_The Churches of the City_
'The different provinces of Spain differ from each other in their
architecture, as in their history; some of the buildings are purely
Moorish, others have a mixture of that style....' J. H. Parker,
_The Study of Gothic Architecture_.
In order to appreciate the Andalusian character, it is essential that
one should take into account the vast sway exerted by the Church in
Spain. Devotion to piety has ever been one of the cardinal traits of the
true Spaniard, and uncompromising faith in prelatical absolutism is
considered one of the first virtues. In the long crusade against Saracen
infidels, Arians, Jews, Protestants and apostates, men of high birth and
wealth abandoned a life of ease to fight under the standard of Rome. To
serve one's country as a priest or a soldier was the chief duty of the
Christian.
The wars of the country were fought to preserve the traditional faith.
As early as the seventeenth century, the clergy possessed more power in
Spain than in any other European country; and the sovereigns were
pledged to protect the faith. The bishops were the king-makers, the
predominant rulers of the nation. During the forty years' reign of
Carlos V., the main object of the State was to suppress heresy, and this
had been the ambition of all the rulers since Fernando the Saint.
In the seventeenth century, the Church secured even greater power in
temporal affairs; but this power began to wane when Florida Blanca, the
new Minister, made a determined effort to lessen the dominance of the
Church, in 1780. For diplomatic reasons, Blanca signed treaties with
Turkey, Tripoli, Algiers and Tunis, thus exhibiting amity towards the
very infidels, 'whom, in the opinion of the Spanish Church, it was the
first duty of a Christian government to make war upon, and, if possible,
to extirpate' (Buckle). The expulsion of the Jesuits was a part of the
same policy. And now, for the first time for centuries, the secular
authority gained supremacy over the spiritual class.
The cathedrals and churches of Spain remain as instructive monuments of
the powerful religious fervour of the Middle Ages. They were built by
men of profound faith, by devotees who were ready to die for their
creeds. Those who endowed the buildings gave ungrudgingly; rich and poor
were liberal in contributing the means, and clerics sometimes yielded
half of their stipends to assist in the cost of beautifying the
venerated piles. One and all, those who subsidised the labour, the
architects, masons, artists and carvers, were inspired by a deep faith.
Such was the enthusiasm that produced the rich designs of rose windows
like that of San Pedro in Avila, the doors of Toledo Cathedral, the
marvellous architecture of Burgos Cathedral, and that of León and many
other sacred buildings in the Peninsula. When surveying with delight
these examples of æsthetic inspiration, we must remember that the
artists worked not only to charm men, but to show reverence to their
God. Every curve, tracery and adornment was conceived in a spirit of
pious homage and of religious duty.
It is only when faith is enfeebled that we may observe the touch of
indifference in the hand of the ecclesiastical builder and artist. There
is nothing 'cheap,' nothing hasty, nothing paltry in the scheme and
construction of the temples dedicated by mediæval believers to the
worship of God and the Holy Virgin Mother. We may have outgrown the
taste in certain forms of decoration, but the work will not strike us as
ill-considered and commonplace. It stands as a testimony to the
influence of faith and devotion upon the imagination and the artistic
spirit.
If the modern churches of Spain disappoint us, we must remember that in
these days men have, to a marked extent, lost that tenacity of belief,
which once urged them to expend a great share of their wealth upon the
founding of splendid houses of worship. 'The temples made by hands' are
to-day less beautiful than those of the age when creed ranked before
country, and was the absorbing subject and the profoundest conviction of
the Spanish mind.
But the ancient cathedrals and churches endure as solemn memorials.
Atmospheric influences do not cause crumbling and speedy decay in this
land of dry winds and sunshine. The edifices were built to stand, and
they have stood well the wear and tear of the centuries.
