CULTURE: ART. FROM THE 16TH CENTURY TO THE SECOND WORLD WAR

In the sec. XVI-XVII-XVIII also experienced a great flowering of glass art. The Catalan production, characterized by the enamel decoration, is distinguished by the dense and lively colors and the Hispano-Moorish decorative schemes. Among the most typical shapes of containers are the almorrata (with several beaks), the porrón (bottle-glass with a very long spout), the cantír or cantaro (bottle-glass with two opposite beaks and a ring- shaped upper handle), all produced in Catalonia and Valencia; characteristic of Andalusia are the jarritos, low and pot- bellied vases with long trumpet necks and handles decorated with crests. With the end of the century. XVI laid the foundations for the development of the new Baroque art, which had a long vitality and duration in Spain, extending until the end of the century. XVIII, albeit through several stages. The greatest cultural and artistic center continued to be Madrid, both for the stimulating presence of the court, a great client and collector, and for the continuation of the works of the Escorial. Alongside the great religious (churches and convents) and public buildings (Palazzo della Granja, Royal Palace of Madrid, extension of the Prado), there were notable urban arrangements, such as that of the Plaza Mayor in Madrid (J. Gómez) and, in the century. XVIII, by Aranjuez. Among the regional schools in which the Baroque was differentiated, those of Madrid, Granada, Galicia (D. de Andrade) and especially that of Salamanca where the Churriguera were active are famous., from whose style of extraordinary splendor and exuberance a real architectural current originated. Seventeenth-century sculpture was also largely religious and in compliance with the Counter-Reformation precepts it became realistic and pathetic, with often deteriorating results. The most lively schools were those of G. Fernández, in Valladolid, and the Sevillian one, while the activity of A. Cano was more original and isolated.

According to Picktrue, of the highest level was the painting of the century. XVII. The Italian influence, in particular of Caravaggio, caused the birth of a realistic school, characterized by a lively sense of light, which had among its major exponents J. Ribera, who was active in Naples. D. Velázquez he was among the protagonists of seventeenth-century European painting and gave birth to a very active school in Madrid. Other Madrid artists were strongly influenced by the fruitful Spanish activity of L. Giordano. To a certain extent separate is the Sevillian school, which in F. de Zurbarán had an artist of profound and austere religiosity and in BE Murillo a happy exponent of popular religious painting. The sec. XVIII saw the continuation, more tired, of the great motifs of seventeenth-century art, both in architecture and in decoration. Only with the second half of the century (foundation of the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid, 1752) the neoclassical taste was slowly introduced, which nevertheless encountered a lot of resistance and was limited to the capital for a long time (Palazzo del Prado, church of San Francisco el Grande). Even in the field of sculpture, neoclassical interests were concentrated in Madrid, while the other Spanish centers remained tied to Baroque decorativism. The second half of the century XVIII therefore constituted above all a period of transition towards full affirmation in the neoclassical, which took place only in the nineteenth century. The presence of G. Tiepolo and his sons, of C. Giaquinto and above all of AR Mengs, which left a large trace, is very stimulating, as far as painting is concerned. On the other hand, the powerful personality of F. Goya is completely isolated, an example of a profound stylistic and moral renewal. Throughout the century. 19th and early 20th century architecture was characterized by a coexistence of stylistic orientations, from neoclassical and academic to eclectic ones, with a romantic taste. Overall, the sculpture is modest where, after an academic phase, realism, partly of traditional inspiration, took hold. In painting, currents of romantic influence developed, such as history painting and landscape painting, while drawing and lithography, of Goyesque derivation, also had great diffusion. Only marginal was the influence of Impressionism (J. Sorolla, A. de Beruete etc.).