admirable manner to the construction of objects of all kinds in iron
work, especially the railings enclosing the side chapels, or sepulchres,
and the double screens required for the _Capilla Mayor_ and _Coro_,
owing to the ancient Spanish custom of constructing the choir in the
centre of the principal nave of the cathedral. Hence we meet with names
of the iron-masters, _rejeros_, mentioned in early documents as attached
to the different cathedrals in the same manner as painters and
architects. We find Bartolomé Morey working at Palma de Mallorca in 1389
to 1397. He was succeeded by his son Juan, from 1401 to 1407. See
Piferrer, "Recuerdos y Bellezas de España." Maestro Basil worked at
Burgos, and Maestro Pablo at Toledo and its dioceses towards the end of
the same century. Maestro Juan Francés worked at Toledo in 1482. By this
same artist is the beautiful _reja_ of the Capilla Mayor of the
_Colegiata_ of Alcala de Henares; it is signed, "Maestre Juan Francés,
maestro mayor de las obras de fierro en España." From this time the
names of iron-masters are well known and numerous; we may safely affirm
that those who lived in the 16th century have left us the most important
works.
One of the finest specimens of this artistic industry is the splendid
_reja_ which divides the nave at the royal chapel of Granada. Its
immense size has enabled the artist to carry out a splendid
ornamentation in the "plateresque style," combined with reliefs on a
large scale of figures of apostles and saints, terminated at the upper
part with a wide band of ornamentation of leaves and flowers, crowned
with a Rood, with the Virgin and St. John on either side. The splendid
balustrades and supports are forged with the hammer; the figures and
circular piers are formed of large plates, _repoussé_ and carved in the
most admirable manner, and give a good idea of the difficulties of this
work, which the artists of this time had overcome, long before the
various technical facilities of the present day existed. The
ornamentation of this _reja_ was originally gilt, and the figures are
painted in oils. It was made about the year 1520 to 1530; in the lock,
formed as a Gothic pinnacle, is a small inscription, "Maestro Bartolome
me fec." This same artist worked at Jaen and Seville. Cean Bermudez
calls him "sculptor and iron-master."
Two most important specimens of iron-work exist also at the cathedral of
Toledo, enclosing the _Capilla Mayor_ and _Coro_. The _reja_ of the
Capilla Mayor is 42 feet wide by 19 inches high; it rests on a pediment
of marble ornamented with masks and bronze work, upon which rises the
_reja_, which is divided horizontally by means of a frieze of
ornamentation, and this again vertically in five compartments. In each
vertical division there is a pilaster of four sides formed of _repoussé_
plates, carved with a fine ornamentation in the renaissance style, this
is again terminated with life-size figures in high relief of bronze. The
second compartment rises upon the band which divides it in an horizontal
sense; it follows the same decoration in its pilasters, and is
terminated by a series of coats of arms, torches, angels, and a variety
of foliage which finishes the upper part. Upon the centre, hanging from
a thick chain supported from the roof, is suspended a life-size Rood, of
admirable effect, which completes the decoration. In several spots there
are labels with mottos in Latin; in one of them appears the following
inscription, and the date of 1548 when this splendid work was finished:
"Anno MDXLVIII. Paul III. P. M. Carol. V. Imper. Rege. Joannes Martinez
Siliccus. Archipiscopus. Tolet. Hispaniae. Primat." The railings of this
_reja_ are silvered, and the reliefs and salient points gilt. The artist
who made it was Francisco Villalpando, a native of Valladolid; this
model was chosen among those of several artists, who presented their
plans in competition before the ecclesiastical authorities; it is
calculated that ten years elapsed before it was finally finished in
1548. Villalpando was greatly distinguished likewise as a sculptor and
architect. In 1563 a book was printed after his death of a translation
he made of the work on architecture by Sebastian Serlio. Other
remarkable bronze works of art, which will be described further on, were
also by him.
The _reja_ of the coro, which is placed opposite that of the Capilla
Mayor, is almost exactly similar in size. It is less rich in
ornamentation, but so pure and sober in its general lines, and its
ornamentation is so perfect, that it is perhaps superior to the other.
This _reja_ consists of a single architectonical body, divided in six
vertical compartments, covered with bas reliefs of such delicate work
that they appear rather to be by the hand of a silversmith than by an
iron-master. An innumerable number of figures are combined with the
ornamentation in the base, terminations of the columns and coronation;
in the same manner it is full of banderoles with Latin mottos, and gilt
and silvered; it was finished in 1548, as we see by the inscription.
