eboli. These place it well in the latter half of the century,
(although Senor Lamperez prefers 1530). With no house near
it and an extensive huerta behind, it is more like the isolated
Italian villa than any other Spanish example, yet like all
Spanish palaces it stands full on the dusty highroad without
approach of any sort. Although much later than the Hospital
del Rey in Burgos it too upsets geographical theories by bearing
more resemblance to the Salamantine than the Burgos school.
The west or main facade is unsymmetrical, being flanked on
the south by a huge bare bastion dating from the time of
Peter the Cruel who had a castle here. Much of the original
effect is lost by the blocking up of the loggia but fortunately
a charming little window and balcony at the north end remain
untouched. In plan the house consists of the customary
patio and surrounding galleries from which the rooms open,
and the galleries are connected by a claustral stairway. The
patio is severe but relieved on the south wall by an interesting
motif of blind arches between which are little columns in
half relief with delicate capitals. None of the apartments
are complete enough to reward inspection, for the building
was never finished and suffers from extreme dilapidation.
It is now a farmhouse with a hopeless confusion of agricultural
implements and domestic animals in all the lower rooms.
There are other isolated palaces throughout Castile which
have shaken off the levities of Plateresque to a much greater
degree than this. Indeed one can account for Philip's retain-
ing it here only as a concession to the lady in question; but
in domestic work to a far greater extent than in civil, is the
Estilo Desornamentado unsympathetic; it resulted in big bare
houses devoid of all charm.
CHAPTER XIV
JUAN DE HERRERA AND THE LATTER PART OF THE
CENTURY
THE ESCORIAL THE GREAT MONUMENT OF PHILIP'S REIGN — HIS SEVERAL
MOTIVES FOR BUILDING IT — THE ESCORIAL COMPARED WITH THE VATI-
CAN— PHILIP'S CHOICE OF JUAN BAUTISTA DE TOLEDO AS ARCHITECT — THE
MONARCH'S SOLICITUDE IN CHOOSING AN APPROPRIATE SITE FOR THE
MONASTERY — JUAN BAUTISTA'S SPLENDID SOUBASSEMENT — GRIDIRON
PLAN OF THE BUILDING — PHILIP'S PROMPTITUDE IN ORDERING FURNISH-
INGS AND MATERIALS — HIS DECISION TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF THE
MONASTERY AND THE ADDITION OF A THIRD STORY — EARLY DEATH OF
JUAN BAUTISTA — HIS SUCCESSOR JUAN DE HERRERA, AN ASTURIAN—
COMPLETION OF THE COLOSSAL STRUCTURE — FOREIGN ARCHITECTS CLAIM-
ING TO HAVE BUILT IT — ITS GREAT ACHIEVEMENT NOT IN ARCHITECTURE
AS A FINE ART, BUT IN SCHEME — DOME OF THE CHURCH IN RELATION TO
MICHELANGELO'S AND THE ELDER SANGALLO'S — HERRERA'S ARCHITEC-
TURALIZING OF THE PRINCIPAL FAQADE — ANALYSIS OF THE PLAN-
COMPARISON BETWEEN JUAN BAUTISTA AND HERRERA — REMAINING PRO-
DUCTIONS OF THESE TWO — HERRERA'S CATHEDRAL IN VALLADOLID — HIS
SMALL PALACE IN PLASENCIA — THE PUENTE DE SEGOVIA IN MADRID —
THE LONJA IN SEVILLE — THOROUGH CONFORMITY OF ALL IMPORTANT
NEW EDIFICES TO HERRERA' S AND PHILIP'S TYPE AND UTTER EXTINCTION
OF THE CREATIVE SPARK
408
CHAPTER XIV
JUAN DE HERRERA AND THE LATTER PART OF THE
CENTURY
r I ^HE Escorial (Plate LXXVII) is often referred to as the
eighth wonder of the world. Its magnitude, its sim-
M_ plicity, and its marvelous setting against the grim
granite mountains entitle it to the proud claim. It was built
when Spain had about reached her greatest limits of expansion.
Philip II was ruling over not only Spain, but also the Low
Countries including the French duchy of Burgundy, the
Rousillon in Provence, Naples, Sicily, Milan, Sardinia, north-
ern Africa, and, vastest of all, America. Small wonder that
the monarch of a realm where nunca se ponia el sol should
create an eighth marvel for the modern world. As to the
motives that prompted him to build El Real Monasterio de
San Lorenzo (commonly known by the name of the little
town beside it) there are various versions. Power like Philip's
could not go long undisputed. Hardly had his father abdi-
cated in his favor when Pope Paul IV, chafing under the pres-
ence of the Spaniards in Italy, claimed that their sovereign
had lost his right to Naples by not paying sufficient tribute
to the Holy See. The Pope called upon Henry II of France
for aid and Philip in reply brought across the Channel the
troops of his English wife and cousin Mary Tudor. The
French were defeated at the first encounter — St. Quentin —
on August 10, 1557. It was mainly to commemorate this
victory, that, according to some, the Escorial was built; and
in order to make reparation to St. Laurence whose monastery
had been destroyed by Philip's forces (a "military necessity")
the huge new building was dedicated to that saint and martyr.
409
410 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
However, given Philip's unlimited resources and his very
genuine devotion to architecture it is quite probable that he
would have perpetuated himself in a colossal foundation, the
St. Quentin victory or no. And given, furthermore, his intense
piety, such a monument would inevitably have been ecclesias-
tical. Being bound by the terms of his father's will to build
a mausoleum for the Hapsburgs he decided to combine this
with a monastery for the Hieronymites, an order newly arrived
in Spain and much favored by the late Emperor. But even
all these circumstances would not explain the hugeness of the
granite pile in the Guadarramas without closer examination of
Philip's attitude toward the great European question of the day
— the Reformation. While still merely regent Philip was ardu-
ously occupied in stamping out heresy. His imperial father
had resolved to make Spain the champion of the Catholic faith
against the fast-gaining Lutheranism; and from his cloistered
retreat of San Jeronimo de Yuste Charles wrote and coun-
seled his successor "to burn the contumacious and of those
who recanted to cut off their heads without exception what-
ever as to rank." It may have been as an earnest of his
inflexible purpose to maintain Catholicism triumphant that
Philip conceived the grandest monument to the faith ever
built — "Catholicism firmly planted on the earth, sure of
itself, exclusive, immense." Only the Vatican, with St. Peter's,
could be compared to the Escorial in scale and solemnity;
and while there is not one one-hundredth of the art in the
Spanish that there is in the Italian monument, still the former,
as a majestic and awe-inspiring scheme, comes nearer to the
grandeur of antiquity than anything erected in Italy during
the Renaissance.
