interest, which principally demonstrate the Italian influence. Luis de
Carbajal is the painter of several of these pictures. He was the pupil
of Juan Villoldo, a very mannered artist, and a follower of Navarrete.
Below the Choir will be found a painting of Carbajal, ‘Sixtus and St.
Blasius,’ and another of his works is in the Capilla, also representing
saints. Navarrete, Coello, and Tibaldi, are among the other painters of
the altar-pieces in the various chapels.
The pulpits of the Capilla Mayor are very ornate. They were made under
Ferdinand VII. from various marbles and stone, with decorations of
polished metal, and the designs were prepared by Urquiza.
IV
THE ROYAL MONASTERY
On the south side of the church is the Patio de los Evangelistas, the
Court of the Evangelists, a square of 166 feet, with two-storied
cloisters in the Grecian style. The Hieronymite Order of Monks have
always regarded the cloisters of their abbeys with the same reverence as
the interior of the buildings, and the galleries of the Court of the
Evangelists are resorts for quiet meditation and devotion. An
ornamented, vaulted ceiling is supported upon arches and pillars; there
are windows of tinted glass, and wall pictures, and a series of niches
for altars. In each of the niches or ‘stations’ the walls are adorned
with paintings. Monegro’s statues of the Apostles are in the court, and
there are four fountains of marble and beds of flowers.
We have read that Philip II. desired his edifice to serve as a monastery
for the Order of San Geronimo, or St. Jerome, who was the father
confessor of the great warrior, El Cid. Charles V. had spent the closing
years of his life among the monks of San Geronimo at Yuste, near
Plasencia, and his son, Philip, deemed it appropriate that the brothers
of that order should inhabit and rule the Escorial. The first band of
monks lived in a temporary monastery while the big religious house was
being constructed. One of the most famous of the brothers was
Villacastin, who placed the last stone of the edifice on September 13,
1584, and saw the first stone laid twenty-two years before the final
ceremony of consecration. Father Sigüenza was the priest who officiated
at the first Mass in the new church. He died in 1606, about three years
after the death of the venerable Villacastin, who reached the age of
ninety.
The Convent of San Lorenzo adjoins the Court of the Evangelists. Running
from the old church to the annexe of the Sacristy are the Salas
Capitalares, comprising two large halls and an ante-chamber. Two
paintings by Titian are in the halls: one of ‘San Geronimo in the
Wilderness,’ and the other ‘Devotion in the Garden.’
The painted ceiling is by two Italian artists, Granelo and Fabricio,
and the pictures on the walls are by artists of different nationalities.
Navarrete executed ‘Abraham and the Angels’; and Ribera’s ‘Birth of
Christ’ and ‘Æsop’ are here. But more important than these is the work
of Velazquez, the ‘Sons of Jacob,’ the only picture of the great master
among the Escorial collection. This was one of three pictures which
Velazquez painted at Rome and sent to his father-in-law, the versatile
Pacheco, artist, canon, and historian.
The pictures by Bassano were probably among those brought from Italy by
Velazquez when he went on a mission for Philip.
In the Prior’s Hall there are several examples of the work of the
Italian illuminators, some of which came from the collection of Charles
I. of England. There are an ‘Entombment’ and ‘Christ in the House of the
Pharisee’ by Tintoretto. Three of Titian’s works adorn the hall: ‘Our
Lady of Grief,’ the ‘Last Supper,’ and the ‘Prayer in the Garden.’
The original church has an altar of marble, with paintings by Titian of
the ‘Adoration of the Magi’ and ‘Ecce Homo.’ The ‘Entombment’ is a copy
of Titian’s picture in the Prado Gallery at Madrid. Many of the
paintings have been removed from the old church to the Prado, but among
the notable canvases remaining are the ‘Martyrdom of St. James,’ an
‘Annunciation,’ by Paul Veronese, and Zuccaro’s ‘Birth of Christ.’ The
most important is perhaps the picture by El Greco of ‘St. Maurice.’
On the handsome staircase there are more pictures from the brush of the
facile Giordano, one of the most rapid of painters. One of these
frescoes represents the founding of the Escorial, and it has a figure of
Philip II. inspecting the designs of the architects, Juan Bautista de
Toledo, Herrera, and Antonio Villacastin. There is also a portrait of
the king’s jester, D’Antona. San Lorenzo and the Virgin are depicted in
the centre of the dome, and there are portraits of Charles V., San
Fernando, and San Geronimo in the group. The portraits of the Emperor
Charles, Philip II., Charles II., and other royal personages are said to
be excellent likenesses.