This _reja_ was made by Domingo de Cespedes, a native of Toledo, with
the help of his son-in-law, Fernando Bravo; the design was also chosen
by competition, and it was finished in seven years. Both these admirable
models of iron-work belong to the best productions of the renaissance
school, and contain models which might be adapted with great advantage
to ironwork of every description in the present day.
It would be an interminable task to describe the multitude of railings
similar in richness and good taste to these which happily survive in
Spanish cathedrals and churches. It is sufficient to call attention to
the following. The _reja_ of the Capilla del Condestable in the
cathedral of Burgos, by Christoval de Andino in 1523, has been
considered one of the finest specimens of its kind, owing to the
perfection with which every detail is carried out. A contemporary
writer in describing it says: "Good workmen, and those who wish that
their work may have authority and be blameless, must endeavour to be
guided by ancient models, as your fellow-citizen, Cristoval de Andino;
his works are thereby more elegant and excellent than any others which I
have seen up to the present time; if not, judge of his work by looking
at the _reja_ which he is making for your lord the Condestable, which is
undoubtedly superior to all those which have hitherto been made in
Spain." Sagredo--"Medidas del Romano," quoted by Cean Bermudez. In the
centre of the upper part, towards the middle, appears the inscription:
"Ab. Andino, A.D. MDXXIII." The _reja_ of the _coro_ of the cathedral of
Seville, made by the iron-master, Sancho Muñoz in 1519, a native of
Cuenca, is also very remarkable; besides the finer ornamentation which
covers it, it has figures of kings and prophets representing the
genealogy of Our Lord. The _reja_ belonging to the _capilla mayor_ of
the same cathedral was the work of Friar Francisco de Salamanca,
1518-1533; it is covered with an open-work ornamentation, figures of
angels and bas-reliefs, and is terminated in the upper part with a
representation of the Entombment of Our Lord. The large _reja_ of the
cathedral of Cuenca, made by Arenas in 1517, those at Palencia, by
Andino, 1520, and Rodriguez, 1555; the one at the church of Sn. Juan de
la Penitencia, Toledo; the beautiful railing at the chapel of
Palenzuela, in the cathedral of Salamanca, 1524, and a number of objects
of smaller size, such as iron pulpits in the cathedrals of Barcelona,
and in some chapels at Burgos, Avila, Palencia, and Toledo, several of
which are anterior to the 16th century, are all worthy of the student's
especial notice. Among these objects of smaller dimensions special
reference must be made to the fine and picturesque _reja_ surrounding
the sepulchre of Archbishop Diego de Anaya, in the chapel of Sn.
Bartolomé, in the cloister of the cathedral of Salamanca. The beauty of
its details and the open-worked inscription which surrounds it, place
it at once among the finest specimens of ironwork of the 15th century.
The two window _rejas_ at the house called "de las Conchas" in the same
town--an admirable specimen of Burgundian architecture, although
restored--may be quoted as excellent models of ironwork applied to civil
buildings.
Iron pulpits have been made in Spain with great success. Two interesting
examples of the end of the 15th century still exist at the cathedral of
Avila. They are hexagonal in shape, and supported by lions' claws; they
were originally gilt. One of these pulpits is ornamented in the
Flamboyant style, the other in good Renaissance; consult Sir Digby
Wyatt's "Architect's Note Book in Spain." Friar Francisco de Salamanca
made two interesting iron pulpits for the cathedral of Seville; they are
covered with bas-reliefs representing the Evangelists and subjects taken
from the Acts of the Apostles and the Apocalypse. The pulpit at the
parish church of S^{n.} Gil de Burgos must also be mentioned. Mr. Street,
notwithstanding his want of sympathy with every object not strictly of
the Middle Ages, says: "It is of very late date, end of the 15th
century, but I think it quite worthy of illustration. The support is of
iron, resting on stone, and the staircase modern. The framework at the
angles, top and bottom, is of wood, upon which the ironwork is laid. The
traceries are cut out of two plates of iron, laid one over the other,
and the ironwork is in part gilded, but I do not think that this is
original. The canopy is of the same age and character, and the whole
effect is very rich at the same time that it is very novel. I saw other
pulpits, but none so old as this."
