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AN
ARCHITECT'S NOTE-BOOK
IN
SPAIN
_PRINCIPALLY ILLUSTRATING THE_
DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF THAT COUNTRY.
BY
M. DIGBY WYATT, M.A.
SLADE PROFESSOR OF FINE ART IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, &C.
WITH ONE HUNDRED OF THE AUTHOR'S SKETCHES,
REPRODUCED BY THE AUTOTYPE MECHANICAL PROCESS.
LONDON:
AUTOTYPE FINE ART COMPANY (LIMITED),
_36, RATHBONE PLACE._
TO
OWEN JONES, ESQ.
KNIGHT OF THE ORDERS OF SAINTS MAURICE AND LAZARUS OF ITALY, AND OF
LEOPOLD OF BELGIUM, MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SAINT FERDINAND OF
SPAIN, &C., &C., &C.
_My dear Owen,
_The last book I wrote I dedicated to my brother by blood; the
present I dedicate to you--my brother in Art. Let it be a record of
the value I set upon all you have taught me, and upon your true
friendship._
_Ever yours,_
M. DIGBY WYATT.
37, Tavistock Place, W.C.
October, 1872.
PREFACE.
Before quitting England for a first visit to Spain in the Autumn of
1869, I made up my mind both to see and draw as much of the
Architectural remains of that country as the time and means at my
disposal would permit; and further determined so to draw as to admit of
the publication of my sketches and portions of my notes on the objects
represented, in the precise form in which they might be made. I was
influenced in that determination by the consciousness that almost from
day to day the glorious past was being trampled out in Spain; and that
whatever issue, prosperous or otherwise, the fortunes of that much
distracted country might take in the future, the minor monuments of Art
at least which adorned its soil, would rapidly disappear. Their
disappearance would result naturally from what is called "progress" if
Spain should revive; while their perishing through neglect and wilful
damage, or peculation, would inevitably follow, if the ever smouldering
embers of domestic revolution should burst afresh into flame. Such has
been the invariable action of those fires which in all history have
melted away the most refined evidences of man's intelligence, leaving
behind only scanty, and often all but shapeless, relics of the richest
and ripest genius.
It is difficult to realise the rapidity with which, almost under one's
eyes, the Spain of history and romance "is casting its skin." Travelling
even with so recent and so excellent a handbook as O'Shea's of 1869, I
noted the following wanton acts of Vandalism and destruction, committed
upon monuments of the greatest archæological and artistic interest since
he wrote. At Seville, the Church of San Miguel, one of the oldest and
finest in the city, was senselessly demolished by the populace as a sort
of auto-da-fé, and by way of commemoration of the revolution of
September, 1867. In exactly the same way the fine Byzantine churches of
San Juan at Lerida, and of San Miguel at Barcelona, have been "improved
off the face of the earth." Church plate, Custodias and Virils of the
D'Arfés, Becerrias, and other Art workmen, have vanished from the
treasuries of all the great ecclesiastical structures; whether sold,
melted down, or only hidden, "quien sabe?" The beautiful Moorish
decorations of the Alcazar at Segovia had been all but entirely
destroyed by fire, attributed to the careless cigar-lighting of the
Cadets to whom the structure had been abandoned. The finest old mansion
in Barcelona, the Casa de Gralla, probably the masterpiece of Damian
Forment, and dating from the commencement of the fourteenth century, has
been pulled down by the Duke of Medina Celi to form a new street. The
beautiful wooden ceiling of the Casa del Infantado at Guadalaxara, the
finest of its kind in Spain, in the absence of its owner, who I was told
lives in Russia, is coming down in large pieces, and once fallen, I
scarcely think it will be in the power of living workmen to make it good
again. The exquisite Moorish Palace of the Generalife at Granada, second
only to the Alhambra and the Alcazar at Seville, is never visited by its
proprietor, and is now one mass of white-wash, a victim of the zeal for
cleanliness of a Sanitary "Administrador." In short to visit a Spanish
city now, by the light shed upon its ancient glories by the industrious
Ponz, is simply to have forced upon one's attention the most striking
evidence of the "vanity of human things," and man's inherent tendency to
destroy.
One of the most painful sensations the lover of the Art of the Past
cannot but experience in Spain, is the feeling of its dissonance from,
and irreconcileability with, the wants and economical necessities of
to-day. The truth is that at the present moment, amongst the many
difficult problems which surround and beset the ruling powers, one of
the most puzzling is to find fitting uses for the many vast structures
which have fallen into the hands of the Government. Churches in number
and size out of all proportion to the wants of the population,
monasteries entirely without monks, convents with scarcely any nuns,
Jesuit seminaries without Jesuits, exchanges without merchants, colleges
without students, tribunals of the Holy Inquisition with, thank God! no
Inquisitors, and palaces without princes, are really "drugs in the
market;" too beautiful to destroy, too costly to properly maintain, and
for the original purposes for which they were planned and constructed at
incredible outlay they stand now almost useless. For the most part, the
grand architectural monuments of the country are now like Dickens'
"used-up giants" kept only "to wait upon the dwarfs." Among a few
instances of such, may be noticed the magnificent foundation of the
noblest Spanish ecclesiastic, Ximenez. His College at Alcala de Heñares
(see etext transcriber note) is turned into a young ladies'
boarding-school; the splendid Convent of the Knights of Santiago at
Leon, the masterpiece of Juan de Badajoz, dedicated to Saint Mark, and
one of the finest buildings in Spain, is now in charge of a solitary
policeman and his wife, awaiting its possible conversion into an
agricultural college; the grand Palace of the Dukes of Alva at Seville
is let out in numerous small tenements and enriched with unlimited
whitewash; the Colegiata of San Gregorio at Valladolid, another of the
magnificent foundations of Cardinal Ximenez, and the old cathedral at
Lerida, the richest Byzantine monument in Spain, are now both
barracks;--the vast exchanges of Seville and Saragossa are tenantless
and generally shut up; the beautiful "Casa de los Abades" at Seville is
converted into a boy's school and lodging-house for numerous poor
tenants, the Casa del Infante at Saragossa, containing the most richly
sculptured Renaissance Patio in Spain, is chiefly occupied as a livery
stable-keeper's establishment; Cardinal Mendoza's famous Hospital of the
Holy Cross at Toledo is now an Infantry College; the great monastery of
the Cartuja near Seville, with one of the finest Mudejar wooden ceilings
in the country, is turned into Pickman's china factory; the "Taller del
Moro" a model Moorish house with its beautiful decorations, at Toledo,
is now only a carpenter's workshop and storehouse; the celebrated
establishment of El Cristo de la Victoria at Malaga, with all its
glorious associations with the "Reyes Cattolicos," is occupied as a
military hospital; and so on '_ad infinitum_.'