Once the idea had shaped itself in Philip's mind he prose-
cuted it with the same pious vigor that he devoted to the
eradicating of heresy. While still in Flanders he decided
upon his architect; not one of those who had been working
under him on the various royal palaces — Covarrubias, the
younger Machuca, Villalpando— for they had not studied
antiquity at the fountain-head; but in Naples (Spanish terri-
tory, it must be recalled) there was living and working a
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411
JUAN DE HERRERA 413
Spaniard who had been employed on St. Peter's by Michelangelo
and whom the Viceroy had called to his service. This archi-
tect was Juan Bautista de Toledo, who is said to have laid
out many streets and squares in Naples and to have built the
Church of Santiago, the Palace of San Erasmo, and the Vice-
roy's palace. In 1559 he received Philip's summons, sent
from Ghent, to meet the sovereign in Madrid.
The choosing of a site was a much greater difficulty for
the monarch than the choosing of an architect. Many months
were passed in seeking a spot that would be salubrious and
near enough to serve as a retreat from Madrid. To these
conditions must be added another for which the king should
receive more credit than is generally given him — the site
must be austere and noble, for no other would be worthy of
the ever expanding project that now possessed the royal builder
completely. I At last it was found some thirty miles north-
west of Madrid on a southern spur of the Guadarrama Moun-
tains and at an altitude of some three thousand four hundred
feet. It overlooks a miserable little hamlet called El Escorial
(the place where are thrown out the scoria, or refuse, of
mines). Meanwhile Juan Bautista de Toledo was busy with
the plans and made a complete model in wood. All of 1562
and the spring of 1563 were passed in leveling and draining
the site and laying the gigantic foundations which comprise
a huge and splendidly built substructure of masonry. To all
this Juan Bautista gave his closest attention and too much
cannot be said for the thoroughness and skill of the work.
In order to minimize the exposure to the fierce winds and to
give a maximum of sun to the royal apartments, he did not
orient his building exactly with the cardinal points of the
compass. His plan (Plate LXXVIII) was simplicity itself
— a rectangle of 675 feet by 530 feet with a square tower at
x Professor Justi, after qualifying the building as a monument of repulsive dryness,
an inevitable result of Philip's niggling criticism and his somber habit of docking the
designs submitted to him of all that seemed over rich or too ostentatious, adds: "And
the great charm of the Escorial as forming, as it were, a part of the landscape in which
it is set, was one not contemplated by its builders." (Philip II als Kunstfreund, von
Carl Justi.) But considering the monarch's minute instructions to the engineers,
architects, and doctors who scoured the countryside for him, as well as his own personal
explorations, this conclusion is not justifiable.
414 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
each of the four corners. The division of this space into three
equal zones of which the southern was the convent, the north-
ern the palace, and the central the church with the king's
own apartments grouped around the capilla mayor, gave rise
to the popular legend that the plan was based on the form of
the gridiron whereby the Spanish San Lorenzo had suffered
martyrdom. It is not unlikely that Philip himself either saw
this resemblance or suggested it in advance, considering his
morbid tendencies.
The corner-stone of the monastery, with the architect's
name inscribed on it, was laid under the prior's seat in the
refectory on April 23, 1563. The work was pushed rapidly,
with Philip ever in attendance. Indeed, the great edifice
occupied all his hours for even when not present he was dictat-
ing instructions for the founding of statues in Milan, the
making of rejas in Zaragoza and Cuenca, and of lamps, can-
delabra and silver crosses in Toledo; for the cutting of the
mighty Cuenca pines in the Guadarrama region as far west
as Avila, and for the quarrying of jasper and marble in Burgo
de Osma, Las Navas, and other spots; and finally in the regular
checking off of the accounts. Hardly had the walls begun to
rise when the king changed his mind as to the size — he decided
to double the number of monks who were to have the custody
of his parents' tombs and "to make and to say continuous
prayers, sacrifices, and commemorations for their souls" to
quote his letter of foundation. The accommodation of these
extra monks appears to have met with no ready solution
from Juan Bautista, but his supervisor, Fray Antonio de
Villacastin, the monk who had prepared the royal apart-
ments for the Emperor at Yuste, came forward with a practical
suggestion, namely: that as the substructure was unusually
heavy a third story might be added to Juan Bautista's two.
The king instantly approved and the monks hailed the practical
idea as divine inspiration; but we are not told whether the
architect dared protest against increasing the height of his
relatively low walls. At any rate the friar's scheme was
adopted and the work proceeded accordingly. But in 1567
the architect died; "a man" wrote Padre Sigiienza, historian
PLATE LXXVIII
PLAN OF THE ROYAL MONASTERY OF THE ESCORIAL.
Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Hen era, Architects, 1560-84.
Scale 200 feet to the inch.
415
JUAN DE HERRERA
417
of the Hieronymite Order "of many parts, a sculptor, and one
who understood drawing, who knew Latin and Greek, and
who had considerable knowledge of philosophy and mathe-
matics." The chief assistant, Juan de Herrera, was chosen
FIG. 136 — South Facade of the Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo
del Escorial.
Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera, Architects, 1560-84.
to succeed as royal architect and it is with his name that the
gigantic building is always associated to the somewhat unjust
exclusion of Juan Bautista's.
Herrera, who had been with Charles V in Flanders and
Italy as an officer of the royal bodyguard, was a man of strong
character and as formal as his new master. To what extent
the Escorial represents his personal interpretation of classic,
and to what extent he merely executed his predecessor's plans,
it would be difficult to say; but certainly he was as thoroughly
in sympathy with his task as if he himself had been in charge
from the beginning. The work went on expeditiously.