Among the applications of iron to decorations of civil architecture must
be specially mentioned the nails and knockers on the doors of houses,
which are so characteristic of Toledo and other old Spanish towns. This
style was imitated from the Moors. Some doors still exist at the
Alhambra, Granada, covered with enormous heads of nails of a
half-spherical form with embossed pattern. These same nails are
constantly to be found on old Spanish houses, to which are added in the
angles pieces of iron of a most artistic order. A large number of these
nails from Toledo, are in the Kensington Museum. Examples of two are
given.
[Illustration: SPANISH NAIL HEADS. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.]
After the 16th century this industry loses its artistic interest and
importance. Ironwork becomes simply practical and useful, and ceases to
reproduce the grand carved and chiselled works of former times. The
artistic objects are reduced to specimens on a small scale: door-locks,
of which an excellent example exists at the church of Calatravas,
Madrid; a weighing machine, made by the locksmith Salinas for the Mint
in the 17th century, which was exhibited at the Special Loan Collection
of Scientific Apparatus at Kensington in 1876, the fine ornamentation of
the clock of the cathedral of Seville, made in the last century by Friar
Josef Cordero, and the very remarkable iron locks made by Millan at the
beginning of the present century, for the rooms at the palace of the
Escurial, called "Piezas de Maderas finas." The art of inlaying iron
with gold and silver, constitutes in Spain a special industry; the
principal artists who carry it out at the present time with great skill
are Messrs. Zuluaga at Madrid, and Alvarez at Toledo. The splendid
sepulchre of General Prim at the church of Atocha, Madrid, made entirely
of damasquiné ironwork, is worthy of the greatest commendation; the fine
vases and shields of _repoussé_ ironwork inlaid with gold, made by
Alvarez of Toledo, are artistic and excellent revivals of the Milanese
work of the 16th century.
IRON MASTERS.
Year in which Locality of
they worked. Name. their Residence.
1520. Avila, Fr. Juan de Guadalupe.
1527. Andino, Pedro Seville.
1540. Andino, Christoval Toledo.
1557. Arenas, Hernando Cuenca.
1523. Bartolmé, El Maestro Jaen and Seville.
1555. Barco, Alonso Palencia.
1559. Brabo, Hernando Toledo.
1579. Cela, Juan Tomas Zaragoza.
1541. Cespédes, Domingo de Burgos.
1561. Corral, Ruy Diaz del Toledo.
1604. Celma, Juan Bautista Aragon y Galicia.
1692. Conde, Sebastian Seville.
1797. Cordero, Fr. Josef Seville.
1537. Delgado, Juan Seville.
1540. Domingo, Maestro Toledo.
1518. Elias, Joan de Palencia.
1519. Esteban, Maestro Seville.
1494. Frances, Juan Toledo.
1555. Herreros, Llorente Palencia.
1522. Idrobo, Diego Seville.
1524. Juan, Fray Seville.
1518. Lopez, Juan do Urisarri Palencia.
1531. Lemosin Cuenca.
1518. Muñoz, Sancho Cuenca.
1389. Morey, Bartolomo Palma de Mallorca.
1555. Moreno, Benegno Palencia.
1565. Pedro, Maestre Palencia.
1533. Palencia, Antonis de Seville.
1607. Peñafiel, Luis de Toledo.
1510. Prieto, Fernando Seville.
1512. Prelojero, Juan Palencia.
1555. Rodriguez, Gaspar Palencia.
1607. Rodriguez, Bartolomé Toledo.
1607. Silva, Francisco de Toledo.
1533. Salamanca, Francisco de Seville.
1518. Urisarri, Lopez Palencia.
1561. Villalpando Toledo.
1518. Yepes, Juan de Seville.
BRONZES.
Objects of bronze of native origin are less frequently met with in Spain
than those of silver and iron. Many foreign artists worked at this
industry, the history of which only begins in the 16th century. The
specimens of bronze work made by the Moors will be described in their
proper place. It is true that examples of bronze made by the Iberians
and Romans are frequently met with in excavations; they consist chiefly
of hatchets and other arms, bracelets, fibulas, etc., but they are
similar in every respect to objects of the same kind found in other
European countries. During the Middle Ages, objects of enamelled gilt
bronze were used on a very large scale in churches; specimens of a very
high order may be seen in Spain, such as the splendid altar at San
Miguel de Excelsis in Navarre; that at Santo Domingo de Silos, and the
statuette of the Virgin de la Vega at San Esteban, Salamanca. These
objects were, however, probably made at Limoges, or in some other
locality out of Spain. We hardly can trace any bronze of this period but
cathedral bells. One was made at Puig-Valencia as early as A.D. 622,
melted in 1550, the only trace of the early work being the inscription
and date, which are given by contemporary authors.