The Upper Gallery of the Cloisters is decorated with several paintings
by Barrocci, Giordano, Carducci, Juan de Gomez, Navarrete, and Sebastian
Herrera. Navarrete’s works are of principal interest; they are ‘San
Geronimo,’ the ‘Birth of Christ,’ and the ‘Appearance of Christ to His
Mother.’
The Lecture Hall contains a ‘Resurrection,’ painted by Paul Veronese,
and some copies of Titian and Rubens. Navarrete’s ‘Burial of San
Lorenzo’ is a fair instance of this artist’s manner, and may be
considered the most interesting picture in the room.
In an adjoining small apartment there are many treasures, curiosities,
and objects of art. This collection was despoiled by the French
soldiery, but a considerable number of relics have been preserved. Among
them is a manuscript by St. Augustine concerning the christening of
children, dating from early in the seventh century. St. Teresa of Avila,
who was a guest at the Escorial, wrote the four works which are kept
here. One of the volumes is an Autobiography of the saint, and another
is a work upon _The Road to Perfection_. The two other books are codes
and regulations concerning the religious houses which Santa Teresa
founded.
The full title of the celebrated Spanish saint is Maestra Serafica Madre
Santa Teresa de Jesus. She was born in 1515, and took the veil in her
youth. Philip II. collected and preserved her writings at the Escorial,
and Philip III. urged the canonisation of the saint in 1622. At the
death of the patroness of Spain, the souls of thousands of martyrs
appeared at her bedside. Santa Teresa’s writing-desk and ink-bottle, and
an autograph of the Saint are among the most treasured relics preserved
in the Escorial.
Among the sacred relics are a portion of the gridiron of San Lorenzo, a
piece of his clothing, and the veil of St. Agata.
The statue of San Juan is by Nicolas. A jar which was placed here in the
time of Philip II. is reputed to be one of the original vessels which
held the wine at the marriage feast of Cana.
There are several pictures of the French and Flemish schools in this
room, including ‘San Geronimo,’ by Holbein. Bassano and Zuccaro are
represented, and there are a few paintings in the Florentine style, but
none of especial merit. Maëlla, a Spanish painter, who worked between
1739 and 1819, had some reputation as a fresco designer, and became a
Court artist under Charles IV. at the time when Goya was producing some
of his finest pictures. Goya subsequently took the place of Mariano
Maëlla as the king’s painter. In this room there is an ‘Immaculate
Conception’ by Maëlla.
A brother of the Order of San Geronimo painted the ceiling, and another
monk carved the figure of their patron saint upon the altar screen.
Portraits of the fathers of the Monastery are hung in the Upper Prior’s
Chamber. The paintings are mostly by minor Spanish artists and Italians
who worked at the Escorial. Sanchez Coello’s portrait of Padre Sigüenza,
the earliest chronicler of the Monastery, has been copied and hangs
here. In an ante-chamber are oil-paintings by Giordano and copies of
pictures by Reni, Raphael, and Rubens. The ‘Conception’ is by Francisco
Bayeu, a contemporary of Maëlla, who painted frescoes in many of the
Castilian churches. Bayeu’s daughter, Josefa, was the wife of the
brilliant Goya.
The Prior’s Oratory contains portraits of Charles III. and Maria of
Saxony and an old German picture of saints. There is also a sculpture of
the ‘Conception.’ The Lower Prior’s Chamber or cell has the one work of
Francisco Urbino to be seen in the Escorial, a fresco of some interest.
There is a picture by Pantoja, a portrait of the Emperor Charles in his
youth. The portraits of Maria Luisa and of Charles IV. are copies from
Goya’s works. Vicente López, who painted the portrait of Maria, wife of
Ferdinand VII., was a painter of some eminence and a contemporary of
Goya. López executed one of the best portraits of Goya.
The Carreño portraits in this apartment are good examples of the work of
this artist, who belonged to the school of Madrid. Carreño de Miranda
was a pupil of Pedro de los Cuevas, and a follower of Velazquez, who
obtained for him a commission to paint pictures of the Royal Palace of
Madrid. Carreño was made a Court painter after the death of the great
Velazquez, and many of his pictures are to be seen in the churches of
Spain and at the Escorial.