Funds were gathered by devious means, unpaid workmen were
prevailed upon also by devious means, until the last stone was
418 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
laid in the Patio de los Reyes in 1582, twenty years after the
first in the refectory. One immense architectural project of
the sixteenth century had reached completion. Its fame soon
spread through Europe and there were not lacking both French
and Italian writers to promptly claim it for their own archi-
tects who, they explain, had submitted designs on the request
of Philip's ambassadors. Indeed the latest edition of the
Diccionario Encyclopedico states that Juan de Herrera was
most useful to his king in helping him choose an Italian design,
that of one Pacciolo, which was an exact copy of the Vatican,
and which the Spanish architect proceeded to alter and accom-
modate to the Escorial site. To the student, such pretensions
would appear absurd even if Juan Bautista's name were not
inscribed on the corner-stone. It is true that St. Peter's
served as inspiration for the Escorial church (although the
Spanish dome is a far finer piece of construction) ; and also
it is true that Juan Bautista owed his magnificent sense of
plan to Rome, but to ancient Rome, and not the heterogeneous
Vatican. The Escorial, as an ensemble, is the joint product
of a ponderous Spanish king and a classically inclined Spanish
architect. Its severity, its pessimism, its determination to
conquer by sheer weight and mass, its utter absence of esthetic
appeal, would have been inconceivable to an Italian or a
Frenchman. No architect who had not seen and studied
the Guadarrama range could have designed it, for the building
is "stone of its stone and strong of its strength." Juan de
Herrera undoubtedly made minor changes in his inherited
task as he proceeded, but the idea remains practically that
of the man who prepared the mighty foundations — one
crystallized concept from beginning to end.
The great achievement here is not architecture as a fine
art but scheme; and if one's first sight of the pile were obtained
from the heights to the northwest where the whole disposition
is apparent, instead of from the lower level where one comes
face to face with the crudity of the detail and the almost
shocking coarseness of the main entrance, one would not have
to overcome a first unfavorable impression. But as it is, not
until passing around to the south and viewing that facade
JUAN DE HERRERA
419
(Fig. 136) and the garden of the monks from across the reser-
voir, does one really feel attracted to this monument of Philip's
egotism. From here, too, the admirable setting is best appre-
ciated; how the whole is made to spread over the terrain with
FIG. 137 — Dome of the Church, Monastery of the Escorial.
Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera, Architects, 1560-84.
a remarkable feeling of structurability, by means of the garden
platform with its retaining walls of granite and the colossal
plinth on which the monastery rests. The planting, limited
to this garden platform, reflects the severity of the buildings.
Devoid of color it is marked off in rectangular plots of clipped
box whose methodical spacing is interrupted only by occa-
sional staircases which lead down to the many grottos that
420 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
honeycomb the site. Not one non-essential — vase, balustrade,
or moulding — mitigates the determined seventy of the whole
and the result is, at least in congruence, irreproachable.
Looking from this close range the one feature visible
above the outer walls is the dome of the church (Fig. 137),
and this is as assertively solid as the more angular mass below.
No superficialities were permitted in its adornment either
inside or out; and the absence of Herrera's favorite pyramids
so freely used on the western or main entrance, inclines one
to suspect that Philip's was the restraining hand. The drum
is treated with coupled Doric pilasters with niches between;
the arched openings are deep and effectively recessed, and
here, as elsewhere, not a moulding is ornamented. There
is nothing, it will be seen, to recall the sumptuousness of its
incentive, Saint Peter's; but the dome in its structural perfec-
tion far surpasses that of Michelangelo. It closely resembles,
allowing for its greater scale, that on the little church of Monte-
pulciano by the elder Sangallo. Both show that unity possible
only where the work was started and completed by one architect.
Of the monastery facades the principal or west is the least
satisfactory. Herrera, in the attempt to architecturalize it,
weakened it. Most discordant is the central motif embracing
the main entrance, for in it all his favorite forms appear—
gigantic superposed orders, pyramidal pinnacles, and curved
flanking buttresses. The manner of using all these leaves
much to be desired. The engaged columns of the lower
story, for instance, would be better if exposed three quarters
instead of merely one half of their diameter; while in the
triglyphs, modillion blocks, and main cornice above, there
is some execrable detail. This is inexplicable, for in the
interior of the church the order is beautifully carried out.
Fortunately the windows escaped treatment; throughout the
building they are the same little unaccentuated spots framed
by four blocks of granite— two verticals, lintel, and sill; and
the lintel, by projecting beyond the verticals, imparts an
archaic appearance to the opening. The diminutiveness and
uniformity of these innumerable openings do much to augment
the scale of the scheme.
PLATE LXXIX
PATIO DE LOS EVANGELISTAS, REAL MONASTERIO DE SAN LORENZO DEL
ESCORIAL.
Juan Baiitista de Toledo and Juan de H err era, Architects, 1560-84.
421
JUAN DE HERRERA
423
The plan of the Escorial as an architectural achievement
is one of the most notable of the sixteenth century. The fact
that it was produced in a land where the science of planning
had thus far been slighted makes it doubly interesting. Though
FIG. 138 — High Altar of the Church, Monastery of the Escorial.
in parts strongly influenced by Italian work it still preserves
the traditional Spanish idea — that the mass be enclosed
within a walled rectangle as opposed to the open plan with
broken perimeter. This basic idea must have especially
suited a man of Philip's exclusiveness, for the narrow ribbon
of outside rooms practically forms a vast wall enclosing monas-
tery, church, and palace. Thus regarded, the church is the
nucleus of the plan and occupies with its atrium the center
of the scheme. This atrium or Patio de los Reyes finds its
counterpart in earlier Spanish monasteries like Santas Creus
and Veruela where the church rises at the end of a forecourt.
424 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
As to the plan of the church, Juan Bautista while in Rome
must have heard much discussion over the various partis
submitted for St. Peter's. It was one of these, but not that
of his master Michelangelo, that he chose as his prototype;
instead, the Spaniard's preference was the Greek cross which
Peruzzi had striven so hard to make the Pope accept. To
be sure the church of the Escorial has a short western arm,
but as this is vaulted over to create a vast coro for the army of
monks who were to sing there, the effect is one of a plan of
equal arms. It appears reasonable to accept this church entire
as the expression of Juan Bautista de Toledo. Although he
died in the early stages of the work, there can be little doubt
that his successor faithfully followed his drawings, since
nothing of Herrera's personal work shows the same high dis-
dain for falsities. He, on the contrary, was ever ready to
resort to those sham frontons and other meaningless motifs
which one would more naturally look for in Michelangelo's
pupil ; yet it is in this latter's work that one may follow the un-
disguised modus operandi, stone upon stone, from the founda-
tion to the crown of the great dome. For this, contrary to
the general practice, is of a single instead of a double shell,
as though the uncompromising Spaniard had been averse to
even this legitimate deception. True, he reflects none of the
brilliancy and imagination of the Italians, but he surpasses
them in his Roman appreciation of thorough construction.
