forward his conclusions with modesty; he has reproduced a great deal
that is most representative of the artist’s work; and he has endeavoured
to keep always in view his object to present a concise, accurate, and
readable life of Velazquez.
* * * * *
_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_
ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE SEVEN PRINCIPAL PALACES OF
THE SPANISH KINGS. PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED
Spain is beyond question the richest country in the world in the number
of its Royal Residences, and while few are without artistic importance,
all are rich in historical memories. Thus, from the Alcazar at Seville,
which is principally associated with Pedro the Cruel, to the Retiro,
built to divert the attention of Philip IV. from his country’s decay;
from the Escorial, in which the gloomy mind of Philip II. is perpetuated
in stone, to La Granja, which speaks of the anguish and humiliation of
Christina before Sergeant Garcia and his rude soldiery; from Aranjuéz to
Rio Frio, and from El Pardo, darkened by the agony of a good king, to
Miramar, to which a widowed Queen retired to mourn: all the history of
Spain, from the splendid days of Charles V. to the present time, is
crystallised in the Palaces that constitute the patrimony of the Crown.
The Royal Palaces of Spain are open to visitors at stated times, and it
is hoped that this volume, with its wealth of illustrations, will serve
the visitor both as a guide and a souvenir.
* * * * *
_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_
VALLADOLID, OVIEDO, SEGOVIA, ZAMORA, AVILA AND ZARAGOZA
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT, WITH 390 ILLUSTRATIONS
The glory of Valladolid has departed, but the skeleton remains, and
attached to its ancient stones are the memories that Philip II. was born
here, that here Cervantes lived, and Christopher Columbus died. In this
one-time capital of Spain, in the Plaza Mayor, the fires of the Great
Inquisition were first lighted, and here Charles V. laid the foundation
of the Royal Armoury, which was afterwards transferred to Madrid.
More than seven hundred years have passed since Oviedo was the proud
capital of the Kingdoms of Las Asturias, Leon, and Castile. Segovia,
though no longer great, has still all the appurtenances of greatness,
and with her granite massiveness and austerity, she remains an
aristocrat even among the aristocracy of Spanish cities. Zamora, which
has a history dating from time almost without date, was the key of Leon
and the centre of the endless wars between the Moors and the Christians,
which raged round it from the eighth to the eleventh centuries.
In this volume the author has striven to re-create the ancient greatness
of these six cities, and has preserved their memories in a wealth of
excellent and interesting illustrations.
* * * * *
_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_
LEON, BURGOS AND SALAMANCA
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT, WITH 462 ILLUSTRATIONS
In Leon, once the capital of the second kingdom in Spain; in Burgos,
which boasts one of the most magnificent cathedrals in Spain, and the
custodianship of the bones of the Cid; and in Salamanca, with its
university, which is one of the oldest in Europe, the author has
selected three of the most interesting relics of ancient grandeur in
this country of departed greatness.
Leon to-day is nothing but a large agricultural village, torpid, silent,
dilapidated; Burgos, which still retains traces of the Gotho-Castilian
character, is a gloomy and depleting capital; and Salamanca is a city of
magnificent buildings, a broken hulk, spent by the storms that from time
to time have devastated her.
Yet apart from the historical interest possessed by these cities, they
still make an irresistible appeal to the artist and the antiquary. They
are content with their stories of old-time greatness and their
cathedrals, and these ancient architectural splendours, undisturbed by
the touch of a modernising and renovating spirit, continue to attract
the visitor.
* * * * *
_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_
MADRID
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE SPANISH CAPITAL, WITH 450
ILLUSTRATIONS
Madrid is at once one of the most interesting and most maligned cities
in Europe. It stands at an elevation of 2,500 feet above the sea level,
in the centre of an arid, treeless, waterless, and wind-blown plain; but
whatever may be thought of the wisdom of selecting a capital in such a
situation, one cannot but admire the uniqueness of its position, and the
magnificence of its buildings, and one is forced to admit that, having
fairly entered the path of progress, Madrid bids fair to become one of
the handsomest and most prosperous of European cities.
The splendid promenades, the handsome buildings, and the spacious
theatres combine to make Madrid one of the first cities of the world,
and the author has endeavoured with the aid of the camera, to place
every feature and aspect of the Spanish metropolis before the reader.