Doña Luisa Roldan’s figure of San Miguel is in the vestry. This is a
specimen of the wood carving for which the sculptors of Spain were
famous. The art of carving effigies in wood was revived successfully in
Andalusia by Martinez Montañéz, who died in 1649; and among his
followers were Pedro Roldan and Hernandez, who produced a large number
of carved images for churches and for exhibition in religious
processions. Doña Luisa Roldan, a daughter of Pedro, owed her
inspiration to the master of this art, but her achievements fall short
of the perfection which he attained.
There is a story concerning this señora’s work in the Escorial. It
appears that after a tiff with her husband, Luisa Roldan carved the
figure of San Miguel, and represented her own seraphic countenance in
that of the saint, while the scowling demon at his feet exhibits the
features of the irascible husband. The pictures in the vestry are mostly
copies of Titian and Tintoretto, but the ‘Martyrdom of San Pedro’ is
said to be an original work of Caravaggio.
In the four Minor Cloisters are several pictures. One is an anonymous
work, a landscape, and the others, of no great merit, are portraits of
saints. The crucifix to be seen here was the work of an Indian convert
to Christianity.
The spacious Refectory has dining tables of wood on stone pillars. Over
the foundation stone is the Prior’s seat, and there are two pulpits in
the hall. The kitchens, wine cellars, and other domestic offices are in
this part of the monastery.
The Real Monasterio is the most characteristic portion of the huge pile
of the Escorial, and its austerity and atmosphere of contemplation and
piety testify to the religious and ascetic spirit of the royal recluse
who founded it. This is no palace of mere delight and of luxury. It is a
temple and a retreat, a sanctuary from the world of strife and unrest,
and an asylum for the penitent and the devout. It is a monument of the
Catholic faith, built with the devotion of artists and labourers
inspired by a deep zeal for religion, erected without regard to the
immense cost of its construction and furnishing, and dedicated in the
name of the pious San Lorenzo to the worship of God and the Holy Virgin.
Truly a strangely interesting memorial.
Here, in the odour of piety, surrounded by friars and monks, Philip II.
lived the life of renunciation and of calm meditation. This tabernacle
in the wilderness is a symbol of the mind of Spain in the days of her
power, the manifestation of her profound faith, and a tribute to the
seriousness and quietism which were the ideals of one of the most
remarkable and complex of her rulers. We feel that the very stones of
the building reveal the nature of Philip, the king who would be saint,
the ambitious patriot who longed for power and vivid life, and yet
realised that the placid existence in the cloister is more excellent
than the fevered life of courts.
V
THE LIBRARY
The impress of the intellect of Philip II. is no less manifest in the
great storehouse of books in the Escorial than in the Church and in the
Monastery. It accords with the character of the founder that he should
desire to possess a vast collection of the world’s choicest volumes of
theology and philosophy, for, like Solomon, Philip esteemed wisdom as
highly as the supremacy of rulership and the possession of great riches.
His ambition as a student and an art collector was as keen as his
craving for sovereignty and might. We have seen how he had applied
himself in his youth to the study of literature and of languages, and
the respect which he yielded to the sciences, arts, and letters.
The civilised world was searched; the libraries of all nations were
overhauled to stock the Library of the Escorial with great books and
precious manuscripts. Greece, Arabia, and Palestine contributed to the
Bibliotheca of the kingly scholar, and the collection of volumes was at
one time the finest in Europe. Philip himself took the greatest interest
in the Library. He worked at the catalogue and annotated the list of
volumes. The original collection was greatly augmented from time to time
by the purchases made on the king’s behalf by agents, who travelled in
various countries, by the seizure of volumes belonging to heretics, and
by works presented by loyal and wealthy subjects. Castillo was one of
Philip’s book-hunters; the catalogue of Arabic books and documents was
prepared by the learned Father Sigüenza.
A suitable repository for the books was erected at the Escorial under
the supervision of Philip. The vaulted ceiling was painted by Vicente
Carducci, an Italian artist of great distinction, who may be ranked as
the chief of the Italian designers employed to embellish the Escorial.
Carducci’s mural paintings in the Library are perhaps the finest of all
the fresco works in the building. He was assisted by Tibaldi of Bologna,
an artist of meagre talent, who represented Philosophy, Grammar,
Arithmetic, Astronomy, and other sciences and certain of the arts, upon
his portion of the ceiling.