Every record the pen and pencil of any accurate observer can preserve at
this juncture of the fading glories of the past in Spain is, as it were,
snatching a brand from the inevitable fire which has already consumed
inestimable treasures upon its soil. It was to give a stamp of truth and
authenticity to the few such records I might be enabled to make, that I
determined to complete them in the actual presence as it were of the
object illustrated, and to admit of no intervention between my own hand,
and the eye of any student willing to honour my work with his
attention. My sketches might no doubt have gained in beauty by being
transcribed on stone or wood by some artist more skilful than I am, but
as any such alteration would detract from their simple veracity, I
preferred to make them at once upon the spot with anastatic ink, in
order that they might be printed just as they were executed. Working
with such ink in the open air is difficult, and the result capricious, I
have therefore to ask for some indulgence, and to express a hope that
any shortcomings in the drawings may be overlooked in the obvious
interest of the subjects pourtrayed. Could I but have known, on leaving
England, that my sketches could have been so successfully transferred to
collodion, and printed therefrom by the beautiful Autotype mechanical
process, as they have been since my return, I might have spared myself
much extra trouble and anxiety, and have probably attained a much better
result with less effort. In order to retain as much "local colour" as
possible, I have preferred, even in the binding of this volume, to take
its ornament in fac-simile from a beautiful little Mudejar casket of
which I am the fortunate possessor, rather than to trust to my own
powers to design something specially characteristic.
I have further to ask corresponding indulgence for any literary
insufficiencies my text may present. Although for some years a not
inattentive student of Spanish art and literature, I could not, and
cannot but feel that my acquaintance with the country was, and is
insufficient for writing worthy notes even upon its architectural
monuments, after the excellent works which have been already written by
such of my countrymen as Ford, Street, Stirling, and O'Shea. At the same
time, considering that to publish my sketches altogether without
explanatory letter-press would greatly detract from their interest and
consequent usefulness, I have brought into their present shape the
scanty notes made upon the spot, more or less directly illustrative of
the subjects upon which my pencil found occupation.
It will be obvious, it is hoped, that in the selection of subjects for
illustration, an endeavour has been made to avoid in any wise trenching
upon or clashing with those already fully treated in the admirable work
on Spanish Ecclesiastical Architecture by Mr. G. E. Street. Whilst he
has turned from, I have turned towards, the Plateresque and later styles
of Spain, and whilst he has sought specially for what might be useful to
church-builders, my aim has been rather to collect hints for
house-builders. Thanks to him, and others like him, we have now been
left with more to learn in the latter direction than in the former.
The following was my line of tour, and as it comprises most of what is,
I believe, best worth seeing in Spain in the way of Art, with the
notable exceptions of Santiago, Oviedo, Murcia, Cuenca, Placencia,
Alicante and Valencia, which want of time did not permit me to include,
I do not hesitate to commend it to those, desirous, as I was, of seeing
as much as possible of what was excellent or curious within a short
space of time. It was as follows, from London via Paris, Bordeaux, and
Bayonne to Spain, beginning with Burgos, then successively visiting
Valladolid (rail), Venta de Baños (rail), Leon (rail), Zamora and
Salamanca, (by "diligence" from Leon) Avila (by "diligence" from
Salamanca) Escorial (rail), Madrid (rail), Segovia (by "diligence" from
Madrid and back), Alcala de Heñares (by rail from Madrid and back),
Toledo (by rail from Madrid and back), Cordoba (rail), Sevilla (rail),
Cadiz (by the Guadalquivir steamer), Gibraltar (by steamer), Malaga (by
steamer), Granada (rail and "diligence,") Andujar ("diligence,") Madrid
(rail), a second time, Guadalajara (rail), Saragossa (rail), Lerida
(rail), Barcelona (rail), and Gerona (rail), thence to the frontier by
"diligence," and home by rail, viâ Perpignan, Carcassonne, Toulouse and
Paris.
To preserve some sort of order, I have arranged my sketches as they were
executed in point of time, and thrown my notes into a corresponding
sequence.
To assert that Spain can teach the lessons to the architect which may be
gained from Italy, or even from France would, I think, be to claim too
much for her, but on the other hand, it should be remembered, that it is
a mine which has been very much less exhausted. To the interest and
grandeur of its Northern Gothic buildings, Mr. Street has done a justice
long denied to them; while Girault de Prangey, and above all Owen Jones,
have helped us to a right appreciation of the works of those masterly
artificers, the Moors, who seem to have possessed an intuitive love for
the beautiful in structure.
It is with no small pleasure that I have laboured to direct attention to
other monuments, than those they have so satisfactorily illustrated, of
a land from travelling in which I have derived great delight, and much
instruction.