Some of the illustrations reproduced here have been made familiar to the
English public by reason of the interesting and stirring events
connected with the Spanish Royal Marriage, but the greater number were
either taken by the author, or are the work of photographers specially
employed to obtain new views for the purpose of this volume.
* * * * *
_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_
GOYA
A BIOGRAPHY AND APPRECIATION. ILLUSTRATED BY REPRODUCTIONS OF 600 OF HIS
PICTURES
The last of the old masters and the first of the moderns, as he has been
called, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes is not so familiarised to
English readers as his genius deserves. He was born at a time when the
tradition of Velazquez was fading, and the condition of Spanish painting
was debased almost beyond hope of salvation; he broke through the
academic tradition of imitation; “he, next to Velazquez, is to be
accounted as the man whom the Impressionists of our time have to thank
for their most definite stimulus, their most immediate inspiration.”
The genius of Goya was a robust, imperious, and fulminating genius; his
iron temperament was passionate, dramatic, and revolutionary; he painted
a picture as he would have fought a battle. He was an athletic, warlike,
and indefatigable painter; a naturalist like Velazquez; fantastic like
Hogarth; eccentric like Rembrandt; the last flame-coloured flash of
Spanish genius.
It is impossible to reproduce his colouring; but in the reproductions of
his works the author has endeavoured to convey to the reader some idea
of Goya’s boldness of style, his mastery of frightful shadows and
mysterious lights, and his genius for expressing all terrible emotions.
* * * * *
_UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_
CORDOVA
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT CITY WHICH THE
CARTHAGINIANS STYLED THE “GEM OF THE SOUTH,” WITH 160 ILLUSTRATIONS
Gay-looking, vivacious in its beauty, silent, ill-provided, depopulated,
Cordova was once the pearl of the West, the city of cities, Cordova of
the thirty suburbs and three thousand mosques; to-day she is no more
than an overgrown village, but she still remains the most Oriental town
in Spain.
Cordova, once the centre of European civilisation, under the Moors the
Athens of the West, the successful rival of Baghdad and Damascus, the
seat of learning and the repository of the arts, has shrunk to the
proportions of a third-rate provincial town; but the artist, the
antiquary and the lover of the beautiful, will still find in its streets
and squares and patios a mysterious spell that cannot be resisted.
BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
LIFE OF CERVANTES
A NEW LIFE OF THE GREAT SPANISH AUTHOR TO COMMEMORATE THE TERCENTENARY
OF THE PUBLICATION OF “DON QUIXOTE,” WITH NUMEROUS PORTRAITS AND
REPRODUCTIONS FROM EARLY EDITIONS OF “DON QUIXOTE”
Size Crown 8vo. 150 pp. Price 3/6 net
PRESS NOTICES
“A popular and accessible account of the career of Cervantes.”--_Daily
Chronicle._
“A very readable and pleasant account of one of the great writers of all
time.”--_Morning Leader._
“MR. CALVERT is entitled to the gratitude of book-lovers for his
industrious devotion at one of our greatest literary
shrines.”--_Birmingham Post._
“It is made trebly interesting by the very complete set of Cervantes’
portraits it contains, and by the inclusion of a valuable
bibliography.”--_Black and White._
“We recommend the book to all those to whom Cervantes is more than a
mere name.”--_Westminster Gazette._
“A most interesting résumé of all facts up to the present time
known.”--_El Nervion de Bilbao, Spain._
“The most notable work dedicated to the immortal author of Don Quixote
that has been published in England.”--_El Graduador, Spain._
“Although the book is written in English no Spaniard could have written
it with more conscientiousness and enthusiasm.”--_El Defensor de
Granada, Spain._
BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
THE ALHAMBRA
OF GRANADA, BEING A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MOSLEM RULE IN SPAIN FROM THE
REIGN OF MOHAMMED THE FIRST TO THE FINAL EXPULSION OF THE MOORS,
TOGETHER WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE CONSTRUCTION, THE ARCHITECTURE
AND THE DECORATION OF THE MOORISH PALACE, WITH 80 COLOURED PLATES AND
NEARLY 300 BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS (NEW EDITION). DEDICATED BY
PERMISSION TO H.M. KING ALFONSO XIII.
