Page:A Handbook for Travellers in Spain - Vol 1.djvu/45

Rh most repugnant, and anti-artistic specimens may be seen in most of the principal Spanish towns. The crucifix (called Del Cid) at the Cathedral of Salamanca is one of the oldest. The Cristo de Burgos carries to the utmost extent the exaggerations and bad taste of this school. This style must have been common in Europe; the Rood at Candás, Asturias, is of the same kind—it was brought from England during the reign of Henry VIII.

The images of the Blessed Virgin are not so exaggerated. There are a large number, called Aparecidas, most of which are black. The most famous in Spain are those at Zaragoza, del Pilar, Montserrat, Atocha, Sagrario de Toledo, Guadalupe, &c. They are literally covered with jewels, and nothing is left visible but the face. It would be most interesting to study these images as archæological sculptures; some must belong to a very remote period, probably to the Visigothic period, and in the midst of the fables which surround their history some truth must exist of their apparition—they were undoubtedly hidden by the Christians at the invasion of the Moors. Most of these images belong to this period. There are other images of the Blessed Virgin which are covered with a silver-plating, a reminiscence of Byzantine art. Two of this style may be studied at the Cathedral of Astorga.

In the Renaissance period sculpture attains in Spain its greatest excellence. It coincides with the richest and most flourishing reigns, and Italian models are preferred. Spanish sculpture has never been properly appreciated; it has, at least, as much importance as Spanish painting. Berruguete, Becerra, Villalpando, Montañes, Cano, and others, can compete with the best sculptors of the time. The principal tendency of the time was to represent religious subjects; mythological subjects, which were so much in vogue in Italy, were never very popular in Spain. Among the great number of artists whose names have reached us, two are of the greatest importance—Vigarny, a Frenchman, and Berruguete, a Spaniard. Their work can be compared in the choir at Toledo, the finest in Spain. Many Spanish and foreign artists succeeded these, who kept up during the sixteenth century good artistic examples.

A great quantity of works in stone, iron, bronze, and wood remain of this period. The principal localities where they may be studied are Seville, Toledo, Salamanca, Valladolid, and Burgos.

During the whole of the sixteenth century wooden sculpture was always painted, in Spain and elsewhere. At the end of this period the flesh-tints are greatly exaggerated, and the texture of the draperies is one of the principal characteristics of Spanish sculpture; it is contrary to the conditions of this art, the principal element of which is form, not colour. Spanish artists in their imitations of stuffs, estofar, reached in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the limits of realism.

Religious images are multiplied during this period to a great extent, not only to be placed on the altars and retablos, but for the Pasos, used in the processions of Holy Week. These groups may still be seen at Seville, Valladolid, Murcia, and other towns. These Pasos are groups of life-size figures arranged on boards, which are carried by men. They represent scenes from the Passion of Our Lord, and many are most remarkable as works of art.

The climax of painted sculpture in Spain may be considered to be