_Some Other Buildings_
'Fair is proud Seville; let her country boast
Her strength, her wealth, her site of ancient days.'
_Childe Harold_, Stanza lxv.
The _palacios_ and fine _casas_ of Seville are numerous. Some of them
retain a distinctly _Mudéjar_ design in their architecture, and all of
them possess an Oriental atmosphere or tone. One may spend many hours in
visiting the courts of the big houses of the city. As a rule, the porter
has instructions to admit strangers into the courts, but very rarely
within the houses. But from the courts one may gain very considerable
knowledge of the progress of architectural style in the dwelling-houses
of the South of Spain, where, above all, we may trace the influence and
art of the Morisco designer and craftsman.
We will first visit the Casa de los Taveras, in the Calle Bustos Tavera.
The house is principally celebrated as the scene of the tribunal of the
Inquisition from 1626 to 1639. In the corridors is a collection of
family portraits.
Finer, from the point of view of architecture and adornment, is the Casa
de los Marqueses de Torre Blanca, in the Calle de Santiago, number
thirty-seven. It has a very beautiful _patio_, and a splendid marble
staircase. These two houses are mentioned as well worth seeing in the
little book _Sevilla Histórica_.
Roaming in the Calle O'Donnell, I peeped into the court of number
twenty-four. The fine _patio_ is surrounded with the heads of bulls
killed in the arena. Number seventeen in the Calle Alfonso XII. is
another handsome _casa_, with a typical court. Visitors may discover
many sumptuous houses in this quarter of the city. The Casa Alba once
had eleven courts and nine fountains. It is decidedly Moorish in build,
with Renaissance details in the stucco-work. This beautiful palace, in
the Calle de Dueñas, was at one time owned by the Ribera family (the
Dukes of Acalá). It was begun about 1483. The Casa Alba is larger than
the Casa Pilatos, described in the literary chapter of this book.
Mr. Digby Wyatt says of the Casa Alba, in his _Architect's Note Book in
Spain_, that this is one of the rare instances of Renaissance
ornamentations executed by Moorish workmen. 'For these, no doubt, they
were furnished with drawings or models, since in no other parts of the
same building, and especially in many beautiful rooms in the interior,
where they have apparently been left to themselves, they have reverted
partly to _Mudéjar_ work, and partly to the old types of geometrical
enrichment, which may be regarded as specifically their own. Much of
this is almost reduced to a flat surface by repeated coats of
whitewash.'
The Casa de los Abades is 'more Italian in its plateresque than is usual
in other houses in Seville,' says Mr. Digby Wyatt. The mansion was built
early in the fifteenth century, and was modified and embellished by the
Pinedos, a Genoese family, in 1533. Mr. Wyatt tells us that: 'If it were
not for the peculiar engrailed double edging to the arches, the thinness
of the marble central window shaft, and a few Oriental turns here and
there given to the foliage and enrichments of the mouldings, one
could almost believe that this architecture was regular Genoese
cinque-cento.' After the Pinedo family, the _casa_ came into the hands
of the Abades, members of the Cathedral staff.
[Illustration: Patio del Casa Murillo]
A _Mudéjar_ window in the Fonda de Madrid has been sketched by Mr. Digby
Wyatt in the afore-mentioned book. This is an _ajimez_ window, 'through
which the sun shines.' It is of brickwork and was 'once covered
apparently in Moorish fashion with thin plaster, excepting the column
which is of white marble.'
We may now visit the Palacio Arzobiscopal, the Archbishop's Palace, in
the Plaza de la Giralda. The doors are in the plateresque style. You may
enter the courtyard, and ascend the marble staircase, which is one of
the most beautiful in the city. The _Salón_ contains some pictures that
were formerly in the Cathedral. Among them are three paintings by Alejo
Fernandez, an artist of the early Sevillian school, representing the
Conception, Birth, and Purification of the Virgin. There are also
pictures by J. Herrera and Juan Zamora.
It is a few steps across the _plaza_ to the Casa Lonja. This Renaissance
edifice was erected in 1583. The Academy of Painters formerly held their
councils in the Lonja. It is now a library, and a repository of archives
relating to the Indies. The _patio_ is fine, paved with marble, and
surrounded by a double arcade. On the fountain is a statue of Columbus.
A marble staircase, constructed in the time of Charles III., conducts
the visitor to Achivo General de Indias.
From the Casa Lonja pass down the Calle Santa Tomás to the Hospital de
la Caridad. This institution has a church, built by Miguel de Mañara. In
the _Annales de Sevilla_, the author, Ortiz de Zuñiga, says that the
record of the Brotherhood of the Holy Charity dates back to 1578, and
that the institution had probably existed then for a century. The object
of La Santa Caridad was to provide Christian burial for evildoers and
offenders against the law of Spain. La Caridad is, however, associated
with Don Miguel de Mañara Vicentelo de Leca, Knight of Calatrava, a Don
Juan of Seville, who abandoned his profligate life, and became a devout
pietist. In his youth, Mañara was a renowned duellist, a boon companion,
and a gambler. He was generous to his friends in a spendthrift fashion,
and he was cultured enough to expend large sums of his wealth upon the
fine arts. Murillo was under his patronage and enjoyed his friendship.