In a land where the Renaissance had been received only for
its ornamental value, this change of attitude would never
have found expression had it not coincided with Philip's own.
The pity of it is that, having at last grasped the fundamental
principles, architecture as a fine art should have been tabooed
as pagan heresy.
As to the remainder of the Escorial — palace, seminary,
and monastery — these are subservient to the central mass of
the church. They are treated in monotonous rectangularity
and though destined for more intimate uses are just as formid-
able and frigid. Still in spots a little sentiment managed to
creep in, especially in the monastery patio (Plate LXXIX)
with its gardens and tempietto and splendid view of the dome.
PLATE LXXX
WEST FRONT OF THE CATHEDRAL OF VALLADOLID.
Juan de Herrera, Architect, 1585.
425
JUAN DE HERRERA
427
It may be too exacting to ask that a scheme of such magnitude
as the Escorial should be practical in all its parts; yet there
need hardly have been such ignoring of those niceties which
belong to the ethical rather than the practical side of planning.
FIG. 139 — A Small Palace in Plasencia by Juan de Herrera.
The route to the royal apartments, besides being circuitous,
leads through a kitchen patio; likewise opposite three of the
imposing entrances to the building are stationed extensive
kitchen quarters. The error has nothing to do with Juan
Bautista's composition, but in the designating of such promi-
nent sites for the service end of the huge institution.
428 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
The remaining productions of Philip's two architects consist
mainly in the remodeling of various royal buildings and the
carrying on of others whose construction had long been in
progress. Juan Bautista began a royal convent in Madrid,
the Descalzas Reales, which passed on to Herrera and which,
so far as the profane may see, presents little of interest. What
Juan Bautista did on the royal residence at Aranjuez was swept
away by fire a century later; neither is anything left of the
Madrid Alcazar. Herrera's career was much more complete.
The greater scope of his commissions, including the colossal
cathedral of Valladolid (Plate LXXX), a small palace in
Plasencia, and the Segovia bridge at Madrid, offers a fairer
opportunity to appraise his talents. To be sure he worked
always more or less under Philip's dictation but nothing
would indicate that this was a hardship for him — that he had
any impetuosities that needed restraining or any imagination
that might have produced a monument of high artistic merit
if he had been freer. Architect and client appear to have
been equally cold natures, pedants both, and denied the
creative spark. It was always the same heavy attempt at
restoring Graeco-Roman. Any revival implies a paucity of
imagination, but at least the principles revived should be
thoroughly understood. Above all, an architect working in
a classic revival should have done justice to the orders and
Herrera did not fill this requirement. More engineer than
architect, he was able to secure robustness but unable to
refine it. Another great engineer-architect, the Italian Sam-
micheli, also strove for bigness, but his city gates at Verona
show that he appreciated architecture as a fine art. A com-
parison of these with the lower stage of the Valladolid Cathe-
dral by Herrera speaks for itself. To be sure the interior of
the cathedral is more commendable than the facade; the huge
piers and pilasters in rough stone are very effective and the
side chapels are a good adaptation of the Roman thermce
motif. Herrera's wooden model is still preserved and shows
that had this church been completed it might have commanded
respect by sheer size alone; but as it stands, less than half
finished (only one of the four towers was ever erected, and
JUAN DE HERRERA
429
that but a few years ago), it does not add to his fame, even
when due allowance is made for Churriguera's seventeenth-
century additions. The most sympathetic building associ-
ated with Herrera's name is a small house in the Estramenan
FIG. 140 — Patio of the Lonja, Seville.
Built by Juan de Mijaresfrom designs by Juan de Herrera, 1583-98.
town of Plasencia (Fig. 139), where presumably he was not
under royal influence. In his favorite material, granite, pre-
cluding delicate detail, it is interesting chiefly for its Doric
doorway and superposed Ionic window handled with more
feeling than usual, though it must be admitted that the iron
balcony does much to tie the two features together. The
two crude windows at the top and the pinnacled parapet
are more typically Herreran. In the Puente de Segovia in
Madrid, Herreresque bigness is more to the point; in fact, so
430 SPANISH ARCHITECTURE OF THE XVI CENTURY
formidable are his piers that the feeble Manzanares stream
seems to shrink still further at sight of them. But it is a
noble bridge, conserving the best traditions in this land where
bridge-builders have been famous since antiquity. So is the
granite Puente de Palmas at Badajoz, which was built after
his plans.
There are various other structures which Herrera as state
architect is known to have drawn plans for, but it is doubtful
if his connection went any further. Chief among these is
the Lonja of Seville built in 1583-98 by his pupil Juan Mijares
(already mentioned as working on the royal palace at Granada).
The exterior is of brick and granite, a combination which
was becoming very popular at the time and which may be
seen in the University Church and in many seventeenth-
century structures. The granite frame of the windows is of
the same post and lintel construction as the Escorial, and in
the cornice occurs the same corbel motif; the inevitable pin-
nacles accentuate the corners. In contrast to the poor detail
of the exterior the patio is academically correct (Fig. 140).
Some of the salons have interesting vaulted ceilings. The
banal marble staircase was built by Charles III in the late
eighteenth century, when it was decided to use the upper
story as the Archivo de las Indias.
Herrera and Philip II lived to the end of the century,
1597 and 1598 respectively, by which time they had thoroughly
implanted their official type. The whole kingdom conformed
to it and the perfunctory buildings which resulted are not
appealing.
