SPAIN: ART AND LITERATURE

Many books and movies have been written about Spain, and it's hard to talk about Spain without its art and culture. Many of its artists have become so iconic in the realm of art history that their works have become staples in art studies.
 

The earliest people in Spain left behind many cave paintings spread across Spain and Portugal. And there are still many sculptures and structures built showing the Greek, Phoenician, and Roman influences. As the North African Muslims took over, art began to reflect this change, and there are many examples of Islamic architecture still around today. Islamic designs and architecture dominated many of the previous structures. Even smaller works like pottery and ivory carvings reflected this. As Spain returned to Christianity, their art generally fell in line with what was happening in Italy, France, and Germany. Fresco paintings, panel paintings, and altar frontals are all commonly painted during the pre-Renaissance era.

by El Greco

The Renaissance brought along more dramatic uses of Mannerism with the focus on light and dark (chiaroscuro) that Italy had jumped on as well. During this time, Spain saw its Golden Age, a time of quite a bit of development in its art. One of the biggest names from this time period is a painter known by his nickname, El Greco ("The Greek"). As Spain pushed through the 1600s and 1700s, artists like Diego Velázquez, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and Francisco Goya.

by Pablo Picasso

Spanish artists during the 19th century generally followed the art movements popular in Europe: Neo-Classicism (like José de Madrazo), Romanticism (Antonio Gisbert, Eduardo Rosales, Francisco Pradilla), Realism (Mariano Fortuny), and Impressionism (Joaquín Sorolla). The 20th century introduced several key artists to the world in a number of genres: Pablo Picasso (Cubism - most famous for his Blue Period paintings, Guernica, and Three Musicians), Salvador Dalí (Surrealism -- I'm a huge fan -- most famous for his bent clocks in The Persistence of Memory), and Joan Miró (Surrealism, Dada, experimental/abstract).
 

by Salvador Dali

The vast majority of literature from Spain is written in Spanish, although there are smaller numbers of works in Catalan or other languages. The oldest evidence of literature from Spain is “El Cantar de mio Cid,” an epic poem from the 14th century about the true story of the hero El Cid during the times when the Spanish were expelling the Moors. Probably one of the most well-known contributors to Spanish literature is the Baroque author Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. He introduced the world to Don Quixote de la Mancha. The 18^th century brought the Enlightenment period of literature, a transitional period between the Baroque and the Romantic period. Prose and lyric poetry still dominated with authors like José Cadalso, Tomás de Iriarte, and Ramón de la Cruz. Realism took us up to the 20^th century, which was characterized by looking at the psychology of the characters as they faced conflicts. Authors like Benito Pérez Galdós, Emilia Pardo Bazán, and Vicente Blasco Ibáñez are still read today.

The 20^th century had several waves of authors emerging with a particular style and focus, but mostly addressing issues that were important to them as they watched their country’s political and social dynamics change. Censorship was high during the Franco regime as he cherry-picked literature that would appease his self-centered and singular worldview, but really provided nothing of major literary significance emerged (that’s what it’s like for writers when you cramp their style). There have been five Spanish authors graced with the honor of being the Nobel Prize winner in Literature: José Echegaray (1904, drama), Jacinto Benavente (1922, drama), Juan Ramón Jiménez (1956, poetry), Vicente Aleixandre (1977, poetry), and Camilo José Cela (1989, novel/short story).

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