PAINTING IN SPAIN.
Spanish painting had its birth during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella,
and may be said to have been derived from Italy, through the influence of
the Italian painters who went to Spain, and the Spanish artists who made
their studies in Italy. But in spite of this strong Italian influence
Spanish painting has its own characteristics which separate it from all
other schools, and give it a high position on its own merits. ANTONIO DEL
RINCON (1446-1500) was the first Spanish painter of whom we know. If any
works of his remain they are portraits of his august sovereigns now in the
Cathedral of Granada; but it is probable that these pictures are copies of
the originals by Rincon.
Dating the beginning of the Spanish school from the last half of the
fifteenth century, it is the third school in Europe as to age, it being
about two centuries later than the Italian, and one century later than the
Flemish school. Its importance is only exceeded by that of Italy. The
distinguishing feature of Spanish art is its gravity, or we may almost say
its strictly religious character, for, excepting portraits, there were few
pictures of consequence that had not a religious meaning. Some artists
were also priests, and, as the officers of the Inquisition appointed
inspectors whose duty it was to report for punishment any artist who did
not follow the rules of the Inquisition, it is easy to understand that the
painters were careful to keep within the rules fixed for them. Whatever
flights of imagination one might have in secret, he would scarcely run the
risk of being excommunicated from the church, sent into exile for a year,
and fined one thousand five hundred ducats for the pleasure of putting his
fancies on canvas.
Pacheco, who was an inspector at Seville, published minute rules for the
representation of sacred subjects and persons, and other writers did the
same. There was a long and grave discussion over the propriety of painting
the devil with horns and a tail. It was decided that he should have horns
because, according to the legend of St. Theresa, he had horns when he
appeared to that saint; and he was allowed to have a tail because it was
thought to be a suitable appendage to a fallen angel who had lost his
wings. One very strict rule was that the feet of the Virgin Mary should be
covered, and nude figures or portions of the figure were strictly
forbidden.
Another important influence upon the Spanish artists was their belief that
the Virgin Mary and other holy spirits appeared to inspire them and aid
them in painting their pictures. In fact, the church was the chief patron
of art, and the artist was one of her most valuable teachers. A learned
Spanish writer said: "For the ignorant, what master is like painting? They
may read their duty in a picture though they may not search for it in
books."
The painters of Spain were divided between the schools of Castile,
Seville, and Valencia. That of Castile was founded at Toledo early in the
fifteenth century, and was maintained about two hundred years. Claudio
Coello was of this school; he died in 1693, and has well been called "the
last of the old masters of Spain."
ALONZO BERREGUETTE (1480-1561), born at Parades de Nava, in Castile, was
the most eminent Spanish artist of his time. He is called the Michael
Angelo of Spain, because he was painter, sculptor, and architect. He was
painter to Philip I. Later he went to Italy, and journeyed from Florence
to Rome with Michael Angelo in 1505. He studied in Italy many years. He
was appointed painter and sculptor to the Emperor Charles V. Berreguette
received four thousand four hundred ducats for the altar in the Church of
St. Benito el Real in Valladolid, where he settled. When he was almost
eighty years old he went to Toledo to erect a monument in the Hospital of
St. John Baptist. He was lodged in the hospital, and died there. He left a
large fortune, and was buried with splendid ceremonies at the expense of
the emperor.
LUIS DE MORALES (1510-1586) was called "the divine." He belonged to the
school of Castile, and very little is known of his early life. When he was
fifty-five years old Philip II. invited him to court. When Morales
appeared he was so splendidly dressed that the king was angry, and gave
orders that he should be paid a certain sum and dismissed. But the poor
painter explained that he had spent all that he had in order to come
before the king in a dress befitting Philip's dignity. Then Philip
pardoned him, and allowed him to paint one picture; but as this was not
hung in the Escorial, Morales was overcome by mortification, and almost
forsook his painting, and fell into great poverty. In 1581 the king saw
Morales at Badajoz, in a very different dress from that he had worn at
court. The king said: "Morales, you are very old." "Yes, sire, and very
poor," replied the painter. The king then commanded that he should have
two hundred ducats a year from the crown rents with which to buy his
dinners. Morales hearing this, exclaimed, "And for supper, sire?" This
pleased Philip, and he added one hundred ducats to the pension. The street
in Badajoz on which Morales lived bears his name.
Nearly all his pictures were of religious subjects, and on this account he
was called "the divine." He avoided ghastly, painful pictures, and was one
of the most spiritual of the artists of Spain. Very few of his pictures
are seen out of Spain, and they are rare even there. His masterpiece is
"Christ Crowned with Thorns," in the Queen of Spain's Gallery at Madrid.
In the Louvre is his "Christ Bearing the Cross." At the sale of the Soult
collection his "Way to Calvary" sold for nine hundred and eighty pounds
sterling.