Another bell, about half a foot high, of A.D. 875, exists at the Local
Museum of Cordova, with the inscription: "_Offert hoc munus Samson
abbatis in domum Sancti Sebastiani martyris Christi, Era_ DCCCCXIII." We
find the name of "_Joannes Calcena me fecit Anno Domini 1306_," on a
bell at the cathedral of Valencia, and on one of Lerida was to be read:
"_Fecit factum per magistrum Joannem Adam Anno Dei 1418 in mense
Aprili_;" the author appears to have been, by reference to the documents
of the church, "_de burgo Sanctæ Mariæ Turlensis diocesis regni
Franciæ_," for details see Villanueva, vol. ii., p. 147-152, xvi. 88.
Before entering into the renaissance period, I must mention some
remarkable specimens which have reached us, the work of the Spanish
Arabs. Probably the most ancient and interesting is a sculpture
representing a stag, now at the Provincial Museum of Cordova, which
evidently belonged to a fountain. It was found in the ruins of the
palace of Medina Az Zahra, the construction of which corresponds to the
time of Abd er Rahman III., (961); it is undoubtedly work of this
period, and probably belonged to this palace, so celebrated by Oriental
writers. The fragments of a bronze fountain and several lamps, at the
Museum of Granada, are of a later date; they were found in the
excavations of the early city of Illiberis, which was abandoned in the
11th century, when its inhabitants chose the present site of Granada.
The fragments, which are supposed to have belonged originally to a
fountain, consist of a small temple 22 inches high, of an hexagonal
base, with twelve small columns supporting bands of open work, frescoes,
cupola, and turrets: in the angles are birds. There are six lamps, all
of which are mutilated and incomplete; their form and object is
indicated by the remains of chains which suspended them. Some of them
are half melted, giving testimony to the conflagration which the mosque
suffered in the time of the Arabs. Other bronze fragments have been
found in the same locality. All these objects are artistic in their
general lines, but the workmanship is indifferent, and the ornamentation
heavy and coarse.
A bronze lion and a mortar, found some years since in the province of
Palencia, are more artistic in form and general details. The mortar was
found near Monzon, and the lion not far from it. Remains still exist of
a castle, which was founded by the Arabs, in the locality, and which at
the beginning of the 11th century was in the hands of the Christians; it
is highly probable that these objects belonged to its Moorish
inhabitants. If we take into account how frequently we find Oriental
remains in this locality, both these objects may be safely classified as
belonging to the 10th century, although there are details in their
ornamentation which appear rather to be of a later period. The lion is
12-1/2 inches high by 14-1/2 inches long; an aperture in the lower part
which communicates with the mouth of the animal, appears to suggest that
it belonged to a fountain, the water of which issued, or not, owing to
the movement of the tail, which rotates and acts as a key. The shape of
this lion recalls those at the Alhambra; its forms are stiff and
angular, in the conventional Oriental manner of reproducing animated
beings. The surface is covered with ornamentation, the mane is arranged
in mannered and symmetrical curls, like those so common in Assyrian
sculptures. On the back and two sides is the following inscription in
Cufic characters:
[Illustration: Arabic "Perfect blessing. Complete happiness."]
This object is similar in detail and the inscription to a bronze griffin
at the cemetery of Pisa; it belonged to the collection of the painter
Fortuny, and at the sale in 1875 it was bought by Mr. E. Piot.
The mortar is circular in form, and is surrounded by twelve prismatic
sections. Two lions' heads serve to support the hanging rings or
handles. The whole of the outside is most delicately carved with
arabesques, among which are to be met frequently figures of birds and
quadrupeds. See "El arte en Esp.," vol. iii., Madrid, 1864. The
following inscription in elegant Cufic characters runs round the upper
part: it is repeated twice. "Complete blessing, and ever-increasing
happiness and prosperity of every kind, and an elevated and happy
social position for its owner." From the richness of the ornamentation
of this object, it is probable that it was used to pound aromatic drugs.
A bronze lamp of a similar ornamentation was found some years ago at
Cordova--it is not unlike in form and shape Roman lamps of the same kind
made of earthenware. It is engraved all over, and the subject of a dog
pursuing a hare appears often repeated. None of these objects of bronze
work are however equal in importance to a lamp made during the reign of
Mohammed III. of Granada, now at the Archæological Museum, Madrid [See
Plate.] It is composed in its base of a body destined to hold the light,
upon which is supported a large four-sided piece in the form of a
pyramid, which is completed with an octagonal body which surmounts it.