INDEX
Acebedo, Don Caspar de, 156
Aguila, Luis de, 328
Alava, Juan de, 158, 190
Alba family, 157, 250
Albornoz, Bishop Alonso de, 169
Alcala de Henares, 46-52, 398
Archiepiscopal Palace, 51-64, 77, 162
Casa Lizanos, 77
Convento de las Carmelitas, 77
Tomb of Cardinal Cisneros, 76-77
University, 50, 64-76
Alcantara, Military Order of, 165
Alcazar of Madrid, 389, 398, 399, 428
— Seville, 298
- Toledo, 390, 398-402
Aleman, Rodrigo, wood carver, 191
Alero, 349
Alexander VI, Pope, see Borja
Alexandria, Patriarch of (Alfonso do
Fonseca the Elder), 145, 149, 155
Alfonso VI of Castile and Leon, 269
Alhambra, the, see Granada
Aljaferia, the, see Zaragoza
Almohades, the, 240
America, discovery of, 7, 8, 212, 215
Amusco, 185
Andalusia, iv, 8, 80, 189, 211-333, 398
Andinp, Crist6bal de, 79, 86, 91, 97
Andrei, Canon Pietro de, 169, 170, 274
Aprili, Antonio, 258
Arag6n, 71, 335~36i
Don Alonso de, Bishop of Zaragoza,
336
Catherine of, Queen of England, 49
Ferdinand of, see Ferdinand (the
Catholic)
Don Hernando de, Bishop, 343, 345
Aranda de Duero, 182
Archive Nacional de Alcala1, 55
Nacional de Madrid, 278
de las Indias, 430
Arfe y Villafan, Juan de, 227
Artesonados (wooden ceilings), 14, 18, 63,
no, 246, 307-312, 335, 365
Art in Spain and Portugal, by Dieulafoy,
ii, 336
Asturias, the, 8
Audiencia, Valencia, 365
Zaragoza, 353, 354~355, 360
Avila, n, 38, 169-179
Casa Po^
lentinos, 178
Cathedral, 169, 173-178
Avila, Cathedral, Altar of the Sacristy, 178
Altar of Santa Catalina, 177
Altar of San Segundo, 177
-Monument to the Bishop of
Madrigal, 173-177
Trascoro, 177-178
— Convento de Santo Tomas, 169, 178
Tomb of the Davilas, 173
Tomb of Prince John, 76, 169,
170, 172, 274, 277
Ayuntamiento (City Hall) of Baeza, 332-
333
• Granada, 309, 311
Seville, 217-222
Azulejos (colored tiles), 37, no, 240-246,
249, 250, 253, 314-315, 369
Badajoz, 193, 430
Cathedral, 193, 258
Badajoz, Juan de, 194-207
Baeza, 12, 109, 323, 331, 332~333
Balearic Islands, 363
Barcelona, 7, 8, 1 1, 281, 363, 364, 367
Bartolome" of Jae"n, Maestro, 282, 323, 328
Basque Provinces, the, 8
Becerra, Caspar de, 331, 343
Bellezas y Recuerdos de Espana (now
Espana, sus monumentos), 367
Benavente Palace, the, 12, 109, 333
Benedict XIII, the Antipope, 132, 354
Bernard, Saint, 201
Bernardo, first Archbishop of Toledo, 52
Berruguete, Alonso de, 43, 55, 58, 65, 72,
162, 166, 167, 186-189, 208, 212,
328, 343, 394, 395
Inocencio, 189
Pedro, 1 86
Bertaux, M. Emile, 189
Borgofia (Bourgogne), see Vigarni
Borja, family of, 8
Francisco de, 398
Rodrigo de (Borgia) (Pope Alex-
ander VI), n
Bosarte, Don Isidore, iii, 186, 189
Bourbons, the, 113
Bramante, Donato, 28, 29, 186
Brescia, 137
Bribiesca, 212
Brunelleschi, 13
Burgos, 8, 12, 41, 79-104, 270, 281, 407
Casa Miranda, 98-104
Cathedral, 80, 84, 122
431
432
INDEX
Burgos, Cathedral, Capilla del Condest-
able, 83, 85, 91
Escalera Dorada, 86-91, 289
Puerta de la Pellejeria, 85
Hospital del Rey, 97, 98-104, 407
San Esteban, 86
San Nicolas, 85
Bustamente, Fray Bartolome, 304, 390-
98,406
Caceres, 193
Calatayud, 361
Carlone, Michele, 319, 320, 324
Carpintero, Macias, 181
Carrara, n, 274, 281, 319, 343
Carrion de los Condes, 194, 199-208
Cartuja de Triana, la, 258
Casa Consistorial, Huesca, 353, 360
Palma, 383
Casa de Contra taci6n, 84, 212, 218
Casas Capitulares de Sevilla, 217-222
Castile, 4, 5
Castillo, the, 107
de Coca, 37, 80
de Lacalahorra, 4, 181, 293, 316-323,
332
de Villanueva de Caneda, 1 66
Catalonia, 335, 363
Catholic Kings, 76, 311
Catholic Sovereigns, the (Ferdinand and
Isabella), 3, 97, 132, 145, 212, 217,
273, 274, 282, 292, 316, 340, 341, 400
Cean-Bermudez, Don Agustin, iii, 169,
217, 406
Ceilings, see Artesonados
Cervantes, 49
Charles, King of Spain and Emperor of
Germany, n, 45, 51, 52, 72, 76, 114,
278, 281, 284, 289, 292, 293, 304, 307,
311, 344, 350, 364, 390, 398, 410, 417
Churriguera, 429
Cimborio of La Seo, Zaragoza, 336, 339
Cisneros, see Jimenez, de
Ciudad Real, 207
Claustral stair, 18
Clunia, Roman town of, 114
Cobos, Don Francisco de los, 327, 331
Coca, 80, 281, 316
Castle, 37, 80
Cogolludo, 4, 86
Colegio Arzobispal or de los Irlandes,
Salamanca, 145, 158-166
Fonseca, Santiago, 145
San Felipe, Zaragoza, 353
San Gregorio, Valladolid, 12, 181
San Ildefonso, Salamanca, 157
Santa Cruz, Valladolid, 4, 181
Colonia, family of builders, 79
Francisco de, 4, 79, 85-86, 113, 190,
191
Juan (Hans von Coin), 79, 85
Simon de, 41, 92
Columbus, Christopher, 7, 215
Comuneros, rising of the, 80
Conquistadores, palaces of the, 191-193
Convento de los Jer6nimos, Lupiana, 203,
Convento de San Marcos, Le6n, 194-200
— de San Zoil, Carrion de los Condes,
200-208
Copin, Diego de, 79
Cordova, 211, 212, 224, 231, 297
Cordova, Gonsalvo de (El Gran Capitan),
7,289
Luis de, 308, 311
Cornisa or alero, 349, 353
Corte, Nicolo da, 303
Cotera, Pedro de la, 67, 68, 76
Covarrubias, town of, 41
Covarrubias, Alonso de, 7, 22, 33, 41-45,
51-64, 68, 79, 156, 161, 162, 190, 390,
398-402, 410
Cubillana, Juan de, 304
Cuenca, center of ironworkers, 228, 414
• Cathedral, 208, 331
Cuenca process, the, 250
Cuerda seca process, the, 245-246
Custodia, the, 14, 227, 228
Daroca, 360
Davila, Juan Velasquez, 170, 173
Description de Espana y Africa, by Eben
Said, 246
Diccionario de los mas Ilustres Profesores,
by Cean-Bermudez, iii, 169, 217, 406
Dieulafoy, M. Marcel, n, 167, 336
Diez, Pedro, II
Discursos sobre la Pintura, by J. Martinez,
340 .