ALONSO SANCHEZ COELLO (about 1515-1590) was the first great portrait
painter of Spain. He was painter-in-ordinary to Philip II., and that
monarch was so fond of him that in his letters he called him "my beloved
son." At Madrid the king had a key to a private entrance to the apartments
of Coello, so that he could surprise the painter in his studio, and at
times even entered the family rooms of the artist. Coello never abused the
confidence of Philip, and was a favorite of the court as well as of the
monarch. Among his friends were the Popes Gregory XIII. and Sixtus V., the
Cardinal Alexander Farnese, and the Dukes of Florence and Savoy. Many
noble and even royal persons were accustomed to visit him and accept his
hospitality. He was obliged to live in style becoming his position, and
yet when he died he left a fortune of fifty-five thousand ducats. He had
lived in Lisbon, and Philip sometimes called him his "Portuguese Titian."
Very few of his portraits remain; they are graceful in pose and fine in
color. He knew how to represent the repose and refinement of "gentle blood
and delicate nurture." Many of his works were burned in the Prado. His
"Marriage of St. Catherine" is in the Gallery of Madrid. A "St. Sebastian"
painted for the Church of St. Jerome, at Madrid, is considered his
masterpiece. Lope de Vega wrote Coello's epitaph, and called his pictures
"Eternal scenes of history divine,
Wherein for aye his memory shall shine."
JUAN FERNANDEZ NAVARRETE (1526-1579), called El Mudo, because deaf and
dumb, is a very interesting painter. He was not born a mute, but became
deaf at three years of age, and could not learn to speak. He studied some
years in Italy, and was in the school of Titian. In 1568 he was appointed
painter to Philip II. His principal works were eight pictures for the
Escorial, three of which were burned. His picture of the "Nativity" is
celebrated for its lights, of which there are three; one is from the
Divine Babe, a second from the glory above, and a third from a torch in
the hand of St. Joseph. The group of shepherds is the best part of the
picture, and when Tibaldi saw the picture he exclaimed, "O! gli belli
pastori!" and it has since been known as the "Beautiful Shepherds."
His picture of "Abraham and the Three Angels" was placed near the door
where the monks of the Escorial received strangers. The pictures of
Navarrete are rare. After his death Lope de Vega wrote a lament for him,
in which he said,
"No countenance he painted that was dumb."
When the "Last Supper" painted by Titian reached the Escorial, it was
found to be too large for the space it was to occupy in the refectory. The
king ordered it to be cut, which so distressed El Mudo that he offered to
copy it in six months, in reduced size, and to forfeit his head if he did
not fulfil his promise. He also added that he should hope to be knighted
if he copied in six months what Titian had taken seven years to paint. But
Philip was resolute, and the picture was cut, to the intense grief of the
dumb Navarrete. While the painter lived Philip did not fully appreciate
him; but after his death the king often declared that his Italian artists
could not equal his mute Spaniard.
JUAN CARREÑO DE MIRANDA (1614-1685) is commonly called Carreño. He was of
an ancient noble family. His earliest works were for the churches and
convents of Madrid, and he acquired so good a name that before the death
of Philip IV. he was appointed one of his court-painters. In 1671 the
young king Charles gave Carreño the cross of Santiago, and to his office
of court-painter added that of Deputy Aposentador. He would allow no other
artist to paint his likeness unless Carreño consented to it. The pictures
of Carreño were most excellent, and his character was such as to merit all
his good fortune. His death was sincerely mourned by all who knew him.
It is said that on one occasion he was in a house where a copy of Titian's
"St. Margaret" hung upon the wall, and those present united in saying that
it was abominably done. Carreño said: "It has at least one merit; it shows
that no one need despair of improving in art, for I painted it myself when
I was a beginner."
Gregorio Utande, a poor artist, had painted a "Martyrdom of St. Andrew"
for the nuns of Alcalà, and demanded one hundred ducats for it. The nuns
thought the price too much, and wished to have Carreño value the work.
Utande took the picture to Carreño, and first presenting the great master
with a jar of honey, asked him to touch up his St. Andrew for him. Carreño
consented, and, in fact, almost repainted Utande's picture. A short time
after Carreño was asked to value the St. Andrew, but declined. Then
Herrera valued it at two hundred ducats, which price the nuns paid. After
Utande received his money he told the whole story, and the picture was
then known as "La Cantarilla de Miel," or "the pot of honey."
CLAUDIO COELLO (1635-1693), who, as we have said, has been called the last
of the old Spanish masters, was intended by his father for his own
profession, that of bronze-casting. But Claudio persuaded his father to
allow him to study painting, and before the close of his life he became
the most famous painter in Madrid. He was not only the court-painter, but
also the painter to the Cathedral of Toledo and keeper of the royal
galleries. It was not strange that he should feel that he merited the
honor of painting the walls of the Escorial, and when this was refused him
and Luca Giordano was selected for the work, Coello threw aside his
brushes and paints, grew sad, then ill, and died a year later. His
masterpiece is now in the Escorial; it represents the "Collocation of the
Host." His own portrait painted by himself is in the gallery of the
Hermitage at St. Petersburg.