The Library is well lighted by windows. Even the shelves display the
taste of the founder, for they are beautifully carved by Flecha. The
tables are of marble and jasper, and the floor is paved with marble.
Between the rows of shelves are some portraits of Spanish sovereigns,
and among them is Carreño’s picture of Charles II. at the age of
fourteen. Pantoja painted the Emperor Charles V. and the portraits of
Philip II. and Philip III. The pictures represent the subjects in
life-size.
Juan de Herrera, the famous architect of the Escorial, is presented on
one of the canvases by an anonymous artist. Isabella of Portugal, wife
of Charles V., is portrayed here, together with another portrait of
Charles V. in boyhood, which hangs in the same room. The bust of Cicero
in the Library was said to have been unearthed at Herculaneum.
Upon the entrance to the Library are the words of anathema uttered by
the Pope upon any one who should dare to purloin books from the
collection. There have been, however, many losses. The French plundered
the Library, which, long before the invasion, was devastated by the fire
of 1671, and from time to time the hand of the pilferer has been laid
upon many of the volumes.
From a nucleus of four thousand volumes, collected by Philip II. and
placed in the Escorial, the Library grew in the number of its books, and
in the costly manuscripts in Arabic and other Eastern tongues. At one
period this was the most notable and valuable collection of Arab works
in the whole of Europe. The gift of Don Diego de Mendoza’s private
library further enriched the collection. Mendoza was Philip’s ambassador
to Italy, and a man of wide culture and with a love of books. When the
king inherited this splendid library, he satisfied all his ambassador’s
creditors.
Mendoza’s volumes were presented in 1576. They were bound in an unusual
manner, one cover being red and the other black, and sometimes the leaf
edges are decorated in two colours. Among other donors to the Library
were Augustin, Archbishop of Tarragona, an eminent writer, Ponce de
Léon, and Geronimo de Zurita, a historian. The Balearic Islands
contributed about three hundred volumes, some of them being the writings
of the remarkable Raymond Lully. From the Inquisition the Library
received about one hundred and forty books. Authors of repute frequently
presented their manuscripts to the great collection at the Escorial.
In 1583 a Moorish interpreter, in the employment of Philip, was
commissioned to buy all the Arab books that he could discover in Granada
and Cordova. This bibliographer, Alonso de Castillo, appears to have
devoted great labour to the extension of the Library and
catalogue-making. About seventy manuscripts in Greek, Hebrew, and
Arabic, were presented by Father Montano, who seems to have acted as
librarian, though the first to hold that office was Father Juan de San
Geronimo.
Philip III. increased the Library by the addition of confiscated books
seized from Don Ramuz del Prado; and in the reign of the same monarch,
the collection of three thousand volumes belonging to the Emperor of
Morocco was acquired.
Anticipating the rule of our biggest public library, the British Museum,
it was decreed that a copy of every book issued in Spain should be
presented to the Escorial. Besides volumes of philosophy, history,
theology, science, and poetry, there was a collection of church music in
the Library, some of which was composed by the monks, del Valle,
Torrijos, and Cordova. Many of the compositions of the renowned
choir-master, Antonio Soler, are in the Library.
Among the many valuable manuscripts in the Escorial collection are the
Gospels, illuminated in gold on vellum. The Missal is bound in red
leather and wood, with silver clasps. Bound up with these manuscripts
are the ‘Epistles of San Geronimo,’ which are still in splendid
preservation. Philip II. and many other collectors presented several
breviaries and illuminated manuscripts to the Library. The relics are
mostly well preserved, and in some cases the bindings are remarkably new
in appearance. Some of the manuscripts are in Persian, others are in the
Chinese and Arabic languages.
Several of the Latin manuscripts are exceedingly interesting, and date
from A.D. 976 and the eleventh century. The Bibles, which number
nineteen, are of the fourteenth century, and beautifully bound in
parchment. One of the choicest treasures of the Library is the
Apocalypse of St. John, richly illustrated. The Greek manuscripts
contain several works of the early Fathers, which have never been
printed. Another valuable object is the ancient copy of the Koran, most
exquisitely written and ornamented.