Domestic planning, 107-113
Eben Said, the Moor of Granada, 246
Eboli, Princess, 407
Ebro, the river, 341, 343
Egas (van der Eyken), family of builders,
12
Annequin de, 12, 79
Enrique de, 3, 4, 14-33, 41. 45, 55,
67, 85, 132, 181, 266, 270, 282, 292,
293, 320, 336, 339, 390, 400
Enrique, the younger, 400
Emperor Charles V, see Charles, King of
Spain
Enrique II of Castile, 42
Ill of Castile, 42
Escorial, Monastery of the, 390, 409-427
Escudo (escutcheon) de Espafia, the, 72-
74
Estilo Churriguerresca, 144
Desornamentado, 389, 407
Greco-Romano, 68, 428
Muddjar, 34, 39, 336
Plateresco, iii, iv, n, 12, 14, 217
Estofado process, 185
Estremadura, 38, 190-193
Estudios Historico-Artisticos, by Marti y
Mons6, 76, 274
Estudios sobre el Renacimiento, by Carl
Justi, 274
Expulsion decrees, 34, 122
Fabre, Jaime, 367
Fancelli, Domenico Alessandro, u, 76,
169-170, 174, 185, 273-277, 343
INDEX
433
Felipe de Borgona, see Vigarnf
Felipe el Hermoso, see Philip I
Felipe Segundo, see Philip II
Ferdinand of Arag6n (Fernando el Catol-
ico), 7, 67, 84, 269, 335, 341, 344, 363
Fergusson s History of Architecture, 80,
284, 344
Fernandez, Gregorio, 189
Fernando III (el Santo), 211
Figueroa, Lorenzo de, 193, 261
Flanders, 381, 410, 417
Florentino, Jacopo, n, 289, 315
Fonseca family, 80, 281
Alfonso de, Bishop of Santiago and
Patriarch of Alexandria, 80, 145,
146, 149
— Alfonso de, Archbishop of Toledo,
41, 51, 83, 145, 150
— Antonio de, 85, 270
- Maria de, 316
— Bishop Juan Rodriguez de, 41, 76,
79, 80-85, 86, 270
Forment, Damian, 339~342, 343
Frances, Juan, 75
Francis I of France, 304
French army, the, 55, 132, 166, 335, 400
Gainza, Martin, 221, 222, 224, 227, 402
Galicia, 8, 22
Gardens, 113, 246-250
Gazini, Pace, 258
Gaztelii, Martin, see Tudelilla
Genoa, n, 235, 250, 303, 319, 367
Genoese, the, 12, 258, 319
Gestoso y Perez, Don Jose, 223
Ghiberti, Lorenzo, n
Giralda, La, 235-237, 349, 406
Golden Fleece, Order of the, 72
G6mez, Alvaro, 67
Gomez-Moreno, Don Manuel, 161, 169,
297, 327
Gothic Architecture in Spain, by Street,
iv, 336, 342
Granada, 3, 7, n, 211, 246, 269-316, 323,
430
Alhambra, the, 269, 273, 311
Aposentos de Carlos V, 311,
312, 314
Washington Irving 's room, 311
Ayuntamiento Antiguo, 309, 311
Capilla Real, 73, 270-282, 342
Casa Castril, 292, 293
Casa Chapiz, 311
Casa de Luis de Cordova, 308, 311
— Cathedral, 286-293
— Ceilings, 307-312
Convento de San Jer6nimo, 282,
289-290, 327
— Fountain of Charles V, 305, 307
— -Hospital Real, 3, 16, 30, 281, 312
— Lonja, 293
Palace of Charles V, 269, 297-307
Greco, El (Domenico Theotocopuli), 30,
33, 186, 394
Greco-Roman style, 68, 428
Guadalajara Palace, 4, 12, 37, 114, 181,
333
28
Guadalquivir, the river, 216
Guadamaciles (painted leather hangings),
III, 222
Guadarrama Mountains, 410, 413, 414,
418
Guas, Juan (Johann Waas), 181, 333
Guia de Toledo, by Palazuelos, 390
Gumiel, Pedro, 49, 50, 67, 71, 75, 76
Guzman Palace, Leon, 200
Hapsburgs, the, 8, 410
Henry II of France, 157, 409
Herrera, Juan de, 7, 181, 193, 270, 302,
389, 400, 406, 417-430
Hieronymite Order, the, 410, 417
Hilario, Maestre, 91
Histoire de I1 Art, by Andre Michel, 189
Historia de la Arquitectura Cristiana
Espanola, by Lamperez, ii
Historia de Sevilla, by Morgado, 235
History of Architecture, by Fergusson, 284,
344
Hontafion, see Ontanon
Hospital de la Santa Cruz, Toledo, 3,
14-22,41,55,71,320
de San Juan Bautista (Afuera),
Toledo, 307, 390-398
Provincial (de la Sangre), Seville,
403, 405-406
Provincial, Ubeda, 331
Real, Granada, 3, 16, 30, 281, 312
Real, Santiago, 3, 22-30, 336
Huesca,339,353,36o
Ibarra, Pedro de, 161, 165
Infantado Palace, see Guadalajara
Irving, Washington, 312
Isabella of Castile (Isabel la Cat61ica),
4, 7, 30, 72, 85, 270, 335
Isabella of Portugal, the Empress, 114,
298
Italy, 75
Jaca, cathedral of, 339, 343
Jacopo the Florentine, n, 289, 315
jaen, 211, 270, 323
Cathedral of, 323-324
Ja&i, Bartolome de, 282, 323, 328
aime, Don (el Conquistador), 363
resuits, the, 393, 398
ews, the, 34, 38
imenez de Cisneros, Cardinal and Arch-
bishop, 34, 50, 67, 76, 170, 269, 275,
344, 398
Joan the Mad, 11, 72, 84, 273, 274, 281, 350
John, Prince, see Juan
Jordan, Esteban, 189
Juan Bautista de Toledo, 7, 413-417, 424,
427, 428
Juan, El Infante Don, 76, 169, 170, 173,
274, 277
Juana, Queen, see Joan the Mad
Justi, Professor Carl, 85, 218, 274, 291, 413
Lacalahorra, Castillo de, 4, 189, 293,
316-323, 332
Lalamg, Antom de, in
434
INDEX
Lamperez, Don Vicente, iv
Lara, Francisco Gonzales de, 390, 400
Leon, the kingdom of, 7
the city, 193-204
Guzman Palace, 200
San Marcos, 194-200
Leon, Fray Luis de, 139
Lerma, Bishop Gonzalo de, 92
Lerma, Ducal palace of, 407
Leval, Antonio de, 303, 304
Liberals, the Spanish, 339
Life of Cardinal Cisneros, by Alvaro
