Calderon, and Garcilaso, and there was a rapid decline in learning until
the eighteenth century. Under Charles III. the cultured life of Madrid
was revived. Charles was opposed to the clerical restrictions upon
knowledge, and the banning of science was not a part of his policy. He
withstood the reactionary forces of the country, and, being himself a
man of scholarly tastes, he re-awakened the moribund respect for
culture. To encourage the production of books, Charles III. freed all
printers from military service. He renewed the universities, built new
schools, and treated teachers and professors with fairness and respect,
declaring that education is the most important of all social affairs.
This revival of learning and of literature was unfortunately transient,
for under Charles IV. free discussion was almost impossible in Spain;
authors were gagged, and the Inquisition was revived. The study of moral
philosophy was forbidden in the universities of the country, for Charles
declared that he had no use for philosophers.
The first large public library in Madrid was the San Isidro, founded by
the Jesuits, and containing about 60,000 volumes. The National Library
was built in 1712, but the books were removed to another building about
thirty years after. There is a library in connection with the Royal
Academy of History in the Calle del León, which contains several
thousand books and a number of valuable ancient manuscripts. The
University has its own collection of books. This institution was
founded in 1508 at Alcalá, and brought to Madrid in 1836. There are
about 8000 students.
The old Court of Castile had many poets and satirists from the days of
Juan II. In the thirteenth century, Castilian became the polite speech
of the nation, and the earliest ballads were written in this language.
These ballads are the basis of much of the history of Spain, and this
was the first form of literature in the city of Madrid. Under Alfonso X.
of Castile, who was as skilled in letters as in the conduct of the
State, the art of poetry reached a higher order than it had hitherto
attained in Spain.
Francisco de Quevedo Villegas, the great satirical poet and prose
author, was born in Madrid in 1580. His parents were of patrician stock,
and his mother was one of the royal household. Quevedo was sent to the
college of Alcalá de Henares, where he was instructed in several
subjects, including law and medicine. A quarrel with a hidalgo, whom he
seriously injured in a duel, caused the flight of the young student to
Italy. Upon his return to his native country, Quevedo was arrested, and
kept in prison for about three years. Later, he was again put into
confinement for a satire upon the Count, Duke de Olivares.
Quevedo was a voluminous writer. His works have been collected in the
“Biblioteca de Autores Españoles,” in three big volumes of poetry and
prose, while many of his compositions were left unpublished. The
“Visions” are perhaps his most popular work. They were translated into
English in 1668, and published in London, and met with such success that
the volume reached an eleventh edition in 1715. Since then there have
been other editions issued in this country.
Calderon lived at number seventy-five in the Calle Mayor, formerly
called the Calle de Almudena, and in the same street was born Lope de
Vega, the most prolific of Spanish dramatists. In the Plaza de Santa
Ana, near the Teatro Español, is a monument to Calderon erected in 1879.
It is the work of Figuéras, and a figure of Fame stands by the
dramatist; the base of the statue has reliefs from scenes in the plays.
Calderon was of noble blood, and found influential patronage in Madrid.
We read that Philip IV. gave him the order of Santiago, and appointed
him director of the theatre and public entertainments. Pedro Calderon
entered the church at the age of fifty-two. He died in the year 1681.
At number fifteen Calle de Cervantes there is a memorial tablet to Lope
de Vega, with the inscription that the writer set upon his house: “A
small possession of one’s own is great; a great possession of another is
small.”
Lope de Vega was born in Madrid in 1562. For a time he was secretary to
the Duke of Alba, but, after wounding an opponent in a duel, he fled
from the city. His power of production was marvellous, and it is said
that he wrote a play of three acts, in verse, in twenty-four hours. He
died in 1631.
Cervantes was intimately associated with Madrid, though Alcalá de
Henares is claimed as his birthplace. The greatest author of Spain came
to the capital in his youth, to study for one of the learned
professions, and here he lived under the tutelage of Juan Lopez de
Hoyos.
After serving as chamberlain in Rome to Cardinal Aquaviva, Cervantes, at
the age of twenty-four, joined the expedition against Turkey, and for
several years he passed an adventurous life on sea and land. Returning
to Madrid, he lived with relatives, and began to apply his mind
seriously to study, and to the cultivation of his literary gift. In
Madrid he wrote a number of comedies and novels, but he left the city
for Seville, where he obtained more lucrative employment as a
government official. The first part of the masterpiece “Don Quixote” was
published in Madrid in 1605.