If asked what predominant sensation Spanish Architecture had produced in
my mind, I think I should be inclined to say, that of the manifestation
of an entire indifference to expense. No one appears to have counted the
cost of the work upon which he engaged. Whether it was a mediæval
architect entering upon the vast construction of Cathedrals, such as
Seville, Toledo or Leon, a Renaissance architect dashing upon the
immense laying out of buildings such as the Cathedrals of Salamanca or
Granada, or an Herrera plunging into such stone quarries as the Escorial
or the Cathedral at Valladolid, not a shadow of doubt ever seems to
have crossed the mind of the beginners, that some one would complete
what they began.
Such peculiarities of national character are apt to beget proverbs, and
we accordingly find the grave ponderosity, and at the same time power,
of the Spaniard in the undertakings of his palmy days, thus
characterised in comparison with those of the other peoples of Europe.
"In their undertakings," says "Der curieuse Antiquarius durch
Europam,"[1] the natives of different European countries are assumed by
old legends to proceed thus:--
"Der Frantzose wie ein Adler,
Der Deutsche wie ein Bär,
Der Italianer wie ein Fuchs,
Der Spanier wie ein Elephant,
Der Engelländer wie ein Löw."[2]
To some, and but few, Spanish architects was it given to see ended what
they commenced, and even such favourites of fortune generally suffered
from a curtailment of their too ambitious designs.
I could not but feel, in looking at the works of Herrera, and indeed at
those of several other men, such as Diego de Siloe, Gil de Ontañon,
Henrique de Egas, Alonso Covarrubbias, and Juan de Badajoz, that there
exists for architecture a just mean between their frequent extravagance,
and the sordid and shabby spirit in which we from time to time approach
the question of expenditure upon "public works." The economy which
consists in sobriety and simplicity of parts, especially in structures
destined to subserve ordinary uses, is as much to be admired, as the
economy which aims at the combination of magnificence with
"cheese-paring" is to be deprecated and despised.
CONTENTS
PLATE I. BURGOS.
The Arco de Santa Maria
PLATE II. BURGOS.
Casa de Miranda
PLATE III. VALLADOLID.
College of San Gregorio
PLATE IV. VALLADOLID.
Patio de San Gregorio
PLATE V. VALLADOLID.
Patio de San Gregorio
PLATE VI. VALLADOLID.
Small Patio, Colegio de San Gregorio
PLATE VII. VALLADOLID.
La Casa del Infantado
PLATE VIII. VALLADOLID.
Church of San Isidro
PLATE IX. LEON.
Convent of San Marcos
PLATE X. LEON.
Cloister of the Convent of San Marcos
PLATE XI. LEON.
Exterior of the Casa de Los Gusmanes
PLATE XII. LEON.
Patio of the Casa de Los Gusmanes
PLATE XIII. LEON.
Detail from a House in the Calle de La Tesoriera
PLATE XIV. SALAMANCA.
Exterior of the Casa de Las Conchas
PLATE XV. SALAMANCA.
Patio of the Casa de Las Conchas
PLATE XVI. SALAMANCA.
Staircase of the Casa de Las Conchas
PLATE XVII. SALAMANCA.
Window from the Casa de Las Conchas
PLATE XVIII. SALAMANCA.
Window in the Patio of the Casa de Las Conchas
PLATE XIX. SALAMANCA.
External Window of the Casa de Las Conchas
PLATE XX. SALAMANCA.
Exterior of the Casa Monterey
PLATE XXI. SALAMANCA.
Renaissance House opposite San Benito
PLATE XXII. SALAMANCA.
Renaissance House in the Calle del Aguila
PLATE XXIII. AVILA.
Entrance Gateway of the Casa Polentina
PLATE XXIV. AVILA.
The Patio of the Casa Polentina
PLATE XXV. AVILA.
Iron Pulpit in the Cathedral
PLATE XXVI. AVILA.
Iron Pulpit in the Cathedral
PLATE XXVII. ESCORIAL.
General view of the Escorial
PLATE XXVIII. SEGOVIA.
Gateway in the City Walls
PLATE XXIX. SEGOVIA.
Archway in the Hall of the Kings
PLATE XXX. SEGOVIA.
Detail from the Alcazar
PLATE XXXI. SEGOVIA.
Exterior View of the Monastery of El Parral
PLATE XXXII. ALCALA-DE-HENARES.
Exterior of the Colegio de San Ildefonso
PLATE XXXIII. ALCALA-DE-HENARES.
Window of the Arzobispado
PLATE XXXIV. ALCALA-DE-HENARES.
Detail from the Arzobispado
PLATE XXXV. TOLEDO.
View of the Remains of a Moorish Fortress on the River
PLATE XXXVI. TOLEDO.
Bridge of Alcantara
PLATE XXXVII. TOLEDO.
Bridge of San Martin
PLATE XXXVIII. TOLEDO.
Moorish Gateway by the Bridge of Alcantara
PLATE XXXIX. TOLEDO.
Entrance Archway of the Zocodover
PLATE XL. TOLEDO.
Interior of the "Taller del Moro."
PLATE XLI. TOLEDO.
Tower of the Church of La Magdalena
PLATE XLII. TOLEDO.
Moorish Tower of San Pedro Martire
PLATE XLIII. TOLEDO.
Tower of the Church of Sant' Iago de La Vega
PLATE XLIV. TOLEDO.
External View of the Hospital of the Holy Cross
PLATE XLV. TOLEDO.
Cortile of the Hospital of the Holy Cross
PLATE XLVI. TOLEDO.
Doorway from the Hospital of the Holy Cross
PLATE XLVII. TOLEDO.
