Spanish art and architecture: The Gothic Period: Art

Early Gothic sculpture was predominantly influenced by French models. In the 15th and early 16th cent. there were strong Flemish and German trends. Retables and choir stalls were elaborately sculptured and polychromed, the former being sometimes made of alabaster. Remarkable examples include those in the cathedrals of Tarragona, Seville, and Toledo. At the end of the 15th cent. Gil de Siloe executed the magnificent retable and royal monuments in the church of Miraflores (near Burgos), representative of a late Gothic realism.

In painting of the 13th and 14th cent. there was a diffusion throughout Spain of the elegant and courtly style of French and Sienese artists, although strikingly expressive and original works of art were created by masters such as Ferrer Bassa and Luis Borassá. Extensive trade with the Netherlands in the 15th cent. encouraged the emergence of a Hispano-Flemish style, exemplified in the paintings of Jaume Huguet. A successful combination of Moorish and Flemish elements was developed in the works of the painter Fernando Gallego.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• The Decorative Arts
• The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: The Classic, Romantic, and Modern
• The Baroque Period
• The Renaissance and Mannerism
• The Gothic Period: Art
• The Gothic Period: Architecture
• The Romanesque Period
• Moorish and Asturian Influences
• Early Works
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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