The great ‘Chronicle’ of Alfonso is to be seen here, as well as the
king’s treatises on ‘Hunting,’ ‘Chess,’ and ‘Draughts,’ which contain
illustrations and diagrams. A number of old Castilian Bibles, dating
from the early part of the fifteenth century, are of especial interest.
‘The Census of Spain,’ contributed by Philip II., is also preserved in
sundry volumes.
Among the sketches are works by El Mudo, Tibaldi, and Urbini. A large
number of fine engravings and drawings by Michael Angelo, Titian,
Raphael, and Albert Dürer form part of the collection of prints in the
Library.
The Reading-Room contains over fifty pictures, mostly portraits of
little value in the artistic sense. An inkstand which belonged to Father
Sigüenza is shown here. The most notable treasure is a portrait by the
vigorous Zurbarán, perhaps the most distinctively Spanish painter of the
realistic school. According to Lord Leighton, Francisco de Zurbarán
represented ‘all Spain’ in his art.
Among the portraits of illustrious persons are those of Quevedo, Father
Sigüenza, Torquemada, Francisco Ximenes, Luis de Gongora, and Cardinal
Mendoza.
VI
THE UNIVERSITY
An important part of the great building of the Escorial was the Colegio,
designed by Philip as an institution for the instruction of monks and
preachers. We have seen how from his earliest manhood the king valued
culture and esteemed the arts, and the University of the Escorial was
his tribute to learning, just as the Monastery and the Church bore
testimony of his zeal for the Faith of Rome.
The Colegio is approached from the King’s Court by steps through a
vestibule. Beneath the tower is an apartment known as the Hall of
Secrets, on account of its construction permitting whispers to be heard
from one side of the chamber to the other. There is a spacious Refectory
to the College, containing a pulpit. The arched cloister or promenade
was used for dramatic displays, and it has an upper gallery with
balconies and railings. Upon the ceiling are paintings by Francisco
Llamas, a minor artist.
In the Chapel of the College, a building over 60 feet in length and
about 30 in width, there is a handsome altar by Lorenzo Berni, carved
and gilded with considerable taste. In front of the altar is a carved
seat of pine and walnut, and there are seats for the students along the
walls.
The Seminary is attached to the University, and resembles the Colegio in
its structure. It was used by an Order of the devout who practised
severe restraints, and applied themselves to diligent study. Evidence of
their austerity is shown in the absence of windows. This part of the
Escorial contains an infirmary, an oratory, a refectory, and cells.
Passing along the Invalids’ Gallery we reach the Compana, in which there
are various offices and a marble bath. The Dispensary was formerly in
this part of the Escorial. There is a viaduct from the court of the
Compana, beneath which runs another road. Around the smaller patios in
this portion of the pile are the bakeries, storehouses, stables, and
various workshops.
To supply the Escorial with water for its seventy-six fountains, its
baths, and taps, several ingenious conduits were constructed before the
first stone of the edifice was laid. This water supply is excellent, and
there is scarcely an apartment in the Escorial which is without pure
water from the mountain springs.
VII
THE PALACE
The apartments occupied by Philip II. were in the north-east corner of
the edifice, and they are entered by the north façade. This was the
retreat of the moody monarch, and it accords with his love of seclusion
and the simplicity of his desires, though the additions of succeeding
sovereigns have rendered the Palace more luxurious and richer in
decoration and art treasures. Philip’s own apartment, where he died, is
more like the cell of a hermit than the chamber of a king. There is a
tiled floor to the room, an absence of ornamentation, and an atmosphere
of severe gloom.
Here are some relics of the king--his bookcase, writing-table, a few
chairs, and the stools upon which he laid his foot when attacked by the
gout. From this chamber Philip could peep into the Church during the
celebration of services and hear the voices of the friars at their
devotions. By opening a panel, the king was able to look upon the High
Altar and to catch the odour of the incense.
The fine staircase of the Palace was the work of Ventura Rodriguez, and
it was built in the reign of Carlos IV. In the Lower Gallery there are
pictures of historical interest, some of them being the original works
painted for the founder of the Escorial. They are chiefly battlepieces;
and one is a copy of the fresco in the Hall of Battles. Among the
pictures are the ‘Siege of Grave,’ the ‘Siege of Calais,’ the ‘Christian
Fleet attacking the Turks,’ ‘Battle at Amiens,’ and the ‘Fleet entering
the Port of Messina.’