Art had a significant role in shaping Spanish history.Spanish art is among the richest in Western Europe. It has developed over time and has contributed to the evolution of Spanish culture.Spanish art history stretches back more than 40,000 years. The vast majority of the cave art discovered so far in Spain dates from the period from 40,000 to 10,000 BC. This was the era in which Homo sapiens became the predominant human species across the world, replacing Neanderthal people in western Europe.The purpose of Spanish art through the Middle Ages was not to represent reality. Instead, it served primarily to convey religious truths through symbolic conventions and so to educate the faithful, who were almost entirely illiterate.Spanish painting was heavily influenced by the Italian renaissance of the 15th century. Spain was a powerful empire, so it attracted artists from all over Europe. Using the artistic influences coming from a variety of sources, Spanish painters created the Spanish renaissance in Spanish art.In the mid-16th century, Spain was at the height of its power and prestige. But by the time Philip IV came to the throne in 1621, the country was in serious decline. Despite this, Spain was enjoying a Golden Age in the arts, which continued until around 1680. Velasquez’s paintings were intended to glorify the king and bolster the nation’s waning image.If you’re looking for more fun facts, click on Spain education facts and Spanish music facts.The Ancient History Of Spanish ArtThe earliest types of artworks in Spain can be found in shelters and caves. These are simple rock engravings. We also notice new forms and styles, including painting and the first beginnings of figurative art. The Paleolithic cave paintings at Altamira in Spain depict animals like bison, horses, and deer. These animal motifs are deeply connected to scenes from everyday life.The Altamira cave complex in Cantabria was discovered in 1868, but it was not explored properly until the early 20th century. The caves, stretching back about 890 ft (270 m), comprise three main galleries: the first of these lies behind the entrance cavern and is known as the Chamber of Frescoes, or the Grand Hall of Polychromes. Beyond this lies the Chamber of the Hole (or Basin). At the extreme end is a narrow passage known as the Horse’s Tail. A landslide several millennia ago sealed the cave entrance, which allowed the spectacular paintings to remain intact.Early Medieval Spanish ArtSpain was under Muslim rule for over 800 years, from 711 AD to 1492 AD. During this period, the Iberian peninsula saw the fruition of a variety of art styles. The Moorish rule introduced Islamic art and architecture in the region. One of the finest examples of Islamic art in Spain is the 10th-century mihrab in the Great Mosque of Cordoba in southern Spain. The mosque, now a Christian cathedral, is characterized by its vast hall of 856 elegant columns, topped by double arches of alternating white stone and red brick.In front of the mihrab is an enclosed space called the maqsura, reserved for the ruler and his retinue, signaled by interlocking arches and topped by an exquisite dome. The mihrab itself takes the form of a horseshoe arch set in an alfiz, or rectangular surround, dazzling with its gold and multicolored mosaics in flowing floral, geometric shapes, and vegetal patterns. Calligraphic inscriptions snake around the edges of the alfiz, made of tiny gold or black tesserae (mosaic tiles).This was the time when Iberian Christians residing under Moorish rule gave birth to Mozarabic art. When Muslim Spain was captured by the Christian forces, Muslim artists produced an art form called Mudejar art. So we get to see a great cultural synthesis in this age of Spanish culture and Spanish art history.Spanish fine arts and architecture also took major inspiration from the Aztecs. Presently, there are many similarities between Mexican and Spanish art.Famous Sculptures In Spanish ArtIn Spain, religion was still by far the dominant subject in painting and even more so in sculpture. Highly realistic painted wooden sculptures were one of the most distinctive features of the country’s art; they vividly exemplify the Counter-Reformation Church’s insistence that artists should promote Christian rule by producing images with which the common man or woman could identify.The Counter-Reformation movement found sculptural expression in large-scale polychrome statues. The material of choice for these carvings was wood rather than bronze or stone. Sometimes the wood was left unpainted, but more often, it was painted in natural colors; sometimes, the realistic effect was accentuated by using, for example, glass eyes, ivory teeth, and human hair for eyelashes.The greatest master of this form of art was Juan Martinez Montanes, known by his contemporaries as el Dios de la Madera (or the god of wood). Christ of Clemency is Montanes’s most celebrated work. The documentation that survives about its origins offers revealing insights into Counter-Reformation ideals.Early Renaissance Spanish ArtThe word ‘Renaissance’ means ‘rebirth’, and in the context of the visual arts, it refers to the rediscovery of the art of ancient Rome and Greece and the imitation of their naturalistic ideals.The most famous Spanish personality of this period was El Greco. He was actually born on the Greek island of Crete in about 1541 and spent several years in Venice and Rome before settling in Spain in 1576. His real name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos, but he was known in Spain as El Griego or El Greco (the Greek) to avoid the difficult pronunciation. He was mainly a religious painter, and the emotional intensity of his work perfectly suited the spiritual fervor of his adopted country during the Counter-Reformation period. He was also a superb portraitist. El Greco mainly worked in Toledo, where he died in 1614.One of his most famous works is titled ‘The Disrobing of Christ’, which portrays Christ being stripped of his clothes before the Crucifixion. This painting hangs in the Toledo Cathedral. In this painting, the elongated forms owe something to Italian Mannerism, but the rapturous emotion of his work is deeply personal.Famous Paintings And Painters In Spanish ArtOne of the greatest, if not the greatest, Spanish artists of all time was court painter Diego Velasquez. In devout Spain, this most famous artist, who was under royal patronage, created his art using religious themes in a Baroque style. These appealed to the senses of believers. ‘The Surrender of Breda’ was one of a series of 12 large paintings by Velasquez celebrating Spanish military successes in the reign of Philip IV. You will get to see these Baroque art paintings if you visit the Museo del Prado in Madrid.One of the most prominent and well-regarded Spanish artists of the first half of the 19th century was Francisco de Goya. He kept himself free of partisan influences and instead displayed the devastating consequences of war in his works. In Goya’s time, the dominant political figure was Napoleon Bonaparte. Francisco Goya responded to the Napoleonic Wars with two famous history paintings. These paintings, both created in 1808, are titled ‘The Second of May 1808’ and ‘The Third of May 1808’. ‘The Third of May 1808’ records the brutal French backlash to the Spanish revolt. Goya highlights the inhumanity of war in this notable painting.Pablo Picasso is widely held to be the most influential artist of the twentieth century and has had the greatest influence on future western art. He was born in Malaga, Spain, in 1881, where his precocious talent was recognized by his art-teacher father. In 1904, Pablo Picasso settled in Paris and three years later embarked upon the great artistic experiment that would be known as Cubism. The beginnings of Cubism are tied to 1907 when Pablo Picasso completed his ground-breaking Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, a crowded canvas that shows five women from Carrer d’Avinyo (Avignon Street) in Barcelona, Spain.Salvador Dali’s fantastic imagery and flamboyant personality made him one of the most famous artists of the 20th century. Born in the small Spanish town of Figueres in 1904, he joined the Surrealists in Paris in 1929. He was actually expelled from the Surrealist group for supporting General Franco in the Spanish Civil War. One of his foremost works is named ‘The Persistence of Memory’.Special mention should be made about Joan Miro, who was born in Barcelona in 1893 and passed away in the year 1983. Initially, he had taken the job of a clerk. But after getting disillusioned with the life he was leading, he resumed his art education and created paintings that combined arcane abstract symbols with a personal iconography that often included birds, women, flowers, and the moon. He was a prolific painter who produced over 2000 paintings in his lifetime.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully crafted lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Spanish art facts, then why not take a look at Spanish Armada facts or Spanish Royal Family facts?
Art had a significant role in shaping Spanish history.
