Spanish Renaissance Art: Plateresque, Herrera Style, and El Greco

The Renaissance in Spain: Architecture

Spanish Renaissance architecture was closely linked to the figures of the Catholic Monarchs. Among the artists working mainly in Castile were Juan de Álava, Enrique Egas, and Domenico Fancelli.

Architectural Periods

In Renaissance architecture, two distinct periods can be identified:

1. The First Rebirth (Plateresque)

Hispano-Flemish forms coexist, characterized by a great profusion of decorative themes that flooded buildings, hospitals, and churches.

2. Classicism (Second Third of the 16th Century)

During the second third of the 16th century, the taste for decoration adopted more stringent forms. This is the late Spanish Classicism, which developed Italian Quattrocento elements. Barrel vaulted ceilings and domes largely replaced the Gothic vaults of the classical stage. This era is known as the Herrera Style, driven by Juan de Herrera. His great work is the Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Plateresque Style

Plateresque refers to the decorative coating of buildings. The facades of the Catholic Monarchs, the aristocracy, and the great ecclesiastics were the main drivers of this new art.

Characteristics of Plateresque

• The survival of elements of late Gothic or Elizabethan styles, such as vaults with decoration in their keys and ribs.
• The persistence of Mudejar elements, including plasterwork and wooden ceilings (artesonados).
• The use of a large repertoire of grotesques, cherubs, and putti covering lines and facades.
• The appearance of the so-called "facade-tableau" (fachada-retablo), a way to express the grandeur of the Renaissance style on the exterior, decorated like altarpieces.

Enrique Egas performed one of the crowning achievements of this period: the facade of the University of Salamanca.

Purism or Classicism (Herrera Style)

This style is related to Emperor Charles V and, in the last third of the 16th century, to King Philip II. It is a contemporary style to Mannerism taking place in Europe.

Key Architects and Works

• Pedro Machuca: Built the Palace of Charles V, the first Italian-style building of the 16th century in Spain.
• Other Works: Palacio de Monterrey in Salamanca and the Palace of Guzmán in León.
• Juan de Herrera: The creator of a style based on the total lack of ornamentation, proportion between constructive elements, and the use of a giant order in columns.
  • Major Works: The Monastery of El Escorial and the Cathedral of Valladolid.

Spanish Renaissance Sculpture

Religious imagery achieved great development thanks to the work in painted wood and the large production of retablos (altarpieces) and choir stalls. Marble, stone, and bronze were used for memorials of princes and nobles. Sculpture passed through distinct stages in the 16th century, timidly adapting to the Renaissance style.

The Altarpiece and Wooden Sculpture

The manufacture of altarpieces required the participation of a large roster of artists, including architects, gilders, and goldsmiths. In the polychrome woodwork, various techniques inherited from the previous period were used, such as estofado (stewing) and encarnado (flesh tones).

The altarpiece has an architectural structure that houses the sculptural program. Altarpieces are composed horizontally of a bank (predella) and several bodies divided into superimposed streets. Vertically, they are formed by columns, friezes, and pediments.

Juan de Juni (Second Third of the 16th Century)

He was one of the most important sculptors of the Renaissance, known for his monumental style (huge figures). His figures display dramatic expression, high turnover, theatrical gestures, and scenery (pathos). Anatomies are stout and rotund, with bulky drapery (paños). His work sought to cause devotion and the exaltation of religious feeling, characterized by great realism.

Important Work: The Holy Burial.

Characteristics of The Holy Burial

• The characters are crowded around a central figure.
• The characters appear frozen at the moment of maximum tension during the burial of Christ.

Other Work: Our Lady of Sorrows (dramatic expression, pain, anguish, expressive hand gestures, and monumentality).

Alonso Berruguete (Second Third of the 16th Century)

Also an important sculptor of the 16th century. He created characters with popping shades, bony bodies, and writhing figures, creating the linea serpentinata. His postures suggest instability, movement, and expressive dynamism. The emotion is expressive but contained.

Important Works

• Sacrifice of Isaac: Focus on motion and muscle tension.
• San Sebastian: Tied to a tree trunk, his body writhes helicoidally along a line.

Spanish Renaissance Painting

Painting is characterized by the profusion of religious themes, which provoke devotion and the exaltation of religious feeling.

El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos)

El Greco represents the Late Renaissance and Mannerism of the second half of the 16th century. He was so named because of the Greek and Byzantine influences in his painting, though he developed his own style in Spain.

Influences and Stages

• Byzantine Influence: Reflected in the topics (deesis), symbolism, and rigidity.
• Italian Influence: Especially Venetian painting, which inspired his use of color and loose brushwork.
• Spanish Influence: Seen in the treatment of characters, mysticism, and the dramatic expression of figures.

Stages of El Greco's Work

1. First Stage: Figures are monumental, and the color palette is Venetian and warm.
2. Final Stage: Figures acquire greater elongation, dreamlike landscapes appear, and the color gamut becomes cold.

El Greco produced religious works and portraits, but also landscapes and some mythological themes.

Stylistic Characteristics

• Elongation of the figures.
• Bright contrasts.
• Warm color palette highlighting the difference between the two levels: the earthly and the divine.
• Disproportionate figures, unbalanced compositions, unreal colors, and artificial light sources.

Major Works

• Gentleman with His Hand on His Chest (El caballero de la mano en el pecho): Expressive hands and faces; a psychological portrait of the character.
• The Burial of the Count of Orgaz: Features elongation of bodies, expressive faces, figure groupings, and celestial backgrounds (celajes).
• Other Works: The Trinity, Pentecost, The Adoration of the Shepherds.