Most of the Seville churches exhibit the art itself, or at least the
artistic influence, of the Moorish designer. The reconciled and
converted Morisco had to live among his conquerors. Why should he not
set his hand to the building of their temples? The Christians were
pleased to borrow from his designs, to imitate his half-orange cupolas,
his graceful arches, his glazed tiles, ribbon decorations and _ajimez_
windows. Why should he refuse to design churches, and erect and adorn
them, for the good pay that the Christians offered? The _Mudéjares_, or
'reconciled' Moors, became, therefore, the chief and most
lavishly-remunerated artisans of Seville. In building the churches and
mansions of the city, they no doubt experienced a compensation for
their subjection in the thought that they were permitted to labour with
a free hand, and to design and embellish sacred or secular buildings
after the manner of their own nation. They had no faith to inspire them;
the religion foisted upon them was repugnant to their consciences and
minds. But they possessed a potent stimulus to good execution--the love
of art for art's sake. This was their inspiration, and we may see its
effect in many details of ecclesiastic architecture in the Sevillian
churches.
[Illustration: Minaret of San Marcos.]
_San Marcos._--This church is of exceptional interest on account of its
tower, a fine example of Morisco architecture, and its beautiful
_Mudéjar_ portal. The tower is in the minaret form, and was no doubt
built in imitation of the Giralda, which it resembles in miniature. It
is seventy-five feet in height, and ten feet wide, the loftiest tower in
the city, except, of course, the stupendous Giralda, which is reared
over all other edifices. The church is of Gothic design, and dates from
1478, though the much older tower and the chief portal are Arabian. The
interior is not of much importance. It is said that the love-sick
Miguel Cervantes used to ascend the tower of San Marcos to gaze around
for one Isabel, a Sevillian beauty, who had entranced him. The church of
San Marcos is approached from the Feria by the Calle de Castellar.
_The Church of the Convent of Santa Paula_ is behind San Marcos, and
within a few steps of that church. The _azulejos_ covering the walls are
fine examples of sixteenth-century workmanship from the potteries of
Triana. The reliefs of saints on the Gothic portal of the nunnery are
from the design of Pedro Millan, a famous sculptor, and are the work of
Niculoso of Pisa. From the convent we may retrace our steps to San
Marcos, turn to the right, and follow the Calle San Luis to
_Santa Marina._ The handsome Gothic portal of this church has some
notable sculptures. It is said that the tower and the chapels are the
remains of a mosque.
_San Gil_ is on the left-hand side of San Luis, close to the Church of
Santa Marina. It was originally a Moorish _mezquita_. The doorways are
Gothic. The effigies of the Saviour and the Virgin within the church are
attributed to Roldan, one of the pupils of Montañez.
_Omnium Sanctorum_ is in the Plaza de la Feria. This church stands on
the former site of a Roman temple, and it was built by Pedro the Cruel
in 1356. It exhibits a mingling of Gothic and _Mudéjar_ architecture.
There are three naves and three doors. On the tower are some noteworthy
frescoes. Francisco de Rioja, the poet, lived in this parish.
_Santa Catalina_ is situated in the _calle_ of that name. This church
was also built on the ground once occupied by a Roman fane, and
afterwards by a Mohommedan mosque. The façade is another instance of the
survival of Moorish art, while the principal chapel is Gothic. Within
are three remarkable paintings by Pedro de Campaña, a Flemish artist,
who is claimed as one of the Sevillian school. These masterpieces of
early Andalusian art are described in the chapter on the painters of
Seville.
The inspection of these churches would fill a long day. But there are
several more fine _parroquias_ to be visited, for it must be remembered
that the churches are the art museums of Spain, and no one can gain
knowledge of the development of architecture, sculpture and painting in
the country without spending a considerable portion of one's time in the
dim, perfumed naves and chapels. The stranger will be impressed by the
garish decoration of the interiors of many of the churches of Seville.
Gilt is spread lavishly, and the effect is often tawdry. Some of the
images are poor, especially in the modern churches, and one's taste is
often shocked by their incongruity. The figures of the Virgin often lack
dignity and beauty. But, as Mr. Henry James points out in his sketch
'From Normandy to the Pyrenees,' in _Portraits of Places_, those images
of the Holy Mother are 'the sentiment of Spanish Catholicism' of modern
times. They are, therefore, instructive from that point of view.
