Page:A Handbook for Travellers in Spain - Vol 1.djvu/46

[30] in the seventeenth century. Alonso Cano was an excellent sculptor and painter; his best works are at Granada.

To the realistic tendency of imitating the tints of the flesh was soon added another characteristic tendency of Spanish sculpture, which continues in the present day. It consists in making a lay figure or frame, which has only the head and hands sculptured, and is dressed with a voluminous petticoat and wig to please the taste of the devout. It is the most extreme point to which the degradation of the fine arts can reach.

The Spanish Church has opposed itself from the beginning to this abuse, as may be seen in the synodals published by the bishops after the Council of Trent; unfortunately, however, fanaticism has more power than ecclesiastical legislation.

Spanish sculpture after Cano and his school is hardly worth mentioning. From the end of the seventeenth century until the eighteenth it has all the bad taste of the time. The statues of Spanish kings which may be seen at Madrid give a good idea of the inferiority of the artist’s work. At the end of the last century the same classical revival occurred here as in other countries. Alvarez is the sculptor who may be considered the best representative of this school. His best works are at Madrid. The Catalan artists, Suñol, Bellver, and the brothers Valmitjana, are excellent representatives of Spanish sculpture in the present day.