Entrance Gateway to the Alcazar
PLATE XLVIII. TOLEDO.
Patio of the Hospital of Cardinal Tavera
PLATE XLIX. CORDOBA.
Exterior of the Casa Cabello
PLATE L. SEVILLE.
Church of La Feria
PLATE LI. SEVILLE.
Church of San Marcos
PLATE LII. SEVILLE.
Remains of Mudejar House near La Feria
PLATE LIII. SEVILLE.
Mudejar Window in the Fonda de Madrid
PLATE LIV. SEVILLE.
View in the Upper Story of one of the Patios of the Casa de Pilatus
PLATE LV. SEVILLE.
Detail from a Doorway in the Upper Floor of one of the Patios of the
House of Pilate
PLATE LVI. SEVILLE.
One of the Arches of the Patio of the Casa Alba
PLATE LVII. SEVILLE.
Detail from the Patio of the Casa Alba
PLATE LVIII. SEVILLE.
Arches from the Casa de Los Abades
PLATE LIX. SEVILLE.
View in the Patio of the Casa de Los Abades
PLATE LX. SEVILLE.
A Peep into an Ordinary Patio
PLATE LXI. CADIZ.
Internal View of the Cathedral
PLATE LXII. MALAGA.
The Fountain of the Alameda
PLATE LXIII. MALAGA.
Renaissance House in the Calle Sant' Augustin
PLATE LXIV. MALAGA.
Old Window of the Ospedale de Santo Tomé
PLATE LXV. MALAGA.
Knocker of the Monastery of Sant' Jago
PLATE LXVI. GRANADA.
Remains of the Alhambra as seen from the Albaycin
PLATE LXVII. GRANADA.
Entrance to the Bosqué del Alhambra
PLATE LXVIII. GRANADA.
Puerta de Justicia
PLATE LXIX. GRANADA.--THE ALHAMBRA.
Sala de Embajadores
PLATE LXX. GRANADA.--THE ALHAMBRA.
Stucco Detail from the Hall of the Ambassadors
PLATE LXXI. GRANADA.--THE ALHAMBRA.
Detail of Glass Inlay from the Hall of the Ambassadors
PLATE LXXII. GRANADA.--THE ALHAMBRA.
Mosaic from the Hall of the Ambassadors
PLATE LXXIII. GRANADA.--THE ALHAMBRA.
Niche in La Sala de Las dos Hermanas
PLATE LXXIV. GRANADA.--THE ALHAMBRA.
Stucco Detail from the Sala del Tribunal
PLATE LXXV. GRANADA.
View of the Cathedral from the back of the High Altar
PLATE LXXVI. GRANADA.
The Reja of the Reyes Catolicos
PLATE LXXVII. GRANADA.
View of the Arzobispado
PLATE LXXVIII. GUADALAXARA.
Palacio de Los Duques del Infantado
PLATE LXXIX. GUADALAXARA.
Doorway of the Monastery of San Miguel
PLATE LXXX. GUADALAXARA.
Casa del Duqué de Ribas
PLATE LXXXI. GUADALAXARA.
Door Handle from the Calle del Barrio Nuevo
PLATE LXXXII. SARAGOSSA.
View of the Patio of the Palacio de La Infanta
PLATE LXXXIII. SARAGOSSA.
Detail of the Arcading of the First Floor of the Casa de La Infanta
PLATE LXXXIV. SARAGOSSA.
Exterior of the Exchange
PLATE LXXXV. SARAGOSSA.
Patio of the Casa de Comercio
PLATE LXXXVI. SARAGOSSA.
Patio of the House of the Marquis of Monistol
PLATE LXXXVII. SARAGOSSA.
Bronze Renaissance Knocker of a House in the Plazuela Aduana
PLATE LXXXVIII. LERIDA.
Tower of the Church of San Lorenzo
PLATE LXXXIX. BARCELONA.
Old House in the Calle de Santa Lucia
PLATE XC. BARCELONA.
Patio of the Casa de la Diputacion
PLATE XCI. BARCELONA.
Detail from the Casa de la Diputacion
PLATE XCII. BARCELONA.
Window from the Casa de la Diputacion
PLATE XCIII. BARCELONA.
Doorway in the Town Hall
PLATE XCIV. BARCELONA.
Knocker of an old House in the Calle Santa Lucia
PLATE XCV. BARCELONA.
Knocker to an old House in the Calle Santa Lucia
PLATE XCVI. BARCELONA.
Courtyard of an old House in the Calle de Moncara
PLATE XCVII. BARCELONA.
Staircase of an old House in the Calle de Moncara
PLATE XCVIII. GERONA.
Old House near the Estrella de Oro
PLATE XCIX. GERONA.
Upper Part of an old House and Spire of the Church of San Feliu
PLATE C. GERONA.
Old Walls near the Monastery of San Pedro
FOOTNOTES
ETEXT TRANSCRIBER NOTE
PLATE 1
BURGOS
THE ARCO DE SANTA MARIA
MDW 1869
[Illustration: PLATE 1
BURGOS
THE ARCO DE SANTA MARIA
MDW 1869]
PLATE I.
_BURGOS._
THE ARCO DE SANTA MARIA.