But from a devotional, as well as an æsthetic, standpoint, one is
disposed to ask whether the sacred idols would not gain in nobility,
pathos and stateliness if the Virgin were represented in the realistic
garb of a Jewish woman of the people, instead of in modern dress, with
trappings of lace and jewellery. It is with no disrespect towards
Catholic prejudices in this matter that one expresses this view. The
mediæval conception of the Madonna in painting appeals to the
imagination, because in the works of the great masters there is beauty,
simplicity and convincingness.
In the northern district of the city, beyond the Convento de Santa
Paula, we may, in a few minutes, reach--
_Santa Lucia._--This church is now used for profane purposes; but its
splendid Gothic portal remains. The Morisco tower is also notable.
_San Roque_ is in the Barrio de San Roque, not far from Santa Lucia. The
church was destroyed by fire in 1759, and rebuilt in 1769. It is not of
great interest, though the arches of the naves are graceful, and the
small tower is worthy of note. In times of flood, the Guadalquivir
inundates this suburb, and the water flows into the church.
_San Bartolomé_ may be reached from the last-mentioned church by the
Recared ó Industria and the Calle Tinte. The church was built on the
site of a Jewish synagogue, after the expulsion of the Jews by the
Catholic Kings of Spain. The _retablo_ and the sculpture of our Lady of
Joy is antique and interesting.
_Santa Maria de las Nieves, or la Blanca_, is close to San Bartolomé.
Until the year 1391 this church was a synagogue. It has three small
naves, marble columns, and plateresque ornamentation. The two doors are
Gothic. There is a painting attributed to Murillo, and one of our Lady
of the Augustias, with the dead Christ in her arms, by Luis de Vargas,
the famous fresco painter.
_San Salvador_ is in the centre of the city, behind the Audencia, and
may be reached from Sierpes by the Calle de Gallegos. This church is not
of much importance from its age; but it contains effigies by Montañez,
the most celebrated being the figure of San Cristobal.
_San Isidoro_ is built upon the ground where a fine mosque once stood.
It is stated that St. Isidore was born upon this spot or close to the
church. Juan de las Roelas painted the Translation of San Isidoro for
the principal altar. There are also pictures by Murillo, Valdés, and
Tortolero, and a statue of Santa Catalina by Roldan the Elder.
_San Julian_ should be visited for an inspection of the large painting
of San Cristobal, the work of Juan Sanchez de Castro. The painting of
St. Christopher has been retouched. It was executed in 1484, and the
work is of great interest as an example of the art of the earliest
Sevillian painter.
I have now mentioned thirteen churches. There are more to visit.
_San Bernardo_ is in the suburb of that name. It is built on the spot
where a hermitage stood until 1593. The church has three wide naves. It
should be visited for an inspection of the pictures. In the left nave is
a painting of the Last Judgment, the work of Herrera the Elder.
The _Cena de Jesus_ is by Francisco de Varela. It was executed in 1622,
and is regarded as one of the finest works of that painter. The statues
of St. Michael, the Faith, St. Augustine and St. Thomas are the work of
Luisa Roldan. The organ of this church is one of the best in Seville.
[Illustration: Puerta de Santa Maria]
_The Convent Church of La Trinidad._ The associations of the church are
of considerable interest. In the time of the Roman rule in Seville, the
palace, ecclesiastical court, and dungeons of a governor were built upon
this ground. The church is dedicated to the saints of Seville, Justa and
Rufina, the guardians of the Giralda. When the Romans conquered the
Spaniards, they sought to convert the subject-people to the Pagan
religion. Among the potters of Trajan's town, now known as the suburb
of Triana, were two girls, both of great beauty, named Justa and Rufina.
The maidens were renowned for their Christian piety. They refused to
worship the Roman gods, and in their zeal they became iconoclasts. Their
image-breaking brought them beneath the tribunal; they were sentenced to
extreme punishment. The wretched victims were scourged, and forced to
walk barefooted on the bleak mountains of the Sierra Morena. But this
persecution failed to shatter their fervent devotion to Christianity.
They continued to protest against the religion of the Romans. Justa was
imprisoned and slowly starved to death, while Rufina was cast to the
lions in the arena.
