Spain - A History in Art

304 Pages·1971·70.32 MB·English

by  Bradley Smith

A
HISTORY
ART
IN
BRADLEY SMITH
INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF SPAIN
Manuel Fernandez Alvarez, UNIVERSITY OF SALAMANCA
INTRODUCTION TO THE ART OF SPAIN
Marquis de Lozoya, Trustee, Prado Museum, Madrid
_,
Here is the turbulent history
of Spain
through the ages
remembered
as seen,
and recorded by her
artists
The color and shadow, the dazzling light and
— —
ascetic darkness the sol and the sombra of
Spanish life and Spanish civilization, from pre-
history to modern times, are captured as never
before in this extraordinary book.
In it, two hundred and forty-five works of art,
newly photographed by one of America's great
photographers in Spanish museums and private
collections, are faithfully reproduced, unre-
touched. Every plate is in full color. They are jux-
taposed to form a visual chronicle of Spain over
the centuries: her royal dynasties, her invaders,
herconquests; thefloweringofhermanycultures;
the fervors, inspirations and excesses of her re-
ligious experience; the unparalleled adventure of
her great age of exploration; the opulence of the
court, the horrors of the lower depths; her fierce
beauty, her sombre mysticism.
From the incredible cavepaintings ofAltamira
(20,000 B.C.) and the little-known Phoenician
ceramics to the glories of Moorish art, from the
rare legacy of the Romanesque and Mudejar
painters and sculptors to the masterpieces of El
Greco, Velazquez, Zurbaran, Goya, Miro and Pi-
casso—here is a richness of Spain's visual treasure
far beyond any previously assembled in a single
volume. Indeed, many of the works of art have
never before been photographed or reproduced.
The whole complex of Spanish life and feeling
is revealed in striking and often astonishing de-
tail. On an ancient clay vessel: a bull is tamed.
On a 13th-centuryilluminated manuscript: a mo-
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JUAN DE CONTRERAS
Consultants
The Marquis deLozoya
Board ofTrustees, the Prado Museum
CONSUELO SANZ PASTOR
Director, the Cerralbo Museum
Inspector ofthe Museums ofFineArts
LUIS MONREAL Y TEJADA
Barcelona Correspondent ofthe RoyalAcademy
ofFineArts ofSan Fernando, Madrid
Joaquin Segura, Copy Director
David H.Stech, Graphics Director
Paul Steiner, Production Supervisor
Doubleday Windfall Edition
ISBN: 0-385-05016-X
Printed inJapan by Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.
World rights reserved by Gemini
Smith Inc. Library of Congress
Catalog Card No. 66-19432. All
®
photographs ofpaintings or sculpture
belonging to Spanish museums were
taken under the supervision of the
Direccion General de Bellas Artes,
and the Patrimonio Nacional, oj
Madrid.