IT is sad to notice how few traces beyond its magnificent Cathedral are
left in this, the capital of old Castile, of those "Castellanos rancios
y viejos," who once so splendidly represented the pride and power of
Spanish chivalry. Of the sixteen golden castles the city bears upon its
stately arms how insignificant are the relics? The remains of its walls
and bastions attest the many centuries during which it held its own
against all comers, Christian or Infidel. Of these walls, our sketch
represents a portion in which there is little doubt the Renaissance
frontispiece and archway replaced an older and sterner portal, better
suited probably for defence than decoration. The legend runs that this
façade was executed by the citizens, who had been exhibiting
proclivities of far too Communistic a character to be agreeable to so
high-handed a sovereign as Charles V., in order to propitiate that
potentate, and to commemorate a visit, on his part at least, of a
conciliatory character. It would seem, however, that in spite of the
loyalty which induced the Burgalese to assign the post of honour (always
under the invocation of the "Virgen sin pecado concebida)" to the statue
of the King, they took good care to give him for companions Nuño
Rasura, and Lain Calvo, whom they had themselves elected in the tenth
century to rule over them, and protect their Communal rights. The
maintenance of these had been somewhat interfered with by the King of
Leon, Fruela II., who had invited the chief citizens to a banquet, and
then quietly removed them out of his royal way by summarily putting them
all to death. Amongst other statues which adorn this gateway are to be
found those of Don Diego Parcelos, the founder of the city in 884, of
the Cid--the pride of Spain and especially of Burgos, in which city he
was born, and where his bones still rest--and of Fernan Gonzalez who
redeemed the district from the yoke of the Kings of Leon, to whom it had
been tributary, and who constituted himself and his family its
protectors, under the style and title of Condes de Castilla.
The architecture of this frontispiece which gains great importance and
much picturesque effect from its association with the bartizans and
turrets of the mediæval gateway, has been attributed to Felipe de
Borgoña, not apparently on any other grounds than the facts that he was
an inhabitant of the city in whom his fellow-citizens felt great pride,
and that he was employed upon the "Crucero" of the cathedral at about
the period when this grand portal was probably erected.
[Illustration: PLATE 2
BURGOS CASA DE MIRANDA
MDW 1869]
PLATE II.
_BURGOS._
PATIO OF THE CASA DE MIRANDA.
THIS plate introduces us to the most striking feature of all important
Spanish houses, the Patio, or internal courtyard, answering to and
perpetuating the Atrium of Roman architecture, with its impluvium and
compluvium, and corresponding with the ordinary Cortile of the Italians.
It is usually rectangular in plan, and entirely surrounded upon at least
two stories by arcading, behind which run passages into which open the
doors of every principal set of apartments of the house. There are
rarely many windows in the walls of the Patios, as the rooms generally
occupy the whole width intervening between the Patio walls, and the
external walls of the house from which the light is mainly derived.
There are, however, usually more windows on the lower story of the Patio
than on the upper, since the chief saloons requiring most light were on
the first floor, while much of the lower floor was occupied as was also
usual in Italy, by retainers, servants, poor guests, mendicant friars
and administradores--to say nothing of mules, and horses with stores and
munitions of all sorts.
Nothing can be more picturesque or better suited to the climate than
these Patios, since owing to the deep arcades which surround the open
part (the Cavædium) of the court-yard upon more stories than one, there
is always some portion of the arcade in which shelter can be obtained
from sun, rain, or wind, and in which the occupants of the several
apartments can sit and work, or lounge and smoke, in abundant but not
unbearable light, and perfect comfort. This facility of outlet enables
them, during the hours when the sun shines most fiercely, to keep their
living and sleeping rooms dark and cool, and in exactly the state to
make the midday meal and subsequent siesta truly luxurious and
refreshing.
One open staircase usually connects the upper and lower arcades;
admission is rarely given to the whole building at more than one point,
the great door, adjoining which is almost always to be found the
concierge, the janitor of the old Roman house, upon the model of which
the Spaniards probably founded their notion of a residence at once noble
and comfortable.
Little need be said concerning the particular house sketched. It is one
of the few left in Burgos to bear witness to the grandeur of its old
aristocracy. Though once the residence of the powerful Condes de Miranda
of the family of the Zunigas, it is now but a half ruined and entirely
dirty lodging-house for the lower classes in a poor and neglected part
of the city. A fine dedication to the most illustrious "Señor Don
Francisco de çuñiga y Avellaneda, Conde de Miranda, Señor de la Villa
Daça, y de la Casa de Avellaneda, by Pedro Martinez the Printer of
Seville, in 1565," sets forth the arms as well as the style and title of
the nobleman by whom, or by whose next descendant the "Casa de Miranda"
of Burgos was probably built.
The present representative of this family is no other than the Conde de
Montijo, head of the house to which Her Majesty the Empress of the
French belongs. The remarkable "Casa solar" of Peñaranda de Duero,
within an easy excursion from Burgos, once a magnificent villa of the
Zunigas, was one of the hereditary possessions of her sister the Duchess
of Alba.
There are some few other old houses remaining in Burgos, the most
remarkable, for oddity rather than beauty, being the "Casa del Cordon;"
so called from its façade, which exhibits a gigantic rope representing
the "Cordon" of the Teutonic order, encircling and uniting, the arms of
the Velascos, Mendozas, and Figueras with those of Royalty. It was
erected by a Count Haro, Constable of Castile, at the end of the
fifteenth century. It is now the residence of the Capitan General of the
Province, and the property of the Duca de Frias, a descendant of Count
Haro.
The Casa de Miranda is to be found in Burgos, in the "Calle de la
Calera," not far from the "Barrio de la Vega." No English visitor to
Burgos should omit to see the Convent of las Huelgas, most interesting
not only as founded by an English Princess, (Leonora, daughter of Henry
II, married to Alfonso VIII), in 1180; but as evidencing in its design,
which is exceptionally grave, simple, and well proportioned, an
unquestionably English architectural influence.