Don Miguel de Mañara was born in the year 1626, and is supposed to have
married the _señorita_ of the House of Mendoza. There are several
stories of the young rake's career in Seville, and of his resolve to
dedicate his riches to the service of the Church and to the poor of the
city of his birth. One day a gift of some choice hams was sent to
Mañara. In compliance with the regulations, the hams were detained by
the customs' officers until the dues upon them were paid. The Don was
extremely angered at the detention of the hams. He went out, in a
furious passion, to upbraid the officials for the delay. As he paced
fuming through the streets, 'the Lord poured a great weight upon his
mind,' and Mañara was suddenly convicted of the sinfulness and folly of
his life. Such is one account of Don Miguel's 'conversion.' Another
annalist informs us that Mañara, while stumbling homewards after a night
of carousal, saw a funeral procession approaching him. The priests and
the usual torch-bearers accompanied the bier. Stepping up to the
bearers, the young man said: 'Whose body is that which you are
carrying?' The reply was startling: 'The body of Don Miguel de Mañara.'
The prodigal reeled away, filled with horror; for he had looked upon the
corpse, and seen his own features. Upon the next morning Mañara was
found insensible in a church. It was the turning-point in his life. He
became an ascetic and devotee. Because he liked chocolate, he refrained
even from tasting that innocent beverage. He was seen no more among the
dissolute of Seville, and his money went to the building and decoration
of the Hospital and Church of the Holy Charity. In his treatise
_Discurso de la Verdad_ (Discourse upon Truth) Don Miguel Mañara tells
us of the hollowness of existence apart from holiness. He reflects often
upon the solemnity of death, and the necessity for practising virtue and
charity. His repute as an almsgiver of discretion was so great that one
Don Gomez de Castro gave him an estate worth 500,000 ducats for
charitable disbursement.
In the Sala del Cabildo of La Caridad, you may see a portrait of the
pious founder, painted by Juan de la Valdés. Mañara has a sad, thin
face. He is seated at a table covered with black velvet and gold, and he
appears to be reading aloud. A charity lad is seated on a stool, with a
book on his knees. Mañara's Toledan sword is exhibited in a case. He
died in 1679, and bequeathed his fortune to the hospital, except some
legacies to servants. To his confessor the Don presented his ivory
Christ. His sister received a picture, which was upon his bedstead,
representing the Saviour on the Cross. The work was said to be from the
brush of Murillo.
The founder was interred in the vault of the hospital church. There is a
legend that, two months after burial, the corpse was found without any
trace of decay. It is also related that by the touch of some documents
which had belonged to Mañara, a knight of the Order of Santiago was
cured of a headache.
In Mr. C. A. Stoddard's account of La Caridad, in _Spanish Cities_, the
name of the founder is given wrongly as Mañana. Mr. Stoddard writes that
Don Miguel desired to be buried at the church door, with the epitaph
upon his tomb: 'Here lies the worst man in the world.' Mañara was,
however, buried in a vault of the church, and in the inscription upon
the stone he was lauded as 'the best of men.'
For viewing Murillo's pictures in the Hospital Church of La Caridad, it
is best to seek admission in the afternoon. The Charity Hospital is
built in the Greco-Romano style from designs by Bernard Simon de Pineda,
or Pereda. Visitors should examine the five large _azulejos_ of the
exterior, said to have been designed by Murillo, the friend of the
founder. The centre is Charity, a woman with a child in each arm and a
boy at her side. Other designs represent Santiago slaying Moors, and San
Jorge spearing the dragon.
Sir Stirling-Maxwell speaks of the Church of La Caridad as 'one of the
most elegant in Seville.' The aisle widens beneath a lofty and ornate
dome. One of the chief objects of interest is the famous retablo; but
the church is mostly visited by admirers of Murillo. The eleven works of
the master, which once adorned the building, were painted in four years.
Soult carried away five of the paintings. Four of them were sold by the
French marshal, and one was presented to the Louvre. Mr. Stoddard
praises Moses and the Rock as one of the finest pictures of Murillo.
There are three groups in the scene. Water gushes from a dark rock in
the centre of the picture, and Moses, with hands folded, offers thanks
for the miracle. Behind is Aaron, in an attitude of worship. The
Israelites press forward to quench their thirst. _Le Sed_ (The Thirst)
has been reproduced by engraving, and is well known.
The other pictures by Murillo are the Infant Saviour, the Annunciation,
and the San Juan de Dios. In the last painting the saint, assisted by an
angel, is bearing a sick man to the hospital. Christ feeding the Five
Thousand (_Pan y Peces_) and the Young John the Baptist are large
pictures, showing Murillo's broad method.
The curious paintings by Juan Valdés Leal are described in the chapter
on 'The Artists of Seville.' They are at the west end of the church.
The court through which one enters the hospital is very handsome, and a
good example of the Sevillian _patio_. A Sister of Charity conducts the
visitor to the wards and to the council room of the institution. The
sick and the convalescent recline upon their beds, and there is a hush
in the long chambers. The patients are all men. They appear to be well
cared for, and the wards are clean and sunny.