Cervantes died in 1616 from dropsy, and his body was laid to rest in
Madrid. In the Plaza de las Cortes is a memorial in bronze to the
greatest of the romance writers of Spain. It was designed by Antonio
Sola, and set up in 1835. There are reliefs on the pedestal of the
monument depicting episodes from “Don Quixote.”
The Church of San Francisco el Grande, the National Pantheon, was built
in 1784 on the site of a convent; but it was not established as a
mausoleum until 1869. It has been decorated at great expense and with
much taste, and is not altogether an unworthy repository for the ashes
of the illustrious dead. Here are supposed to rest the remains of
Guzman, Cervantes, Lope de Vega, and Velazquez, but the tombs have not
been identified. In 1869 the ashes of Morales, Juan Mena, Quevedo,
Calderon, the Great Captain, and other illustrious Spaniards were placed
here, but all of these have since been restored to their original
resting-places.
The Italian opera was introduced into Spain by Charles III. The country
has not produced any very eminent operatic composers, though opera is a
popular entertainment. In the drama Spain excelled at one period above
all other countries. The plays of the nation were exceedingly numerous
in the palmy days, ranging from sacred representations, or miracle
dramas, to farce. Many of the subjects were historical; but with the
decline of taste, the drama lost its Greek simplicity, and became the
vehicle of complicated intrigues and artificial plots. Cervantes, as
dramatist, endeavoured to check this corruption of taste, but the
pressure of poverty forced him to follow the conventions of the hour,
and to write on a level with the intelligence of his audiences.
Lope de Vega wrote about eighteen hundred plays. Much of his work is
hasty, extravagant and bombastic. Calderon wrote with more directness
and simplicity of style, and spent far more pains upon his compositions.
Augustin Moreto produced thirty-six plays, which rank high from the
literary point of view. De Castro, de Roscas, and de Solis are three of
the more esteemed comedy authors of a later period, whose pieces were
played in Madrid.
Galdos, who is the author of several novels and plays, resides in
Madrid, in the Paseo de Areneros. Doña Emilia Pardo de Bazan, the most
powerful of the women writers of Spain, says: “The life of the
playwright in Madrid is more active, agitated, and arduous than other
branches of the literary career, which languish and sleep for want of
stimulus.” Most of the dramatists of the nation live in Madrid, or spend
part of the year there. Among them are José Echegaray, now the leading
playwright, Guimerá, Eugenio Sellés, Dicenta, Vital Aza, Abati Ricardo
de la Vega, Garcia, and Paso.
Poets living in Madrid are Emilio Ferrari, Grilo, Manuel del Palacio,
the Marquis de Cerralbo, the Duke de Rivas, Eduardo Benot, and Melchor
de Palau. There are also several writers of humorous verse, such as
López Silva, Pérez de Zúñiga, and Luis de Tapia.
The great novelist, Armando Palacio Valdés--who, in his novel, “Froth,”
gives a true picture of Madrid manners--lives in the city occasionally.
Here, too, reside Father Luis Coloma, Blasco Ibañez, Baroja, José Ortega
Munilla, Antonio de Hoyos, and several other writers of fiction. Doña
Emilia Pardo de Bazan lives in Madrid.
Among the celebrated journalists are Cavia, Kasabal, Azorin, Claudio
Frollo, Luis Morote, Troyano, and “Zeda” (Sr. Fernandez Villegas).
The Madrileños appreciate the drama--in small doses--and support
fourteen theatres, of which the most frequented are the Teatro Real,
belonging to the State, the Español, belonging to the Municipality, the
Princesa, Comedia, Lara, Apolo, and Zarzuela. As elsewhere in Spain,
each performance consists of three or more short pieces or
sketches--zarzuelas and saynetes--almost always dealing with aspects of
popular life. To foreigners this persistent harping on the amours of the
policeman and flower-girl and the vicissitudes of a chairmender’s career
is a little surprising. The legitimate drama has been almost driven from
the boards in Spain, despite the efforts of Señora Guerrero--the Spanish
Bernhardt--to revive it, some years ago. This lady’s husband is the
Marquis de Mendoza, who follows the same profession, to do which he
required the special authorisation of the Council of State. Spain does
not want for good actors and actresses, despite the loss of Vico, Calvo,
and the ever-popular Emilio Mario. Maria Tubau is an able interpreter of
Ibsen and Sudermann (when the opportunity presents itself), and the
names of Thuillier, Pinelo, and Carmen Cobeña deserve mention.