Gomez, 67
Life of Cardinal Tavera, by Salazar de
Mendoza, 390
Llaguno y Amirola, Don Eugenio, iii,||i,
56, 68, 161, 165, 399
Lombards, the, n, 12, 319
Lonia of Barcelona (formerly Consulado
del Mar), 7
Granada, 293
Palma, 7
Salamanca, 157
Zaragoza, 345, 353, 360
Lorenzana, Cardinal, 400
Luna, Don Pedro de, see Benedict XIII
Lupiana, 203, 208
Machuca, Luis de, 227, 298, 303
Pedro de, 227, 297-307, 390, 410
Madera encarnada, 376
Madrazo, Don Pedro de, 75
Madrid, 58, 389, 413, 428, 429
Madrigal, Bishop Alonso de, 169, 173, 174
Maeda, Juan de, 286
Majorca (Mallorca), 364
Malaga, cathedral of, 286, 292, 324
Manueline style, 12
Manzanares, the river, 430
Marti y Mons6, Don Jose, 76, 274
Martinez, Jusepe, court painter, 340
Medicis, the, 80
Medidas del Romano, by Diego Sagredo,
51, 68, 83, 92, 100
Medinaceli Palace at Cogolludo, 87
Medino del Campo, 22, 193
Mena, Juan de, 400
Mendoza, family, 4, 114
Dona Mencia de, 83
Pedro de, Cardinal and Archbishop
(El tercer Rey), 3, 4, 27, 50, 390
Don Rodrigo de, 12, 316, 320
Doctor Salazar, 51, 390
Mercada, el Padre, 215
Merida, 389
Mexico, 45
Michel, M. Andre", 189
Michelangelo, 186, 189, 343, 345, 413, 420,
424
Mijares, Juan de, 303, 430
Miranda, Count of (Don Francisco de
Zuniga), 114
Don Francisco de, 99
Casa de, 98-104
Miraso, Juan de, 349
Montage's, Juan Martinez, 189, 261
Montepulciano, church of, 420
Monterey, Condede, 156
— Palace, 107, 109, I55~I57
Montpensier, Due de, 298
Monumentos A rquitectonicos de Espana, 75
Moors, the, 34, 37, 127
Moreto, Giovanni, n, 339, 343
Morgado, Alonso de, 235
Moriscos, the, 37, 122, 297, 298, 316
Morlanes, Juan, 340
Diego, 341, 343, 344, 35°
Morocco, 236
Mudejar style, 34~39, 336, 344, 345
Mudejares, the, 18, 34, 344
Munez, Sancho, 228
Murcia, n, 189, 211,289
Murillo, 58
Najera, Andres de, 169
Naples, 4, 7, 341, 363, 390, 409, 4™
Niculoso of Pisa, Fray, n, 246
Notidas de los Arguitectos, by Llaguno,
iii, 41, 56, 68, 161, 165, 399
Obra del Romano (the Plateresque style),
12
Ocampo, Andres de, 304
Ontafion, Gil de, 68
Rodrigo Gil de, 67-76, 78-79, 162,
190,227
Ordonez, Bartolome, 76, 77, 79, 185, 273,
274, 277-281, 343
Osuna, 261-266
Pacciolo, Italian architect, 418
Palacio, the Spanish, 107-113
Palazuelos, Visconde de (Conde de
Cedilla), 390
Palencia, 83
Palma de Mallorca, 7, 346, 363-386
Borne, el, 369
• Casa Consistorial, 383
— Casa Oleza, 372, 382-386
Casa Palmer, 380-382
— Casa Vivot, 371, 376-380
— - Cathedral, the pulpit, 367-368
— Lonja, 7, 367
Pardo, Pedro, wood carver, 50
Paredes de Nava, 186
Patio, the, 108
Paul IV, Pope, 409
Pavia, 304
Penaranda, Palace of, 64, 86, 99, 113-129
Perpignan, 367
Peru, 45
Peruzzi, Baldassare, 4, 424
Philip I (Philip the Fair), 4, 72, in, 273,
274
Philip II, 45, 222, 389, 390, 409-4H, 4i8,
420, 428, 430
Piferrer, Don Pablo, 367
Pilar, El, see Zaragoza
Pilatos, Casa de, see Seville
Pilgrims to Santiago, 22
Pisa, Fray Niculoso de, 246
Pisano process, 246
Pizarro family, the, 193
Plan, the Spanish, 107-113
INDEX
435
Plasencia, 190, 193, 428, 429
— Cathedral, 158, 190
Plasencia, Juan de, 295, 312
Plateresque style, its naming, 12
Poblet, Monastery of, 339, 341
Polychrome sculpture, 182-189
Pons, Don Antonio, iii, 14
Portugal, 12
Pradas, Juan Garcia de, 293
Prado, Antonio de, 353
Prentice, Andrew, 145, 155, 156, 354
Quentin, Saint, the battle of, 409, 410
Real Maestranza, see Zaragoza
Reconquest, the, 8, 49, 211, 235
Reformation, the, 410
Renaissance, the, 7-12
Reolid, Juan de, 328
Reyes Catolicos, see Catholic Kings
Riano, Diego de, 202, 216-227
Ribera family, 250, 258
Ribera tombs, see Seville
Riccardi Palace, the, 345
Rimini, the Malatesta Chapel, 323
Rodriguez, Juan, 177
Ruiz, Fernan or Hernan, 224, 227, 231-
233, 402
Sagredo, Diego de, 51
Saint Peter's, Rome, 410, 413, 418, 420
Salamanca, 131-167, 221, 222, 266
Casa Abarca Maldonado, 143
Casa Boal, 139, 143
Casa de los Conchas, 143
Casa Garci-Grande, 144
Casa Maldonado y Amato, 144
— Casa Maldonado y Morillo, 150
Casa Monterey, 107, 109, 155-157
Casa de las Muertes, 143, 145, 146-
150
— Casa Salina, 143, 145, 146
— Casa Solis, 155
— Cathedrals, 67, 68
— Colegio de Santiago Apostol (los
Irlandeses), 145, 158-166
left
Colegio San Ildefonso, 157
— Convento de las Duenas, 167
— Escuelas Mayores, see University
Escuelas Menores, 132
San Esteban, 158, 266
University, 13, 132-140
Salamanca, Fray Francisco, 228
Saldanuela, Palace, 406-407
Sales, Juan de, 367, 369
Sammicheli, 428
Sanchez, Juan, 216, 221
Sangallo, the Elder, 4, 420
San Lorenzo, Monastery of, see Escorial
Sansovino, 328
Santas Creus, 423
Santiago de Compostela, 3, 22, 51, 336
Hospital Real, 3, 22-30
Saragossa, see Zaragoza
Sculpture, Spanish, 186
Segovia, 67, 68, 80, 179-80
Segovia Bridge of Madrid, 428, 429
Seo, La, see Zaragoza.