Of the Cathedral, remains of the Castle, and the Convent of the Cartuja
it is needless to speak here, since they are certain not to be
overlooked by the traveller. Mr. Waring, who has so well drawn the
marvels of the last mentioned building,[3] has given some pretty
illustrations of ornamental detail from the fine Renaissance "Ospedal
del Rey," which may be found not far from the Convent of las
Huelgas.[4]
[Illustration: PLATE 3
Valladolid. College of San Gregorio.
MDW 1869]
PLATE III.
_VALLADOLID._
COLEGIO DE SAN GREGORIO.
FROM early in the fifteenth century, through the reigns of Juan II. and
his successors, until the elevation of Madrid into the Capital by
Charles the Fifth, and into the only and official seat of the Court by
Philip II. Valladolid was emphatically the Royal city of Spain. It is
there, accordingly, that the traveller would naturally look for relics
of Royal and courtly magnificence as displayed in the stirring times
during which the over-elaboration of Gothic Art began to merge itself,
in sympathy with the Medicean energies of Rome and Florence, into the
style of the Renaissance as practised at a later date by many citizens
of Valladolid, such as Antonio de Arphe, and Juan de Arphe y Villafañe,
master-workers in gold and silver; as Juan de Juni, and Hernandez, the
marvellous wood-carvers and sculptors, authors of the peculiar gilt
painted groups for which the city became so famous; and as Alonzo
Berruguete, Henrique de Egas, and Macias Carpintero "masters of works"
of no mean repute. Of all the glorious objects these men and their
disciples and contemporaries produced in Valladolid a few "disjecta
membra" alone remain. Of the very building, an outlying fragment of
which forms the subject of the sketch under notice, all but the actual
structure was destroyed by the French under Napoleon I. in person, who
in 1809 inaugurated a reign of terror in the city. "No where," in Spain,
as Ford writes in 1845, "has recent destruction been more busy (than in
Valladolid); witness San Benito, San Diego, San Francisco, San Gabriel,
&c., almost swept away, their precious altars broken, their splendid
sepulchres dashed to pieces; hence the sad void created in the treasures
of art and religion which are recorded by previous travellers while
now-a-days the native in this mania of modernising is fast destroying
those venerable vestiges of Charles V. and Philip II. which escaped the
Gaul." The situation of this city on the direct line of railway
communication between France and Madrid has greatly helped forward this
"modernising" and even as this is written, numerous old streets are
being pulled down to make way for the convenient, but far from
picturesque monotony in which the nineteenth century usually writes its
date upon its street architecture. In one respect, especially, the glory
of Valladolid has entirely departed. In this, the city of the Arphes, in
which as Navagiero[5] says, (writing in 1525), "Sono in Valladolid assai
artefeci di ogni sorte, é se vi lavora benissimo di tutte le arti, e
sopra tutto d'argenti, e vi sono tanti argenteri quanti non sono in due
altre terre," no gold or silversmith's work is to be found worthy a
moment's attention. The "Plateria" still remains, and the shops of the
Plateros still abound, but, with the exception of two or three little
old fragments saved from the melting pot, the elegant types of the
"Varia commensuracion" of Villafañe have disappeared, giving place to
poor imitations of bad French work.
[Illustration: PLATE 4
VALLADOLID
PATIO DE SAN GREGORIO.
MDW 1869
MDW 1869]
PLATE IV.
_VALLADOLID._
DETAIL FROM THE "PATIO DE SAN GREGORIO."
THE portion of the great Dominican Convent of Valladolid which formed
the subject of the last sketch, is supposed to have been the
commencement of a second Patio, or courtyard, around which were to have
been arranged apartments, mainly intended for the reception of guests or
visitors, lay as well as ecclesiastic. The arcading, of which Plate IV
is a sketch, surrounds the great Patio of the monastic establishment of
which the "Colegio" proper is the Church. Around this noble courtyard
were grouped the apartments in which resided the powerful Black
Friars--so called from their dress--worthy adherents to the traditions
of the founder of the Order, himself an old Castilian, whose activity as
Preachers, and still more as Inquisitors, made them, perhaps, even more
powerful in controlling the destinies of the Peninsula than the
political heads of the State. The first stone of this great
establishment, dedicated to St. Gregory, and founded by Alonso of
Burgos, Bishop of Palencia, was laid in the year 1488. Some idea of the
rapid growth and elevation of the Dominicans about this period may be
derived from an observation of the fact that this splendid Church and
Monastery was the second great establishment of the Order in Valladolid
completed within the space of about ten years. Cean Bermudez tells us
that the Cardinal Don Juan Torquemada caused the Church of the Convent
of St. Paul to be erected, which, with its façade of excellent
architecture, was finished in the year 1463.
The work at Saint Gregory lasted about eight years, a very short time,
considering not only the quantity and extent of labour involved in the
mere construction, but the amount of intricate and elaborate sculpture
which decorates the façade of the Church. Its architect, Macias
Carpintero, of Medino del Campo, is placed by Llaguno y Amirola upon a
footing, as to merit, with the celebrated architects Siloe and Cruz of
Cologne, who introduced extraordinary elaboration into the ornamental
carving of Spain. The fate of Macias was a sad one, since on the last
Saturday in July, in the year 1490, while working himself, and directing
this great architectural work, he committed suicide, infinitely to the
surprise and regret of the monks and their fellow-citizens.
Some idea of the scale upon which the Patio of San Gregorio is worked
out, may be derived from a knowledge of the facts, that the lower arcade
is about twenty feet high, and the upper fifteen feet. The open space
enclosed by the arcading is very large, and the distance from centre to
centre of each of the pillars about nine feet.
[Illustration: PLATE 5
VALLADOLID.
PATIO DE SAN GREGORIO.
MDW 1869]
PLATE V.
_VALLADOLID._
SMALL PATIO DE SAN GREGORIO.
