Architecture and Decorative Exuberance of Spanish Architecture

Archilogy — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:00:41 +0000

The rigid classicism of the Escorial, the spirituality of the Counter-Reformation, and the centralization of the state provided the themes for Spanish architecture throughout the 17th century. So it was that classical harmony gradually gave way to a more accentuated hierarchy of individual elements thanks to the sculptural elaboration of walls, the use of a variety of contrasting materials, and the increased ornamentation of facades. Even so, at various places far from court, buildings were made that testify to the beginning of baroque architecture in Spain. At Granada in the 18th century the canons of classical architecture began taking on decorative elements that were freely interpreted thanks to the use of stucco. The leading architect was Francisco Hurtado Izquierdo, whose decorative forms, based on classical elements that he fragmented and multiplied in a prismatic manner, represent one of the most original contributions of Spanish architecture. Around 1720 the mixed nature of the architecture in Spain’s cities gave way to the court art of the Bourbons, primarily inspired by Italian and French classicism and initially led by a group of Italian architects, from Giovanni Battista Sacchetti to Filippo Juvarra. Soon enough, however, a local style came into being based on an extreme version of the baroque and characterized by the sumptuous and exuberant sculptural decoration of walls. This style came to be called Churrigueresque from Jose Benito de Churriguera and his brothers.

Archilogy.com » french classicism

Architecture and Decorative Exuberance of Spanish Architecture