Sepulchral Monument of Albornoz,
Bishop, 169
Alfonso de Madrigal, 169
— Davila family, 173
— Ferdinand and Isabella, 270
— Figueroa, Lorenzo, 193
— • Fonseca family, 281
Jimenez de Cisneros, 76
Joan and Philip, 273
Lerma, Bishop, 92
Mendoza, Bishop (in Seville)
Prince John, 76
Reyes Nuevos, 41
Rivera family, 255-259
Tavera, Cardinal, 189
Serlio's Book of Architecture, 400
Seville, II, 84, 235-261, 298, 402-406
Alcazar, 231, 258, 298
Ayuntamiento or Town Hall, 217-
222
Cartuja, La, 258
Casa Alba, 37, 236, 250-258
Casa de Contratacion, 84, 212, 218
Casa Olea, 258
Casa Pilatos, 240, 257-258
Casa Pinelos, 236, 258
— • Cathedral, 216
Sacristy of the Chalices, 223
Sacristia Mayor, 223, 227
— Sala Capitular, 223
— Convento de la Merced, 250
- — Convento de Santa Paula, 246
— • Giralda, La, 231, 233
— Hospital Provincial, 405-406
— Lonja, the, 430
Tribunal de las Indias, 212
University Chapel, the, 258, 261, 398
Tombs of the Ribera family »
258-259
Sgraffito treatment, 179
Siena, 155
Siguenza, 208, 328
Siguenza, Padre, 414
Siloe, Diego de, 41, 79, 86, 97, 161, 190,
217, 224, 227, 270, 282-292, 297, 307,
324. 327
Silversmiths (plateros), 14
Statuaire Polychrome en Espagne, by
Dieulafoy, 167
Street, George Edmund, 74, 336, 342, 360
Suma de Tratos y Contratos, by Padre
Mercado,2i5
Tagus, the river, 46
Talavera pottery, 394
Talavera, Juan de, 361
Tarazona, 339, 343, 360
Tarragona, 339
Tavera, Juan, Cardinal and Archbishop,
51, 52, 189, 390, 399
Teruel, 360
Toledo, Archbishops of, 4, 49
Toledo, 3, 4, 11-22, 30-39, 41-46, 390-401
Alcazar, 41, 72, 398-402
Casa del Greco, 35
Cathedral, 3, 41-45, 50, 282, 283, 400-
436
INDEX
Toledo, Cathedral, Capilla de los Reyes
Nuevos, 41-45, 402
Capilla de San Juan, 45
• Sala Capitular, 49, 50
Hospital Afuera, 317, 390-398
Hospital de la Santa Cruz, 3, 13,
14-22,41, 55, 71,320
Puerta Visagra, 73
• Synagogues, 38
Tordesillas, 350
Torrigiani, Pietro, 403
Triana, 258
Tribunal de las Indias, 21 1
Trujillo, 193
Tudela, 343
Tudelilla, 342~343, 354, 367
Tudor, Alary, 409
Ubcda, 270, 323, 327-332
Casa de las Torres, 331
• San Salvador, 327, 328
Santa Maria, 328
Ucles, 390
Urbino, Rafaello da, 301
Valencia, 3, 8, II, 336, 363
Valladolid, 86, 180, 224, 228
— Cathedral, 181, 428-429
— Colegio de la Santa Cruz, 4, 181
— — Colegio de San Gregorio, 12, 181
Monasterio de San Benito, 186
Museo Provincial, 182
— Santa Magdalena, 74
Vallejo, Juan de, 97
Vandelvira, Andres, 227, 324-327, 331
Vatican, the, 410, 418
Vega, Luis de, 398, 399
Velasco, Don Pedro de, 92
Velasquez, Anton, 222
Veray, Etienne, 361
Vergara, Nicolas de, 77, 104, 390
Veruela, Monastery of, 423
Viaje Artistico, by Bosarte, iii, 186, 189
Viaje de Espana, by Pons, iii, 14
Vid, La, Monastery of, 114
Vigarni, Felipe de, 51, 52, 72, 80, 97, 181,
281, 342
Vignola, 401
Villacastin, Fray Antonio de, 414
Villapando, Francisco de, 400-402, 410
Vitrubius, 51
Voyage de Philippe le Beau en Espagne,
by Lalaing, 1 1 1
War of Independence, 335
War of the Spanish Succession, 400
West Indies, the, 215
Xamete, sculptor, 196, 212, 331
Yeseria (patterned plaster), 63, no, 236-
240
Yuste, Monastery of, 72, 398, 410, 414
Zafra, 193
Zalzillo, Francisco, 185
Zaragoza, II, 325-360, 369, 414
Aljaferia, the, 335
Audiencia or law courts, 353, 354-
355, 36o
Casa Argillo (now Colegio San
Felipe), 353
• Casa in the Calle Mayor, 359
Casa de la Real Maestranza, 353, 360
Casa Zaporta, 129, 354
Cathedral of El Pilar, 339, 344
Cathedral of La Seo, 336, 342, 349,
360, 367
San Pablo, 344, 349, 353
Santa Engracia, 340-342
Torre Inclinada, 344
Zarza, Vasco de la, 169, 173-178
Zoil, San, Monastery of, 194, 200-208
Zuniga, the annalist, 12
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