The portraits of the youthful saints have been painted by several of the
Sevillian artists. Murillo's SS. Justa and Rufina is in the picture
gallery at Seville. The treatment is conventional. The saints are
holding a model of the Giralda in their hands, and the martyrs' palms.
At their feet are broken crockery, showing the nature of their calling.
To the left are the ruins of a building. The figures of the maidens are
large, and halos surround their heads.
In the same gallery are two pictures of the Sevillian saints by an
unknown artist. One is a portrait of Santa Justa. The saint is holding a
white vase and the martyr's palm in her hands. Santa Rufina, in the
other painting, is bearing a plate and a palm branch. The Santa Justa is
the more notable of these works. The conception is beautiful and the
colouring subdued.
H. Sturmio's painting of Justa and Rufina is in the Cathedral, and so is
that of the celebrated Luis de Vargas. From the artistic standpoint, the
picture of the two saints by Francisco Goya is the finest of all. It is
to be seen in the _Sacristía de los Cálices_ in the Cathedral.
In the crypt of the Convent Church of La Trinidad is shown a rock, to
which the saints were bound when scourged by their persecutors. There is
a poor shrine in a dim cellar; and the sacristan shows a long, dark
passage, full of water, which is said to be a part of the Roman prison,
where heretics were confined and starved to death. The story of the
saints of Triana is legendary; but it is no doubt credited as actual
history among the devout of the city.
It is recorded that the martyrs incurred death for breaking a statue of
Venus. Tradition is hazy concerning the place of their burial. In one
account we learn that SS. Justa and Rufina were laid to rest in Burgos.
Another historian assures us that they were buried in Seville, while a
third story relates that their bones are in the mountainous Asturias, in
the North of Spain.
A big book might be written on the churches of Seville alone. There are
so many of those edifices, and few of them are devoid of interest to the
antiquarian, art lover, and student of ecclesiastical history. The
amalgamated Moorish and Renaissance elements in the Seville churches
lend a charm to the architecture and the adornments. This strange
combination of styles is only to be found in the Christian churches of
Spain. Almost everywhere we are confronted in Andalusia with this
seeming incongruity, the employment of designs for religious edifices
from the hand of the despised and detested _Mudéjar_. The phenomenon is
strange and instructive. The zealous Catholic kings, sworn to the
extirpation of the Moslems, allowed the Moors to build their churches in
the style of temples devoted to Allah.
The same monarchs who ordered the destruction of the beautiful Moorish
baths in Córdova and Seville were willing that Mohammedan genius should
have full play in the design, construction and decoration of Christian
temples.
But, after all, was it not a question of necessity? When a nation has
only two honourable professions, the military and the clerical, where is
the scope for a development of skill in the industrial arts? The
Moriscoes were martial, but they never neglected the peaceful
occupations. Sadly had Spain to learn that the neglect of culture and
the arts was the cause of her decline. Germans, Italians and Moors were
employed in the erection and adornment of ecclesiastic and civil
buildings. The Teutons Johann, and his son Simon, of Cologne, were the
chief architects of Burgos; and it is probable that German designers and
masons performed a large share in the building of Seville Cathedral. At
Burgos, Toledo and León we may note the influence of French architects.
The interiors of the churches of Seville are so dark that it is often
difficult to see the pictures clearly. Even on the brightest days the
sunshine penetrates imperfectly through the stained windows, and in some
cases the works of art are in the gloomiest chapel or recess of the
building. The sacristans are usually to be found in or near the
churches, and they are mostly courteous to the visitor, and anxious to
point out the most important paintings, statues and relics. But in their
desire to please, they sometimes ascribe the pictures to the wrong
artist. A daub by an unknown artist becomes a work of Zurbaran, if the
stranger appears to be greatly interested in that painter.
Several spurious Murillos were shown to me. Now and then, the sacristan
knows very little about the art treasures of his church. When you ask
who painted a picture or carved an image, the attendant shrugs his
shoulders, and murmurs _No se_ (Don't know). The boys who volunteer as
guides are of no service to the visitor. In the chapter of information I
have given the name of a reliable guide.