Naturalism has by no means asserted its sway over the Spanish theatre,
and the entertainments, as the old play-bills used to say, are still
largely frequented by ladies and children. Every one smokes during the
performances, and talks frantically during the entr’actes. The theatres
are comfortable and well upholstered. English visitors will be struck by
the absence of programmes, the place of which is often taken by some
such sheet as _Blanco y Negro_.
Emilia Pardo de Bazan deplores the decay of the literary circles and
salons for which the city was once renowned; “of literary gatherings at
private houses or in splendid palaces we might say there are none.”
Circles there are, it is true, she adds, but few of them of greater
circumference than a tea-table. Yet young writers still seek Madrid,
bringing with them plays or novels, which, in most cases, are never
given to the public. “There are in Madrid,” continues this authoress,
“more producers than, in proportion, consumers, and the proletariat of
the pen suffers the bitter consequences of this painful position.”
The first newspaper printed in the city was the “Gaceta de Madrid,”
which was founded in 1661. It was first issued annually as a news-sheet,
but in 1667 the journal appeared each Saturday. The title of the paper
was frequently changed, and at one time it was the official organ of the
Court, and sold on the account of “the king our lord.” Later, the
“Gaceta” was issued twice a week, and in 1808 it was made a daily
publication. With one or two interruptions, the “Gaceta” has been
printed in Madrid since 1661.
The pioneer of modern journalism was Don Francisco Mariano Nifo, who
started the “Diario” in 1758. Nifo sold the journal in 1759, and the
title was altered to the “Diario noticioso Universal,” and later, to its
present title, “Diario official de Avisos de Madrid.” In 1825 the
“Diario” became an official newspaper by royal decree.
The establishment of political journalism dates from 1806; the
“Imparcial” was then founded, as well as many other journals which had
short histories. The present “El Imparcial” dates from 1867, and “La
Correspondencia” and “El Dia” began to be issued about the same time.
“La Epoca” was born in 1848.
The more solid reviews published in Madrid are the “Lectura,” and the
“Ateneo.” “España Moderna,” “Nuestro Tiempo,” “Cultura,” and “Blanco y
Negro,” a well illustrated magazine, are produced in Madrid. The city
has certainly given birth to a very large number of periodicals, for
from 1865 to 1878 no less than 1130 issued from the press.
Students of the literary history of Spain will find many interesting
links with the past in the National Library. Here are numerous editions
of “Don Quixote,” and a collection of old manuscripts, including a
beautiful Visigothic work of the tenth century, and the “Siete Partidas”
of Alfonso the Wise. There are several autographs of Lope de Vega and
other Spanish authors in the collection.
VI
CHURCHES AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS
Among the monumental remains of Madrid there is scarcely a memory of the
Moorish days. In the church of San Pedro we shall find an example of
_Mudejar_ architecture, that is, the work of the “reconciled” Moriscos,
who remained in Spain down to the final expulsion. San Pedro dates from
the fourteenth or fifteenth century, and is the oldest church in the
city. The tower is square and plain, in the Moorish form, with small
windows.
The Gothic church of San Jeronimo el Real was built in 1503, and
restored in 1879. During the French invasion the treasures of this
church were despoiled. Here the ceremony of taking the constitutional
oath by the heir-apparent is celebrated, and in this church was
performed the marriage ceremony of the present king of Spain.
The Capilla del Obispo has a fine carved retablo, or altarpiece, in the
Renaissance style, and several interesting statues and marble tombs.
There is also a beautifully carved doorway to the chapel.
Antonio Sillero designed the Convent of the Descalzas Reales, which was
founded by the Princess Juana, daughter of Charles V. A part of the
original building remains, dating from 1559. In the chapel is a statue
of the foundress by Leoni. The front of the present church was designed
by Diego Villanueva.