The school of Seville was the most important school of Spain. It is also
known as the school of Andalusia. It dates from the middle of the
fifteenth century, and its latest master, Alonso Miguel de Tobar, died in
1758.
LUIS DE VARGAS (1502-1568), one of the earliest of the painters of the
school of Seville, was a devout and holy man. He was accustomed to do
penance, and in his room after his death scourges were found with which he
had beaten himself, and a coffin in which he had been accustomed to lie
and meditate upon death and a future life. It is said that Vargas studied
twenty-eight years in Italy. His pictures were fine. His female heads were
graceful and pure, his color good, and the whole effect that of grand
simplicity. His picture of the "Temporal Generation of Our Lord" is his
best work in Seville. Adam is kneeling in the foreground, and his leg is
so well painted that the picture has been called "La Gamba." In spite of
his seriousness Vargas was a witty man. On one occasion he was asked to
give his opinion of a very poor picture of "Christ on the Cross." Vargas
replied: "He looks as if he were saying, 'Forgive them, Lord, for they
know not what they do!'"
PABLO DE CESPEDES (1538-1608) was born at Cordova, and is an important
person in the history of his time, for he was a divine, a poet, and a
scholar, as well as an architect, sculptor, and painter. He was a graduate
of the University of Alcalà, and excelled in Oriental languages. He
studied art in Rome, and while there made a head of Seneca in marble, and
fitted it to an antique trunk; on account of this work he was called
"Victor il Spagnuolo." Zuccaro was asked to paint a picture for the
splendid Cathedral of Cordova; he declined, and said that while Cespedes
was in Spain they had no need of Italian artists. The pictures of Cespedes
which now remain are so faded and injured that a good judgment can
scarcely be formed of them; but they do not seem to be as fine as they
were thought to be in his day. His "Last Supper" is in the Cathedral of
Cordova. In the foreground there are some jars and vases so well painted
that visitors praised them. Cespedes was so mortified at this that he
commanded his servant to rub them out, and only the most judicious
admiration for the rest of the picture and earnest entreaty for the
preservation of the jars saved them from destruction. He left many
writings upon artistic subjects and an essay upon the antiquity of the
Cathedral of Cordova. He was as modest as he was learned, and was much
beloved. He was made a canon in the Cathedral of Cordova, and was received
with "full approbation of the Cordovese bishop and chapter."
FRANCISCO PACHECO (1571-1654) was born at Seville. He was a writer on art,
and is more famous as the master of Velasquez and on account of his books
than for his pictures. He established a school where younger men than
himself could have a thorough art education. Pacheco was the first in
Spain to properly gild and paint statues and bas-reliefs. Some specimens
of his work in this specialty still exist in Seville.
FRANCISCO DE HERRERA, the elder (1576-1656), was a very original painter.
He was born at Seville, and never studied out of Andalusia. He had so bad
a temper that he drove his children and his pupils away from him. He knew
how to engrave on bronze, and made false coins; when his forgery was
discovered, he took refuge with the Jesuits. While in their convent
Herrera painted the history of St. Hermengild, one of the patron saints of
Seville. When Philip IV. saw his picture he forgave him his crime, and set
him at liberty.
FRANCISCO ZURBARAN (1598-1662) was one of the first among Spanish
painters. He was skilful in the use of colors, and knew how to use sober
tints and give them a brilliant effect. He did not often paint the
Madonna. His female saints are like portraits of the ladies of his day. He
was very successful in painting animals, and his pictures of drapery and
still-life were exact in their representation of the objects he used for
models. He painted historical and religious pictures, portraits and
animals; but his best pictures were of monks. Stirling says: "He studied
the Spanish friar, and painted him with as high a relish as Titian painted
the Venetian noble, and Vandyck the gentleman of England."
Zurbaran was appointed painter to Philip IV. before he was thirty-five
years old. He was a great favorite with Philip, who once called Zurbaran
"the painter of the king, and king of painters." Zurbaran's finest works
are in the Museum of Seville. He left many pictures, and the Louvre claims
to have ninety-two of them in its gallery.