Size 10 x 7-1/2. Price £2 2s. net
PRESS NOTICES
“It is hardly too much to say that this is one of the most magnificent
books ever issued from the English Press.”--_Building World._
“One is really puzzled where to begin and when to stop in praising the
illustrations.”--_Bookseller._
“The most complete record of this wonder of architecture which has ever
been contemplated, much less attempted.”--_British Architect._
“A treasure to the student of decorative art.”--_Morning Advertiser._
“Mr. CALVERT has given us a Book Beautiful.”--_Western Daily Press._
“It is the last word on the subject, no praise is too
high.”--_Nottingham Express._
“May be counted among the more important art books which have been
published during recent years.”--_The Globe._
“Has a pride of place that is all its own among the books of the
month.”--_Review of Reviews._
“Has in many respects surpassed any books on the Alhambra which up to
the present have appeared in our own country or abroad.”--_El Graduador,
Spain._
“It is one of the most beautiful books of modern times.”--_Ely Gazette._
“One of the most artistic productions of the year.”--_Publishers’
Circular._
“The most beautiful book on the Alhambra issued in England.”--_Sphere._
“The standard work on a splendid subject.”--_Daily Telegraph._
“A remarkable masterpiece of book production.”--_Eastern Daily Press._
“A perfect treasure of beauty and delight.”--_Keighley News._
“A magnificent work.”--_Melbourne Age, Australia._
“Immense collection of fine plates.”--_The Times._
“A standard work, the compilation of which would credit a life’s
labour.”--_Hull Daily Mail._
BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
MOORISH REMAINS IN SPAIN
BEING A BRIEF RECORD OF THE ARABIAN CONQUEST AND OCCUPATION OF THE
PENINSULA, WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE MOHAMMEDAN ARCHITECTURE AND
DECORATION IN THE CITIES OF CORDOVA, SEVILLE AND TOLEDO, WITH MANY
COLOURED PLATES, AND OVER 400 BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS, DIAGRAMS,
ETC., DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO H.M. KING ALFONSO XIII.
Crown 4to. (7-1/2 x 10 ins.) Price £2 2s. net
PRESS NOTICES
“The making of this book must surely have been a veritable labour of
love; and love’s labour has certainly not been lost.”--_Pall Mall
Gazette._
“The best age of Moorish architecture in Spain is shown with remarkable
vividness and vitality.”--_The Scotsman._
“A most gorgeous book.... We cheerfully admit Mr. CALVERT into the ranks
of those whom posterity will applaud for delightful yet unprofitable
work.”--_Outlook._
“A large and sumptuous volume.”--_Tribune._
“The illustrations are simply marvels of reproduction.”--_Dundee
Advertiser._
“One of the books to which a simple literary review cannot pretend to do
justice.”--_Spectator._
“A special feature of a work of peculiar interest and value are the
illustrations.”--_Newcastle Chronicle._
“The illustrations are given with a minuteness and faithfulness of
detail, and colour, which will be particularly appreciated and
acknowledged by those who are most acquainted with the subject
themselves.”--_Liverpool Post._
“It is impossible to praise too highly the care with which the
illustrations have been prepared.”--_Birmingham Daily Post._
“It is illustrated with so lavish a richness of colour that to turn its
pages gives one at first almost the same impression of splendour as one
receives in wandering from hall to hall of the Alcazar of Seville; and
this is probably the highest compliment we could pay to the book or its
author.”--_Academy._
“It is certainly one of the most interesting books of the
year.”--_Crown._
“The occasional delicacy of design and harmony of colour can scarcely be
surpassed ... a valuable and profusely illustrated volume.”--_Guardian._
“An excellent piece of work.”--_The Times._
“Mr. CALVERT has performed a useful work.”--_Daily Telegraph._
“A truly sumptuous volume.”--_The Speaker._
“Mr. CALVERT has given a very complete account of the evolution of
Moresco art.”--_The Connoisseur._
FOOTNOTES:
[A] He is reckoned as Mohammed VI. by the writers who deny the title of
Sultan to the usurper of Mohammed V.’s throne.
[B] Known as Mohammed X.
[C] I adopt Mr. U. R. Burke’s statement of the relationship between
Abu-l-Hassan, Zoraya, and Boabdil. (Burke, “History of Spain,” II. p.
98.)
[D] Here was lodged the cavalry of the Moorish Sultans.