Week 9- Spanish Renaissance

 The Spanish Renaissance 

    The Spanish Renaissance is set in the 16th century, at the start of the era voyagers of Columbus acquired titles to the New World. They were successful navigators and traders resulted in lots of gold and silver. The height of their wealth and power was in the middle of the century, by the end they were bankrupt. The style in the Spanish Renaissance is influenced by the Moorish, Early Christian, Medieval, and Italian Renaissance styles. In this time period Italian craftsmen were in great demand and influenced other countries such as the Spanish and French. 

    One thing throughout the power point that caught my attention was the Moors from Africa, the world's finest geometricians. Their styles were colorful, exuberant, and fancy and had lots of expert workers in wood. After more research of the Moors, they had more presence of both religious and secular design and developed their own Islamic-influenced design which became the Moorish design. In their design they incorporated lots of colorful tilework and plasterwork patterns. The Granada's Alhambra Palace was the last of the Spanish palaces completed before the expulsion of the moors and was a supreme achievement. The court of lions is especially unique to the design as well as the court of pools. 

    One building that I found specifically intriguing was the Granada Cathedral, it's a traditional five-aisle building with gothic style vaulting. The exterior was composed of large arches with three interior arches. The Cathedral of Seville is located in Andalusia, Spain and it's the largest cathedral in the worlds 15th century. It is considered the Gothic Style and is larger than the Hagia Sophia and demonstrated the cities wealth. The building has renaissance and gothic style vaulted ceilings. El Escorial is also a large example of this time period, it is located in Madrid, Spain and in the design includes a palace and a religious house. The massive structure is known for its simplicity, sobriety, and plainness. The building is set on a large plot of land and holds many details that make the design what it is. The site has an outside courtyard as well as a library of the monastery.

    There are many different styles in the Italian Renaissance that were used and developed. Herrera Architecture was named after the state architect Juan de Herrera, it is influenced by the Italian Renaissance architect Palladio. This design style is filled with classic forms, plain surfaces, and very limited decorations. The Baroque style was a more passionate style, promoted by a family of craftsmen most of their design was filled with sculptures. These designs were normally applied to the exterior doorways, interior decorations, and churches. Residential design was also influenced by the Moorish design, and they were able to elaborate on decorating patios, doorways, galleries, and windows to contrast with the pre-existing plain walls. 

 Their interiors were filled with artistic features, such as colored tiles, ceiling pine-paneled, painted and carved as well as plasterwork, with a white decorative border or frame around the doors and windows. They would also use grille work lots of times, this would enhance the artistic design. I am intrigued with the pattern of the tile, it's almost a classic pattern that we see a lot throughout common stores. It's so interesting getting to make connections with things I've seen in stores to the actual history behind it. Interiors in this time were filled with oil paintings, handmade carpets, rugs, and mate, and decorative details. A detail that was also very common was the use of inlay work, carvings, painting, and gilding. Inlay work was one of Spain's finest artistic achievements, filled with lots of geometrical designs or nature designs. Furniture was mostly made out of walnut and held a simplistic design. The Sillon de Frailero is especially interesting to me because of the fabric incorporated. This is something that we also see in modern day designs. 

ONE STEP FURTHER 

Santiago Calatrava is a very well-known architect that pulls many of his designs from the Spanish Renaissance. We see his designs throughout many different countries such as Canada, Spain, and Sweeden. Not only an architect he also is a structural engineer, sculptor, and painter. As well as hold many offices all over the world, New York, Dubai, and Zurich. His designs hold a specific futuristic style while also incorporating the Spanish Renaissance.