DIEGO RODRIGUEZ DE SILVA Y VELASQUEZ (1599-1660) was born at Seville, and
died at Madrid. His parents were of noble families; his father was Juan
Rodriguez de Silva, and his mother Geronima Velasquez, by whose name,
according to the custom of Andalusia, he was called. His paternal
grandfather was a Portuguese, but so poor that he was compelled to leave
his own country, and seek his fortune at Seville, and to this circumstance
Spain owes her greatest painter. Velasquez's father became a lawyer, and
lived in comfort, and his mother devoted herself to his education. The
child's great love of drawing induced his father to place young Velasquez
in the school of Herrera, where the pupil acquired something of his free,
bold style. But Velasquez soon became weary, and entered the school of
Francisco Pacheco, an inferior painter, but a learned and polished
gentleman. Here Velasquez soon learned that untiring industry and the
study of nature were the surest guides to perfection for an artist. Until
1622 he painted pictures from careful studies of common life, and always
with the model or subject before him--adhering strictly to form, color,
and outline. He is said to have kept a peasant lad for a study, and from
him executed a variety of heads in every posture and with every possible
expression. This gave him wonderful skill in taking likenesses. To this
period belong the "Water Carrier of Seville," now at Apsley House, several
pictures of beggars, and the "Adoration of the Shepherds," now in the
Louvre, where is also a "Beggar Boy munching a piece of Pastry." At Vienna
is a "Laughing Peasant" holding a flower (Fig. 64), and in Munich another
"Beggar Boy." In 1622 his strong desire to see the paintings in the Royal
Galleries led him to Madrid. Letters which he carried gave him admission
to the works of art; but excepting securing the friendship of Fonesca, a
noted patron of art, and an order to paint a portrait of the poet Gongora,
he was unnoticed, and so he returned in a few months to Seville.
Subsequently Fonesca interested the minister Olivarez in his behalf. This
resulted in a letter summoning Velasquez to court, with an enclosure of
fifty ducats for the journey. He was attended by his slave, Juan Pareja, a
mulatto lad, who was his faithful attendant for many years, and who became
an excellent painter. His former instructor, Pacheco, now his
father-in-law, also accompanied him. His first work at the capital,
naturally, was a portrait of his friend Fonesca, which so pleased the
king, Philip IV., that he appointed Velasquez to his service, in which
he remained during his life. This gave him full opportunity to perfect
himself, for the king was never weary of multiplying pictures of himself.
Velasquez also painted many portraits of the other members of the royal
family, in groups and singly. His life was even and prosperous, and he
made steady advances toward perfection. He was sent to Italy to study and
to visit the galleries and works in all the cities. A second time the king
sent him to Italy to purchase works of art, with orders to buy anything he
thought worth having. He was everywhere received with consideration and
kindness. The pope sat to him for his portrait; the cardinals Barberini
and Rospigliosi; the sculptors Bernini and Algardi; the painters Nicolas
Poussin, Pietro da Cortona, Claude and Matteo Prete were his friends and
associates. Upon his return to Madrid, Velasquez was appointed
aposentador-major, with a yearly salary of three thousand ducats, and a
key at his girdle to unlock every door in the palace. He superintended the
ceremonies and festivals of the royal household; he arranged in the halls
of the Alcazar the bronzes and marbles purchased in Italy; he also cast in
bronze the models he brought from abroad, and he yet found time to paint
his last great picture, "Las Meniñas," or the "Maids of Honor," which
represents the royal family, with the artist, maids of honor, the dwarfs,
and a sleeping hound. It is said that when the king saw the picture he
declared but one thing was wanting, and with his own hand significantly
painted the cross of Santiago upon the breast of the artist. When the
courts of France and Spain met on the Isle of Pheasants for the betrothal
of the Infanta Maria Teresa to Louis XIV., Velasquez superintended all the
ceremonies and all the festivities. These were of surpassing splendor, for
these two courts were at this time the most luxurious in Europe. Stirling
says the fatigues of the life of Velasquez shortened his days. He arrived
at Madrid on his return, on June 26th, and from that time was gradually
sinking. He died August 6th. He was buried with magnificent ceremonies in
the Church of San Juan. His wife survived him but eight days; she was
buried in the same grave.
[Illustration: FIG. 64.--LAUGHING PEASANT. _Velasquez._]
[Illustration: FIG. 65.--THE TOPERS. _By Velasquez._]
The character of Velasquez was a rare combination of freedom from
jealousy, power to conciliate, sweetness of temper, strength of will and
intellect, and steadfastness of purpose. He was the friend of Rubens and
of Ribera, the protector of Cano and Murillo, who succeeded and were, next
to him, the greatest painters of Spain. As the favorite of Philip IV., in
fact, his minister for artistic affairs, he filled his office with purity
and disinterestedness.
JUAN DE PAREJA (1610-1670) was born in Spanish South America. He was never
a great artist; but the circumstances of his life make him interesting. He
was the slave of Velasquez, and was employed as color-grinder. He studied
painting secretly, and at last, on an occasion when the king visited the
studio of his master, Pareja showed him a picture of his own painting, and
throwing himself at Philip's feet begged pardon for his audacity. Both
Philip and Velasquez treated him very kindly. Velasquez gave Pareja his
freedom; but it is said that he continued to serve his old master
faithfully as long as he lived. Pareja succeeded best as a portrait
painter. His works are not numerous, and are seen in few collections out
of Spain.