IN that material--stucco--which we of the nineteenth century affect to
despise, and in the use of which both the Romans and the Great Masters
of the Renaissance, under Raffaelle's guidance, excelled, the Moors
delighted. By its use they were able, with speed and accuracy, to supply
the redundancy of conventional ornament essential to contrast with the
rigid geometrical setting out of lines and compartments which formed a
fundamental law of their beautiful style of design. Their aptitude in
the manipulation of this material did not desert them when their talents
were called into operation by their Christian Masters. Of this the
pretty window which forms the chief feature of the sketch under
consideration, offers an agreeable proof. At the first glance, one might
have fancied that this window was of earlier date than the gothic stone
arch beneath, and indeed a relic of the Moorish occupation of Valladolid
before the Christians reconquered the district, so different in style
are its details from those of the arch. To have encountered the
difficulties of constructing such an arch beneath, without destroying
such a window, is, however, so contrary to all ancient precedents in
similar cases, that any such theory must be dismissed on reflexion, and
an explanation sought in some other direction. It is to be found in the
fact, that about the middle of the fifteenth century, shortly after
which date, both arch and window were probably constructed, the
Christians had plenty of skilful artificers in stone, who possessed no
aptitude for working in stucco, whilst the Moors executed but little
ornament in stone, but much in brick and plaster. Hence the marked
difference in style which is apparent between the window sketched, and
the architectural detail of the rest of this pretty little court, which
is shown on this sketch, and the one which follows it.
The rooms surrounding the Arcade of this Patio, and the Arcade itself,
are now used as a "Corps de Garde" in connection with the Government
offices of the great Patio of this "Colegio." They naturally, therefore,
rejoice in the rapidly accumulating whitewash, which serves very
generally in Spain, at once as a panacea against cholera and fever, and
the obliterator of all useless excrescences in the nature of
Architectural Ornament.
[Illustration: PLATE 6
VALLADOLID
MDW 1869
PATIO COLEGIO DE SAN GREGORIO]
PLATE VI.
_VALLADOLID._
SMALL PATIO, COLEGIO DE SAN GREGORIO.
THE stucco upper-storey from which the last sketch (Plate V) was taken,
rests upon a lower open storey, forming the usual recessed Arcade or
Colonade of even very humble Patios. In this case, the columns, on two
sides, (the upper parts of one of which are shown) including the
coat-of-arms, are in stone; while the brackets easing the compression of
the fibres, and shortening the bearing of the beams, the beams
themselves, and the row of brackets above, being really only the moulded
ends of the joists of the upper floor, are all in wood. They thus
illustrate the combination of materials in construction so much affected
by the Moors. At the same time the architectural details shown both in
this sketch, and in the one which precedes it, exhibit certain
ornamental features derived from Arabian models. That there should be no
question in this structure, however, as to the ascendency of the
Christian over the Moor, the proud founder has affixed his arms, in
which the Church's sacred emblems of the fleur-de-lys and cross forcibly
express the favourite tenets of the Spaniard.
Few cities of Spain more rejoiced in heraldic devices than did
Valladolid, the especial seat of the Castilian nobility, at least until
its removal to Madrid. Amongst all the beautiful fac-similes of
finely-mantled and well-displayed escutcheons which adorn the works of
early printers, given to us by Sir Stirling Maxwell, few excel those
which issued from the presses of the Valladolid printers. The Germans
who followed in the train, or, at any rate under the auspices, of
Charles V., no doubt set the fashion at the commencement of the century
at Seville, which was taken up by Spaniards towards the middle of the
same century at Valladolid. Francesco Fernandez de Cordova appears to
have been the great master of the craft there, and many and splendid are
the heraldic frontispieces of his books from 1548 onwards. His style, at
any rate, was maintained in his family till near the end of the century,
as the title page of the celebrated "Quilatador de la Plata oro y
piedras," by Joan Arphe, 1572,[6] displays the arms of the Cardinal
Bishop of Siguenza, drawn by, and bearing the initials of, no less an
artist than Arphe y Villafañe himself. The imprint of the volume bears
no longer the name of Francisco, but the names of Alonzo y Diego
Fernandez de Cordova.
The finest specimen of Francisco's work, given by Sir Stirling Maxwell,
is the grand heading to a proclamation issued by Charles V., in 1549. It
exhibits not only the Royal and Imperial escutcheon, Double-headed
Eagle, and Columns, with the proud motto "plus ultra," but a quantity of
pure Renaissance ornament from which all trace of Gothic has
disappeared.
[Illustration: PLATE 7
VALLADOLID LA CASA DEL INFANTADO
MDW 1869]
PLATE VII.
_VALLADOLID._
LA CASA DEL INFANTADO.
AS in Italy, so in Spain, the architecture of the revival may be divided
into at least two great schools, viz., the early, in which sculpture,
and particularly sculptured arabesque, play a prominent part; and the
late, in which regularity in the use of the orders and a system of
rigidly proportioned plain architectural members form the main
constituents of the most highly commended structures. Both merged into
the extravagance which follows when architects learn to draw with
facility rather than to think with steadfastness and propriety. As Italy
had its Borromini, so had Spain its Churriguera.