Four graduated balls suspend it. The height of this lamp is 2-1/2 yards,
and taking into account its general structure, it appears as if the
chains or intermediate pieces are wanting, which probably existed on the
inverted bell of the base. The manufacture and elegance of decoration of
this object is of a very high order, and may be compared with bronze
work of Damascus. The greater part of the pieces are covered with
pierced open work, and the motto of the Kings of Granada, "There is no
conqueror but God." In the lower part of the large pyramid, truncated in
four sides, is a long inscription in Arabian characters, stating the
lamp to have been made by order of Mohammed III. year of the Hegira, 705
(A.D. 1305).
The remaining objects of bronze work of Spanish-Moorish production are
less important. They are interesting notwithstanding. The spherical
perfume-burners which were used to roll on the pavement are highly
artistic and might be adopted in the present day. One or two bronze
buckets of a well exist at the Madrid Archæological Museum, with some
small objects of little importance found at Cordova. This artistic
industry has continued until the present day in Spain in the form of
objects of domestic use, such as brasiers, mortars and lamps, several of
which preserve their ancient traditional form.
[Illustration: MOORISH LAMP. ARCHÆOLOGICAL MUSEUM, MADRID.]
In metal work as in architecture, a large number of instances exist in
Spain in which the Christian and Moorish styles are blended--as an
example of this style may be mentioned the fine bronze gates of the
cathedral of Toledo. These doors, which are 18 ft. high by 12 ft. wide,
are covered on both sides with bronze plates; the outer side is
decorated with a geometrical Moorish design and small Arabic
inscriptions, alternating with castles and a number of Arabic mottoes.
In one of the side bands and in the lower part may be read in Spanish
the following inscription:
"Estas puertas fueron acabadas en el mes de Marzo era de mil c ccc.
setanta e cinco años."
"These doors were finished in the month of March, in the era of 1375
years" (A.D. 1337).
The fine doors of the cathedral of Cordova, del Perdon, are similar in
style. They are made of wood and covered with bronze plating, and Gothic
and Arabic inscriptions,--the word "Deus," and
[Illustration: Arabic]
"The empire belongs to God, all is His." Round these doors, alternating
with the arms of Castille and Leon, is the following inscription. "Dia
dos del mes de Marzo de la era del Cesar de 1415 años, (A.D. 1377.)
Reinante el muy alto et poderoso D. Enrique, rey de Castilla." These
doors were restored in 1539.
The Puerta del Perdon of the cathedral of Seville is similar in style,
and a good example of moresque bronze work.
Returning to the bronze work of the Christian artists of the renaissance
period, the general rule which may be established with reference to
statues is that they have been made by foreign artists. This is the case
with the splendid groups of figures at the high altar and presbytery of
the Escorial by Pompeyo Leoni, the equestrian statue of Philip IV. by
Pedro Tacca, and others of a similar kind. One of the very few
exceptions to this rule occurs in Bartolomé Morel, a Spaniard, the
author of the statue called the "Giralda" on the tower of the cathedral
of Seville, the desk of the choir, and _Tenebrarium_ at the same church.
These objects were all by him, and are among the finest specimens of
bronze work in Spain. The _Tenebrarium_ is described by Cean Bermudez in
his "Descripcion artistica de la catedral de Sevilla," p. 129, in the
following manner: "This object is better executed and more graceful in
design than any of its kind in Spain. It consists of a triangular
candelabrum, which is used during matins in the three last days of Holy
Week with fifteen tapers, which are extinguished on reading each psalm.
"It was designed and executed by Bartolomé Morel in 1562. Juan Giralte,
a native of the Low Countries, and Juan Bita Vazquez helped him to make
the statues which are at the head of this candelabrum, and Pedro
Delgado, a sculptor of great renown, worked at the foot.
"It is 8 yards and a half high, and the triangular upper part is 3 yards
wide: it is surmounted by fifteen statues which represent Our Saviour,
the Apostles and two other disciples or evangelists. In the vacant space
of the triangle there is a circle ornamented with foliage, in the centre
of which is a figure in high relief of the Blessed Virgin, underneath is
a medallion bust of a king. This centre is of bronzed wood, and is
supported by four small bronze columns, below which are four caryatides,
resting on a nobly designed border ornamented with lions and other
animals in the renaissance style." See woodcut on next page.
[Illustration: THE TENEBRARIUM IN THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE.]