BARTOLOMÉ ESTÉBAN MURILLO (1618-1682) was born at Seville. His parents
were Gaspar Estéban and Maria Perez, and the name of his maternal
grandmother, Elvira Murillo, was added to his own, according to Andalusian
custom. From childhood he showed his inclination for art, and although
this at first suggested to his parents that he should be educated as a
priest, the idea was soon abandoned, as it was found that his interest in
the paintings which adorned the churches was artistic rather than
religious. He was therefore, at an early age, placed in the studio of his
maternal uncle, Juan de Castillo, one of the leaders of the school of art
of Seville. Castillo was then about fifty years old, and had as a student
with Louis Fernandez acquired the Florentine style of the sixteenth
century--combining chaste designing with cold and hard coloring. Murillo
was thus early instructed not only in grinding colors and in indispensable
mechanical details, but was thoroughly grounded in the important elements
of purity of conception and dignity of treatment and arrangement. Seville
at this time was the richest city in the Spanish empire. Its commerce with
all Europe, and especially with Spanish America, was at its height. The
Guadalquivir was alive with its shipping. Its palaces of semi-Moorish
origin were occupied by a wealthy and luxurious nobility. The vast
cathedral had been finished a century before. The tower "La Giralda,"
three hundred and forty feet in height, is to this day one of the greatest
marvels in Christendom, and with its Saracenic ornament and its "lace work
in stone" is beyond all compare. The royal palace of the Alcazar, designed
by Moorish architects, rivalled the Alhambra, and was filled with the
finest workmanship of Grenada. There were one hundred and forty churches,
of which many had been mosques, and were laden with the exquisite
ornaments of their original builders. Such a city was sure to stimulate
artists and be their home. The poorer ones were in the habit of exposing
their works on balconies, on the steps of churches or the cathedral, or in
any place where they would attract attention. Thus it often happened on
festival days that a good work would command fame for an artist, and gain
for him the patronage of some cathedral chapter or generous nobleman.
Castillo removed to Cadiz in 1640, and Murillo, who was very poor, could
only bring himself before the public, and earn sufficient for the bare
necessities of life by thus exposing his pictures in the market of the
Feria, as it was called, in front of the Church of All Saints. He
struggled along in this way for two years. Early in 1640, Murillo met with
an old fellow-pupil, Moya, who had been campaigning in Flanders in the
Spanish army, and had there become impressed with the worth of the clear
and strong style of the Flemish masters. Especially was he pleased with
Vandyck, so that he followed him to England, and there studied as his
pupil during the last six months of Vandyck's life. Moved by Moya's
romancing stories of travel, adventure, and study, Murillo resolved to see
better pictures than were to be found at Seville, and, if possible, to
visit Italy. As a first step he painted a quantity of banners, madonnas,
flower-pieces--anything and everything--and sold them to a ship owner, who
sent them to Spanish America; and it is said that this and similar trades
originated the story that Murillo once visited Mexico and other
Spanish-American countries. Thus equipped with funds, and without
informing his friends (his parents were dead), he started on foot across
the mountains and the equally dreaded plains for Madrid, which he entered
at the age of twenty-five, friendless and poor. He sought out Velasquez,
and asked him for letters to his friends in Rome. But Velasquez, then at
the height of his fame and influence, was so much interested in the young
enthusiast that he offered him lodgings and an opportunity to study and
copy in the galleries of Madrid. The Royal Galleries contained carefully
selected pictures from the Italian and Flemish schools, so that Murillo
was at once placed in the very best possible conditions for success.
Murillo thus spent more than two years, mostly under the direction of
Velasquez, and worked early and late. He copied from the Italian and
Flemish masters, and drew from casts and from life. This for a time so
influenced his style that even now connoisseurs are said to discern
reminiscences of Vandyck and Velasquez in the pictures painted by him on
his first return to Seville. At the end of two years Velasquez advised
Murillo to go to Rome, and offered to assist him. But Murillo decided
first to return to Seville, and perhaps had come to the resolution not to
go to Italy; but this may be doubted. He knew the progress he had made; he
was reasonably certain that, if not the superior, he was the equal of any
of the artists he had left behind in Seville. He was sure of the wealth,
and taste, and love for art in his native city. His only sister was living
there. The rich and noble lady he afterward married resided near there.
And so we can hardly wonder that the artist gave up a cherished journey to
Italy, and returned to the scene of his early struggles with poverty.
The first works which Murillo painted after his return were for the
Franciscan Convent. They brought him little money but much fame. They were
eleven in number, but even the names of some are lost. One represents St.
Francis resting on his iron bed, listening in ecstacy to the notes of a
violin which an angel is playing to him; another portrays St. Diego of
Alcalá, asking a blessing on a kettle of broth he is about to give to a
group of beggars clustered before him; another represents the death of St.
