Periods of the Spanish Golden Age: short summary

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Historically, Spain has been one of the countries that most artistic figures has given humanity, many of them being very important figures in the history of the disciplines to which they belonged. The Spanish period where more cultural figures appeared is the so-called Spanish Golden Age, for some experts the greatest period of splendor in the history of the Hispanic country. Because of its importance, today in this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to talk about periods of the Spanish Golden Age.

Index

1. What was the Golden Age in Spain
2. Spanish Renaissance: brief summary
3. Spanish Baroque, another period of the Spanish Golden Age

The Golden Age was a period where Spanish literature and art they reached their greatest splendor. This coincided with the period of greatest power of the Spanish monarchy, and came to an end during the time when the Habsburgs went into decline. Although it should be understood that the years of the Golden Age are not fixed, there is no consensus on what dates it began and when it ended.

The dates that are usually used to mark the beginning and end of the Golden Age are usually 1492, when the discovery of America, and since the reign of the Catholic kings An attempt was made to promote culture, and the end is usually in 1959, with the Treaty of the Pyrenees.

The term comes from Luis José Velázquez, an 18th century intellectual, who used the term to refer to 16th century literature. The term was used again years later to refer to the art of the 16th and 17th centuries.

You can talk about two periods of the Spanish Golden Age, which are the following:

• Spanish renaissance
• Spanish Baroque

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The Spanish Renaissance was an artistic movement influenced by the Italian Renaissance that took place in the Hispanic country during the sixteenth century. The date of its beginning is usually placed in 1492, influenced by the modernism of the Catholic Monarchs, and by being inspired by classical models. The Renaissance was a great artistic trend that affected many disciplines, and that is why we are going to try to explain the features Renaissance of these arts.

The painting It was one of the disciplines that had the most importance during this stage. Carlos I was in love with Renaissance painting, as shown by the paintings he commissioned from the great Titian, and his patronage to other artists such as Alonso de Covarrubias. Some of the great painters of this period were El Greco and Juan de Borgoña, and the most famous painting is The Burial of the Count of Orgaz del Greco.

Another important discipline was architecture, of which very different styles can be found throughout the Spanish Renaissance, some of these styles are the following:

• Plateresque: A combination of Italian ideas and Spanish Gothic. It is a style that only appears in Spain and its territories. Some examples are the façade of the University of Salamanca, the Casa de las Conchas in Salamanca or the Seville City Council.
• Purism: It is considered the initial phase of the Renaissance in Spanish architecture. It is characterized by a much simpler decoration than Plateresque. Some examples of purism are the Palace of Carlos V in Granada or the Torres de Alcaraz.
• Herrerian style: The last stage of Spanish Renaissance architecture, was originated by the beginning of the construction of the Monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial by Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan Herrera, the latter being the one that gives its name style of. Some examples of this style are the Ducal Palace of Lerma or the Escorial.

Finally, we must talk about the Spanish Renaissance literature. Spanish authors imitated the classical authors, and the great Italian writers. Among the numerous authors of this time we can highlight the following:

• Garcilaso de la Vega
• Juan Boscan
• Ausiàs March
• Fernando de Rojas

The Spanish Baroque is the second stage of the Golden Age, the one after the Spanish Renaissance. It is usually dated from 1600, and its end is usually located around 1750. As in the previous section, we must talk about numerous disciplines in the Spanish Baroque.

Baroque painting, whose origin takes place in the seventeenth century, has two different stages, one more influenced by the Italian tenebrism of Caravaggio and another with greater influence of the Flemish painting of great authors such as Rubens. Among the important authors of this generation we can find the following:

• Ribalta
• Rivera
• Zurbarán
• Murillo
• Velazquez

Finally, we find Spanish Baroque literature, being for many experts the most important historical stage of literature Hispanic. It is a time marked by pessimism and a loss of confidence in the ideals of the Renaissance. Some of the most prominent authors are the following:

• Cervantes: the most important Spanish author in history. Writer of Don Quixote, among many other works.
• Quevedo
• Lope de Vega
• Baltasar Gracian
• Gongora

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