The church of the Convent of the Incarnation is of the time of Philip
III., the classic façade representing the style of architecture at the
Escorial Palace. Within are some paintings by Carducho. San Francisco el
Grande is undoubtedly the finest church in Madrid. The building is
partly modelled from the plan of the Pantheon at Rome; and the objects
of interest are the fine carved doors, the sculptured figures within by
Benlliure and Bellver, and some modern fresco paintings.
San Isidro is named after the patron saint of the city, and was erected
in the years between 1626-51. The interior is exceedingly ornate, with
gilt carvings, and niches containing images of saints. There are some
noteworthy paintings in this church, including works by Rizi, Morales
and Palomino, and a putative Titian. The picture by Morales, “Jesus and
St Peter,” is considered one of the finest examples of this artist’s
skill.
In the church of San Andrés there are some fine marble carvings, and
pictures by Carreño and Rizi. The Capilla del Obispo is behind this
church. San Antonio is noted for its frescoes of scenes from the life of
its patron saint, painted by Juan Carreño. The _baroque_ style is seen
in the church of San Luis (1679)--especially in the carved retablo.
Close to the Puente Verde is the Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida,
whose dome was decorated with frescoes by Goya. The satirical painter
was engaged by the church to paint this dome with appropriate subjects,
and in sombre jest he chose his models for pious characters among the
_manolas_, or half-reputable women, of Madrid. The paintings are of
exceptional interest, and well represent the spirit of the grimly
facetious painter.
The finest specimen of baroque architecture in the city is the church of
Santa Barbara, now adjoining the Palace of Justice, and formerly the
church of a convent founded in the time of Ferdinand VI. The building is
in the form of a cross, with towers, and an ornamental façade. The dome
is decorated with frescoes, and the marble altarpiece is especially
graceful. Olivieri carved the figures of St Ferdinand, St Barbara, and
Faith and Charity on the retablo. The tomb of Ferdinand VI. by Sabatini
is in the transept. There is also a monument to General O’Donnell,
designed by Jeronimo Suñol.
San Ginés should be seen for the picture of the “Scourging of Christ” by
Alonso Cano, and a statue of Christ by Vergara.
Madrid compares unfavourably with other capitals as regards buildings.
Of late years a good many new edifices have arisen, but these are
massive and pretentious rather than imposing.
The Plaza Mayor--originally the market-place of Madrid--is historically
interesting as the scene of numerous autos de fé and bull-fights, while
the architecture of the Casa Panaderia should be examined. The building
contains pictures by Coello. In the middle of the square is the statue
of Philip III. on horseback, cast in bronze, and the work of Juan de
Bologna and his pupil Tacca.
A monument of the time of Philip IV. is seen in the offices of the
Ministry of State, formerly a prison. It was designed by the Italian
Bautista Crescenti, with figures by Herrera. The Town Hall is
seventeenth century, with a good façade, and a fine staircase. In the
oratory of this building are pictures by Palomino.
Very little remains of the old palace of the Buen Retiro, which has been
converted into the Artillery Museum. The Palacio del Congreso (House of
Commons), finished in 1850, is Corinthian in style. There is a fine
allegorical group by Ponzano, who also designed the lions on the front.
Within, there are frescoes of historic scenes.
The largest square in Madrid is the Plaza de Oriente, constructed by
order of Joseph Buonaparte. There are fourteen immense statues of kings
in this open space, and a beautiful fountain with lions in bronze. The
equestrian statue of Philip IV. is by Tacca, from a painting by
Velazquez; its equilibrium is said to have been determined by Galileo.
The Museum of Archæology, already mentioned, has many objects of
antiquity dating from prehistoric times. There are a number of Roman
remains, Moorish relics, treasures from China and Mexico, and
curiosities of many kinds.
In “Castilla La Nueva” Don Jose Quadrado refers to the old door of the
Monte de Piedad, in the Plaza de las Descalzas, as an interesting relic.
It is surmounted with a very ornate bell, and there are two female
torsos, and some good carving on the frontage.
Six miles from Madrid is the royal hunting lodge of El Pardo. The
building was erected in the time of the Emperor, and reconstructed by
Charles III. It stands on high ground in a fine park. The walls are
adorned within with many interesting fresco paintings--the work of
Velazquez, Bayeu, Ribera, and other less notable artists; and there are
tapestries from designs by Goya and Teniers.