Clara of Assisi, in the rapturous trance in which her soul passed away,
surrounded by pale nuns and emaciated monks looking upward to a
contrasting group of Christ and the Madonna, with a train of celestial
virgins bearing her shining robe of immortality. The companion picture is
a Franciscan monk who passes into a celestial ecstacy while cooking in the
convent kitchen, and who is kneeling in the air, while angels perform his
culinary tasks. These pictures brought Murillo into speedy notice. Artists
and nobles flocked to see them. Orders for portraits and altar-pieces
followed in rapid succession, and he was full of work. Notwithstanding the
fact that he was acknowledged to be at the head of his profession in
Seville, his style at this time was cold and hard. It is called _frio_
(cold), to distinguish it from his later styles. The Franciscan Convent
pictures were carried off by Marshal Soult, and fortunately; for the
convent was burned in 1810. His second style, called _calido_, or warm,
dated from about the time of his marriage, in 1648, to a lady of
distinguished family, named Doña Beatriz de Cabrera y Sotomayor. She was
possessed of considerable property, and had lived in the village of Pilas,
a few leagues southwest of Seville. Her portrait is not known to exist;
but several of Murillo's madonnas which resemble each other are so
evidently portraits, that the belief is these idealized faces were drawn
from the countenance of the wife of the master.
His home now became famous for its hospitable reunions, and his social
position, added to his artistic merits, procured for him orders beyond his
utmost ability to fill. One after another in quick succession, large,
grand works were sent out from his studio to be the pride of churches and
convents. At this time his pictures were noted for a portrait-like
naturalness in their faces, perhaps lacking in idealism, but withal pure
and pleasing; the drapery graceful and well arranged, the lights skilfully
disposed, the tints harmonious, and the contours soft. His flesh tints
were heightened by dark gray backgrounds, so amazingly true that an
admirer has said they were painted in blood and milk. The _calido_, or
warm manner, was preserved for eight or ten years. In this style were
painted an "Immaculate Conception," for the Franciscan Convent; "The
Nativity of the Virgin," for the high altar of the Seville Cathedral; a
"St. Anthony of Padua" for the same church, and very many others equally
famous. In 1874 the St. Anthony was stolen from the cathedral, and for
some time was unheard of, until two men offered to sell it for two hundred
and fifty dollars to Mr. Schaus, the picture dealer in New York. He
purchased the work and turned it over to the Spanish Consul, who
immediately returned it to the Seville Cathedral, to the great joy of the
Sevillians. In 1658 Murillo turned his attention to the founding of an
Academy of Art, and, though he met with many obstacles, the institution
was finally opened for instruction in 1660, and Murillo was its first
president. At this time he was taking on his latest manner, called the
_vaporoso_, or vapory, which was first used in some of his pictures
executed for the Church of Sta. Maria la Blanca. In this manner the rigid
outlines of his first style is gone; there is a feathery lightness of
touch as if the brush had swept the canvas smoothly and with unbroken
evenness: this softness is enhanced by frequent contrasts with harder and
heavier groups in the same picture.
But the highest point in the art was reached by Murillo in the eleven
pictures which he painted in the Hospital de la Caridad. Six of these are
now in their original places; five were stolen by Soult and carried to
France; some were returned to Spain, but not to the hospital.
The convent of the Capuchins at Seville at one time possessed twenty
pictures by this master. The larger part of them are now in the Museum of
Seville, and form the finest existing collection of his works. This museum
was once a church, and the statue of Murillo is placed in front of it.
Although the lighting of this museum is far inferior to that of Madrid and
many others, yet here one must go to realize fully the glory of this
master. Among the pictures is the "Virgen de la Sevilletá," or Virgin of
the Napkin. It is said that the cook of the convent had become the friend
of the painter, and begged of him some memento of his good feeling; the
artist had no canvas, and the cook gave him a napkin upon which this great
work was done.
[Illustration: FIG. 66.--THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. _By Murillo. In the
Louvre._]
Murillo's representation of that extremely spiritual and mystical subject
called the Immaculate Conception, has so far excelled that of any other
artist that he has sometimes been called "the painter of the Conception."
His attention was especially called to this subject by the fact that the
doctrine it sets forth was a pet with the clergy of Seville, who, when
Pope Paul V., in 1617, published a bill making this doctrine obligatory,
celebrated the occasion with all possible pomp in the churches; the nobles
also gave entertainments, and the whole city was alive with a fervor of
religious zeal and a desire to manifest its love for this dogma. The
directions given by the Inspector of the Holy Office for the
representation of this subject were extremely precise; but Murillo
complied with them in general effect only, and disregarded details when it
pleased him: for example, the rules prescribed the age of the Virgin to be
from twelve to thirteen, and the hair to be of golden hue. Murillo
sometimes pictured her as a dark-haired woman. It is said that when he
painted the Virgin as very young his daughter Francesca was his model;
later the daughter became a nun in the convent of the Madre de Dios.