The building from which my sketch has been taken, belongs to the second
of these divisions of the architecture of the revival, as may be seen by
the grave simplicity of the Ionic columns which support the massive but
plain arches of both stories of a large and pretentious Patio. In this
sketch I have chosen the point of view from the entrance loggia of the
house, because looking from it I could well see, and therefore
illustrate, the way in which a grand staircase, covered at the top, but
open to the air upon one side, usually connects, in large houses, the
upper and lower arcades of the Patios, and consequently the upper and
lower floors of the mansion which open on to the two main arcades. The
staircase is very rarely closed by iron-work or otherwise; consequently
the visitor once obtaining access to the Patio was and is at liberty to
ramble nearly all over the house unchecked. As front doors usually stand
open from morning till night, access to Patios may generally be freely
obtained; but where the house is inhabited by one family only, or by
more than one family desiring privacy, iron or wooden doors usually
close openings to the Patio such as are shown in the sketch. It is only
when in answer to a bell, or knocker, attached to this or to an external
doorway, a servant has appeared and ascertained that the visitor is an
"amigo," that the door itself is opened, and access to the interior
afforded.
It is a popular prejudice that gravity in Spanish architecture only came
in with Herrera, after the middle of the fifteenth century in Spain, but
in reality there were several other men who before him asserted their
dissent from the plateresque redundancy of ornament, and designed works
upon a careful study of Italian models of architectural proportion.
Among such may be reckoned Pedro Machuca who in 1526 designed the palace
of Charles V. at Granada, Alonzo Covarrubias who was architect for the
noble staircase and cortile of the Alcazar at Toledo, and Diego Siloe
who a few years later created the fine Cathedral of Granada.
[Illustration: PLATE 8
LEON
SAN ISIDRO
MDW 1869]
PLATE VIII.
_LEON._
CHURCH OF SAN ISIDRO.
THE antiquity of the city of Leon and its importance as a Roman station
are well shown by its picturesque and strong walls, which in many places
yet exhibit clearly Roman masonry in the substructure and general form.
On other places, subsequent generations of artificers have left
unmistakeable autographs inscribed in most legible and durable forms,
attesting dates of construction, dilapidation, restoration, and then
again dilapidation, through centuries of tempestuous existence. One of
the most picturesque bastions of these old walls is the one shown in my
sketch which groups exceedingly well with the fine Romanesque steeple of
San Isidro, which stands on the west of the Church but altogether
detached from it. Both Church and steeple date from about the middle of
the twelfth century, and possess great historical and architectural
interest. Their historical interest is due to their association with the
fervidly pious Queen Sancha; and to the fact that in the Pantheon, or
chapel dedicated to Santa Catilina at the north-west end of the Church,
probably grouped around the body of the Saint, repose Kings and Queens
of Spain from Fernando I. and Doña Sancha the founders of the Church,
through eight generations. Their architectural interest is derivable
from the constructional and ornamental details dwelt upon by Mr. Street,
to whose excellent account of the building the reader may be referred.
[Illustration: PLATE 9
LEON SAN MARCOS
MDW 1869]
PLATE IX.
_LEON._
CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
ON the 3rd of September, 1512, a meeting took place between certain
ecclesiastics of the Chapter of Salamanca, and nine of the most famous
architects of Spain, the minute or "procès verbal" of which would form a
model for what might often be done in this country with much advantage
to all concerned in the initiation of any great architectural work. The
object of the Junta was to settle the principal difficulties of the
design of the new Cathedral of Salamanca, then about to be begun.
Interesting as are all the conclusions arrived at upon this memorable
occasion, it is not with them we have now to concern ourselves, but with
the circumstance only that, amongst the signatures attached to the
document[7] occurs that of Juan de Badajoz, the architect of the noble
façade of the celebrated Convent of the Knights of Santiago at Leon,
which forms the subject of our ninth sketch. In the following year to
that of the meeting at Salamanca, Juan de Badajoz was summoned in
concert with Juan Gil de Hontañon and Juan de Alava to report on the
repairs necessary to the Cathedral at Seville. For this he was paid by
the Chapter one hundred ducats, no mean sum in those days. Called from
Seville to Leon, Badajoz seems to have immediately set in hand the
Capilla Mayor of the Church of San Isidro. In Leon and elsewhere he
appears to have been much employed, until in 1537 he commenced the
Convent of San Zoil at Carrion (about twelve leagues from Leon,) for the
Condes of that place. The taste for elaborate ornamental sculpture
greatly increasing at that time, Juan de Badajoz seems to have taken
pains to surround himself with the most skilful carvers of his days, and
on all occasions to have pushed them forwards as their merits deserved.
Hence, when called upon, shortly after setting in hand the works at
Carrion, to commence the even more elaborate and important ones of San
Marcos, he was able to carry on the two for a time concurrently, and
ultimately to resign the charge of what he began and advanced
considerably single-handed at Leon, to his deputy, Pedro di Castrillo.
On San Marcos, Juan de Badajoz appears to have worked pertinaciously, at
any rate until the year 1543, when more than half the whole work was
completed. In the sculpture, of which there is an enormous quantity, he
had the assistance, as principal sculptor, of Guillermo Doncel. The
ornamental details[8] are excellent, far better than those involving a
knowledge of the proportions and forms of the human figure. The size of
the building is enormous, and its general effect very picturesque. The
works appear to have been suspended while still far from complete. They
were not resumed until the year 1715.
[Illustration: PLATE 10
MDW 1869 LEON SAN MARCOS]
PLATE X.
_LEON._
CLOISTER OF THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
IT used to be a proud old boast of the brothers of the Military Order of
Sant' Iago that their Palace, or Convent, call it which you will, at
Leon, was quite as fine and spacious as the palace occupied by the Kings
of Spain at Madrid. Knowing this, I visited it with a certain amount of
apprehension as to my reception by such successors to the magnates of
old, as might still occupy the building. My fears were groundless, for I
found after much knocking and ringing, that a solitary policeman was the
only occasional tenant of its vast halls, and almost numberless rooms.
It was indeed melancholy to see such a structure so evidently and
entirely "out of joint with fortune" and "the times," as to be
apparently inapplicable and inconvertible to any useful purpose.