Aranjuez, thirty miles from Madrid, is a royal residence of very great
historical interest, for it was here that Charles V. and Philip II.
spent many hours of retirement. The palace contains pictures by Mengs,
Bayeu, Maella and Lopez. The Gabinete de China is lavishly decorated
with porcelain, and is a wonderful example of this style of
ornamentation, introduced to Spain by the Italian Gricci.
The gardens at Aranjuez are exceedingly beautiful, some parts of them
being formal, and others more wild. A fine avenue fringes the river, and
there are fountains and statues in the grounds. The Countess D’Aulnoy,
describing Aranjuez, writes: “I must confess the Gardens are too close
and several of their alleys too narrow, but yet it ravishes one to walk
there, and at our coming into them, I fancy’d myself in some enchanted
Palace. The morning was cool, everywhere the Birds made a sweet melody,
and the waters a pleasant murmuring Noise! the Trees and Hedges were
loaden with excellent Fruit, and the Parterres were covered with most
odoriferent Flowers; and I enjoyed all this in most pleasant Company.”
The trees in the avenue at Aranjuez are of great age, with immense
trunks and dense foliage, testifying to the fertility of the soil. In
the Garden of the Primavera flowers and fruits flourish, for the summer
climate in this sheltered region is almost tropical, though the
surrounding hills are bare and unfertile. Innumerable nightingales haunt
the gardens and groves in the springtime.
THE ROYAL ARMOURY
If the Prado is surpassed by one or two other galleries, Madrid can
boast a collection of arms and armour which is eclipsed by no other. The
Imperial Armoury of Vienna can alone be compared with this magnificent
storehouse of the triumphs of a forgotten craft, the inception of which
is due to Philip II. The Emperor Charles, Lord of Germany and Italy, was
able to command the services of the greatest armourers of his own or any
age. By stimulating the rivalry of the famous Colmans of Augsburg and
the not less celebrated Negrolis of Milan, he brought the
armour-smith’s art to its highest pitch of development--and this, too,
at a time when new tactics and artillery seemed likely to drive it for
ever from the field. The reign of Charles marks the zenith of the craft.
The sons of Vulcan ranked among the most admired artists of their time,
and the most eminent exponents of the sister arts were proud to
embellish and to wait upon the works of their hands.
Yet it was to supply the needs of no mere dilettante that the forges of
Augsburg and Milan were kept glowing, that their anvils re-echoed
unceasingly with ringing blows. Charles was a mighty War Lord. He used
his armour in the tented field, his keen blade was waved aloft in the
van of armies; and in times of peace, he yet loved to surround himself
with the pomp and circumstance of glorious war. And when he laid aside
the helmet for the monk’s cowl, he left his son the finest martial
equipment any monarch had ever boasted before or since.
Less of a soldier than his father, Philip II. was not slow to recognise
the intrinsic value of the heritage. He ordered a house to be built
specially for its reception, thus forming the foundation of a
collection, which was added to from year to year by him and his
successors. The manufacture of defensive armour practically ceased at
the close of the seventeenth century, and the spoils of war became,
alas! rarer in the course of the next hundred years. In the uprising
against the French in 1808, the Armoury was plundered by the populace in
their frantic hunger for weapons against the detested invader, and a
year or two later the collection suffered considerably at the hands of
the _Rey intruso_.
In the forties, a complete re-arrangement took place by order of Queen
Isabella II. A catalogue was issued in 1849, which was useful enough in
its way, and made the priceless treasures it enumerated known to the
world. But it displayed little critical or antiquarian skill, and
perpetuated a score of picturesque and grotesquely misleading
attributions. Different pieces were labelled as the sword of Bernardo
del Carpio, the falchion of the Cid, the bit of Don Roderic, the helmet
of Boabdil, the cuirass of Garcilaso de la Vega, etc. Doubtless in
course of time the battle axe of Amadis de Gaul, the horn of Roland, and
Mambrino’s helmet would have found their way into the catalogue. Luckily
King Alfonso XII., soon after his accession, entrusted the collection to
an antiquary of the new school, the late Count of Valencia de Don Juan.
Years of labour and research, interrupted by a disastrous fire,
resulted in a complete and admirable re-organisation and classification,
and in the publication in 1898 of a catalogue which has conferred
permanent lustre on the reputation of the erudite compiler.