The few portraits painted by Murillo are above all praise; his pictures of
humble life, too, would of themselves have sufficed to make him famous. No
Spanish artist, except Velasquez, has painted better landscapes than he.
But so grand and vast were his religious works that his fame rests
principally on them. It is true, however, that in England and in other
countries out of Spain he was first made famous by his beggar boys and
kindred subjects.
Murillo and Velasquez may be said to hold equivalent positions in the
annals of Spanish Art--Murillo as the painter for the church, and
Velasquez as that of the court. As a delineator of religious subjects
Murillo ranked only a very little below the greatest Italian masters, and
even beside them he excels in one direction; for he is able more generally
and fully to arouse religious emotions and sympathies. This stamps his
genius as that of the first order, and it should also be placed to his
credit, in estimating his native talent, that he never saw anything of all
the Classic Art which was such a source of inspiration to the artists of
Italy. Stirling says: "All his ideas were of home growth: his mode of
expression was purely national and Spanish; his model--nature, as it
existed in and around Seville."
While painting a marriage of St. Catherine for the Capuchin Church of
Cadiz, Murillo fell from the scaffold, and soon died from his injuries: he
was buried in the Church of Sta. Cruz, and it is a sad coincidence that
this church and that of San Juan, at Madrid, in which Velasquez was
interred, were both destroyed by the French under the command of Soult.
The character of Murillo was such as to command the greatest respect, and
though he was not associated with as many royal personages as Velasquez,
he was invited to court, and received many flattering acknowledgments of
his genius. His fame was not confined to his own country, and his portrait
was engraved in Flanders during the last year of his life. He had many
strong personal friends, and his interest in the academy and his
generosity to other artists prove him to have been above all mean
jealousies: he loved Art because it was Art, and did all in his power for
its elevation in his own country. It is probable that since his death more
money has been paid for a single picture by him than he received for the
entire work of his life. The Immaculate Conception, now in the Louvre, was
sold from the Soult collection for six hundred and fifteen thousand three
hundred francs, or more than one hundred and twenty-three thousand
dollars. At the time of its sale it was believed to be the largest price
ever paid for a picture.
SEBASTIAN GOMEZ (about 1620) was a mulatto slave of Murillo's, and like
Pareja he secretly learned to paint. At last one day when Murillo left a
sketch of a head of the Virgin on his easel Gomez dared to finish it.
Murillo was glad to find that he had made a painter of his slave, and
though the pictures of Gomez were full of faults his color was much like
that of his master. Two of his pictures are in the Museum of Seville. He
did not live long after Murillo's death in 1682.
DON ALONSO MIGUEL DE TOBAR (1678-1758) never attained to greatness. His
best original pictures were portraits. He made a great number of copies of
the works of Murillo, and was chiefly famous for these pictures. There is
little doubt that many pictures attributed to Murillo are _replicas_, or
copies by the hand of Tobar.
The school of Valencia flourished from 1506 to 1680. VICENTE DE JOANES
(about 1506-1579) was a painter of religious pictures who is scarcely
known out of Spain, and in that country his pictures are, almost without
exception, in churches and convents. He was very devout, and began his
works with fasting and prayer. It is related that on one occasion a Jesuit
of Valencia had a vision in which the Virgin Mary appeared to him, and
commanded him to have a picture painted of her in a dress like that she
then wore, which was a white robe with a blue mantle. She was to be
represented standing on a crescent with the mystic dove floating above
her; her Son was to crown her, while the Father was to lean from the
clouds above all.
The Jesuit selected Joanes to be the painter of this work, and though he
fasted and prayed much he could not paint it so as to please himself or
the Jesuit. At last his pious zeal overcame all obstacles, and his picture
was hung above the altar of the Immaculate in the convent of the Jesuits.
It was very beautiful--the artists praised it, the monks believed that it
had a miraculous power, and it was known as "La Purisima," or the
perfectly pure one.
Joanes excelled in his pictures of Christ. He seemed to have conceived the
very Christ of the Scriptures, the realization of the visions of St. John,
or of the poetry of Solomon. In these pictures he combined majesty with
grace and love with strength. Joanes frequently represented the Last
Supper, and introduced a cup which is known as the Holy Chalice of
Valencia. It is made of agate and adorned with gold and gems, and was
believed to have been used by Christ at his Last Supper with his
disciples. Some of the portraits painted by Joanes are very fine. In
manner and general effect his works are strangely like those of the great
Raphael.
FRANCISCO DE RIBALTA (1550-1628) was really the head of the school of
Valencia, and one of the best historical painters of Spain. He studied his
art first in Valencia, and there fell in love with the daughter of his
master. The father refused him his suit, and the young couple parted in
deep sorrow. Ribalta went to Italy, where he made such progress, and
gained such fame that when he returned to Valencia he had no trouble in
marrying his old master's daughter. Valencia has more pictures by Ribalta
than are found elsewhere. Out of Spain they are very rare. One of his
works is at Magdalene College, Oxford.