In the Plazo de Alfaro, number seven, is the house where tradition
states that Murillo lived. From the Plaza de Giralda follow the Calle de
Barceguineria, and take the second street on the right hand side,
passing the Church of Santa Teresa. Turn to the right at the end of the
Calle de Santa Teresa. Murillo's house is in a corner of the Plaza de
Alfaro. It is now occupied by the Señores López Cepero, two cultured and
courteous brothers, the nephews of a greatly respected dean of the
Cathedral, who in his day collected a number of fine pictures, and did
much to encourage artists in the city.
Don Juan Maria López Cepero speaks English well. I paid three visits to
the historic _casa_ that he inhabits, and he told me that his house was
open to all lovers of art who desire to see his collection of pictures.
In the chapter on Sevillian artists will be found descriptions of some
of the oil paintings in the Casa Murillo.
Don J. López Cepero showed me his beautiful garden, with its Moorish
bath, frescoed walls, rose trees and carnations. The _patio_ is planted
with palms, and on the walls are pictures. The mural paintings in the
garden have been attributed to Luis de Vargas; but they are
unfortunately almost obliterated. At the end of a long salon, covered
with pictures, is the room wherein Murillo is said to have died on April
3, 1682.
I am indebted to Don López Cepero for the opportunity of seeing his
valuable pictures, for the information which he gave me concerning books
upon Seville by Spanish authors, and for the permission granted to my
collaborator to reproduce some of the paintings in photography. His
services to me were most valuable, and I now repeat my thanks for his
assistance.
The University, founded by Alfonso the Learned, is in the Calle de la
Universidad. In the rooms are portraits of St. Francis of Borja and of
Ignatius Loyola by Alonso Cano, and a picture of a saint by Zurbaran.
The University Church has a notable retablo by Roelas; an Annunciation
by Pacheco, and statues of St. Francis of Borja and of Loyola by
Montañez. There is a monument to Enriquez de Ribera, and one to his wife
Catalina in the nave. The Don was the first owner of the Casa Pilatos,
and a benefactor of the city. It was he who founded the excellent
Hospital Civil, in 1500, in the Calle de Santiago. The building was
reconstructed near the Puerta de la Macarena in 1559.
The Hospital Civil is best reached by the tramway from the Plaza de la
Constitución. It is surrounded by gardens, and has a charming _patio_.
In the church of the hospital there are pictures of saints by Zurbaran,
and the Apotheosis of St. Ermenigild and Descent of the Holy Ghost by
Roelas.
The most handsome of the Renaissance buildings in Seville is that of the
Casa de Ayuntamiento, or City Hall, in the Plaza de la Constitución. It
was designed by Riaño in 1526. The ornate carved doors, and the
plateresque ornamentations of the masonry are highly decorative, and the
marble floors and vaulted ceiling within should be seen. In the
Municipal Library of the Ayuntamiento is the banner of the city, of the
fifteenth century, bearing a figure of San Fernando.
We have not yet visited the Biblioteca Columbina, given to the city by
Fernando, son of Christopher Columbus. It is in the Cathedral precincts,
and can be entered from the Patio de los Naranjos (the Court of the
Oranges). The beautiful illuminated Bible of Alfonso the Learned, by
Pedro de Pampeluna, used to be shown here, but it has, I believe, been
removed by the Chapter. The Columbus manuscripts are here, in glass
cases. There is a copy of the _Tractatus de Imagine Mundi_, with notes
by Columbus, and the famous treatise attempting to prove Scriptural
prophecies concerning the discovery of the New World. A sword here
exhibited is said to be that of Perez de Vargas, used by him in the
capture of Seville. I have referred to the manuscripts of Christopher
Columbus in the historical portion of this book.
Close to the Fabrica de Tabacos is the Palace of San Telmo, the former
residence of the Dukes de Montpensier. The building dates from 1734, and
it was first used as a naval school. It passed into the hands of the
Infanta Maria Luisa, widow of the Duke of Montpensier. The _palacio_ has
been shorn of its splendour by the removal of most of its works of art.
It is of little interest; but the garden is a beautiful shady retreat,
with semi-tropical plants and trees.
There are but few statues in the streets of the city. Velazquez has been
honoured by a bronze figure, which stands in the Plaza del Duque de la
Victoria. It was cast by Susillo in 1892. The monument to Murillo, in
the Plaza del Museo, is also of bronze. It is the work of Sabino
Medinia, and the cast was made in Paris in 1864.
Number eleven in the Plaza del Duque de la Victoria is now a large
drapery store. It was formerly the splendid palace of the Marquis de
Palomares. It is a fine example of a Seville residence.
As we wander from church to palace and alcázar of this ancient and
beautiful capital, we are often reminded of the words of Cervantes in
_The Two Maiden Ladies_: 'Seville is a city of Spain, of which you
cannot fail to have heard frequent mention, considered, as it is, to be
one of the wonders of the world.'
[Illustration: Amphora]