One peculiarity of the Spanish painters was that they painted the extremes
of emotion. Their subjects represented the ecstacy of bliss or the most
excruciating agony. They did not seem to have as much middle ground or to
know as much of moderate emotions as the painters of other nations.
Ribalta was no exception to this rule, and some of his pictures are
painful to look at. His portraits are fine, and represent the most
powerful men of Valencia of the time in which he lived.
JOSEF DE RIBERA was a native of Valencia, but lived and studied in Italy,
and so became more of an Italian than a Spanish master. I have spoken of
him in connection with the Naturalists and their school at Naples.
ALONSO CANO (1601-1667) was a very important artist, and cannot be said to
belong to any school. He was born at Granada, and studied under masters of
Seville, both in painting and sculpture. He became the best Spanish
artist who studied in Spain only. He was something of an architect also,
and his various talents acquired a high place for him among artists; but
his temper was such as to cause him much trouble, and it so interfered
with his life that he did not attain to the position to which his artistic
gifts entitled him.
In 1637 he fought a duel, and was obliged to flee from Madrid, and in 1644
his wife was found murdered in her bed. Cano was suspected of the crime,
and although he fled he was found, and brought back, and put to the
torture. He made no confession, and was set at liberty; but many people
believed in his guilt. He still held his office as painter to the king,
and was sometimes employed on important works; but he determined to remove
to his native Granada and become a priest. Philip IV. appointed him canon,
and after he held this office he was still employed as a painter and
sculptor by private persons, as well as by religious bodies, and was even
sent to Malaga to superintend improvements in the cathedral there. But his
temper led him into so many broils that at length, in 1659, the chapter of
Granada deprived him of his office. He went to the king with his
complaints, and was again made a canon; but he was so angry that he never
would use his brush or his chisel in the service of the Cathedral of
Granada.
His life was now devoted to charity and good works. He gave away all his
money as soon as he received it. When his purse was empty he would go into
a shop, and beg a pencil and paper, and sketching a head or other design
would mark the price on it, and give it to a beggar with directions for
finding a purchaser for it. After his death large numbers of these charity
works were collected.
One of his strong characteristics was hatred of the Jews. He would cross
the street, in order not to meet one of them, and would throw away a
garment that had brushed against one of the race. One day he went home,
and found his housekeeper bargaining with a Jew; he chased him away with
great fury, sent the woman off to be purified, repaved the spot where the
Jew had stood, and gave the shoes in which he had chased him to a servant.
When about to die Cano would not receive the sacrament from the priest who
was present, because he had communicated with Jews, and when a rude
crucifix was held before him he pushed it away. When he was reproved for
this he said: "Vex me not with this thing; but give me a simple cross that
I may adore it, both as it is, and as I can figure it in my mind." When
this was done, it is said that he died in a most edifying manner.
Very few of Cano's architectural works remain; a few drawings of this sort
are in the Louvre which are simple and elegant in style. The finest
carving by him is a small figure of the Virgin, now in the Cathedral of
Granada. Eight of his pictures are in the Queen of Spain's gallery at
Madrid, and the Church of Getafe, the Cathedral of Granada and that of
Malaga have his works. A beautiful madonna, which was one of his latest
works, is in the chapel of the Cathedral of Valencia, and is lighted by
votive tapers only. His pictures are rare out of Spain. One of his
portraits is in the Louvre. Other works are in Berlin, Dresden, Munich,
and the Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
The last Spanish painter of whom I shall speak belongs to a much later
period. FRANCISCO GOYA Y LUCIENTES (1746-1828) was a student in Rome, and
after his return to Spain lived in fine style in a villa near Madrid. He
was painter to Charles IV., and was always employed on orders from the
nobility. He painted portraits and religious pictures, but his chief
excellence was in painting caricatures. He was never weary of painting the
priests and monks in all sorts of ridiculous ways. He made them in the
form of apes and asses, and may be called the Hogarth of Spain, so well
did he hold up the people about him to ridicule. He painted with great
boldness and could use a sponge or stick in place of a brush. Sometimes he
made a picture with his palette-knife, and put in the fine touches with
his thumb. He executed engravings also, and published eighty prints which
he called "Caprices." These were very famous; they were satires upon all
Spanish laws and customs. He also made a series of plates about the French
invasion, thirty-three prints of scenes in the bull-ring, and etchings of
some of the works of Velasquez. Portraits of Charles IV. and his queen by
Goya are in the museum at Madrid. Works of his are in the Louvre and in
the National Gallery in London. His pictures sell for large prices. In
1870 his picture of Charlotte Corday sold for five hundred and eighty-four
pounds.