CHAPTER XXX

THE GOLDEN AGE: LITERATURE AND ART, 1516-1700

[Sidenote: Victory of Castilian over foreign tongues in polite literature and remarkable outburst of productivity.]

The general conditions affecting literature and art in the _siglo de oro_ have already been alluded to in the preceding chapter. The influence of Humanism and the impulse of the Renaissance were more directly felt in polite literature than in didactic and scientific works. Furthermore, this type of literature was more easily understood by people at large than the more special studies, and it is not surprising that Spain’s intellectual greatness should have been appreciated by the majority of the educated classes in terms of poetry, the novel, and the drama, together with the manifestations of the age in the fine arts. The very men who contributed works of a scientific character could not resist the appeal of _belles lettres_, and wrote books which not infrequently demonstrated their double right to homage. Knowledge of Latin, Greek, and various modern languages, especially Italian and French, was more or less general among the educated classes, giving an opportunity for the satisfaction of one’s wishes to delve into a varied literature, and opening the way to foreign influences upon Castilian work. The day of French influence seemed for a time to have passed, however (although it returned with the decline in the later seventeenth century); rather, a current against it had set in. The effect of the other three languages was so great, however, that Castilian temporarily lost some of its prestige, which passed over especially to Latin and Italian. Most works of an erudite character now appeared in Latin, and that language was the official tongue of most of the courses in the universities. The church, too, lent its weight to Latin. Nevertheless, Castilian was at no time in real danger. Anything intended for popular consumption found its way into Castilian, and not a few notable scientific works employed that language. Save for a few inefficacious attempts of the Humanists to use Latin, the field of polite literature was captured wholly by the native tongue. This victory for national sentiment carried with it an exuberant outburst of productivity which affected all classes. Prior to this time the clergy had provided almost the only representatives to win fame in _belles lettres_; now, they were joined and rivalled, even outdone, by laymen, both soldiers and civilians. The noble families caught the enthusiasm and made their houses centres for gatherings, and the kings themselves were carried along in the current. Charles I was exceptionally fond of the novels of chivalry, which he used to have read aloud to him; Philip II, himself little affected, tolerated the tastes of his daughters which led them to make poetry form a part of the palace distractions; but it was under Philip IV that the royal love and patronage of literature attained to its highest point. Philip IV himself wrote comedies, and filled the palace with poets, dramatists, and writers of prose. Meanwhile, the general public got its first real opportunity to attend the theatre, and bought meritorious books (which printing now rendered available), while men discussed their favorite authors with the same ardor that they might their favorite bull-fighters.

[Sidenote: Spanish contributions to philology.]

One of the principal studies of the Humanists was that of grammar, Latin and Greek chiefly. The classical authors and the patristic writings of the medieval period occupied their attention, together with allied works in other languages, such as ancient Hebrew or modern Italian. The Spanish Humanists held a noteworthy place in the development of this movement in Europe. While many individuals might be named, Arias Montano was perhaps the greatest of Spain’s representatives. Interest in language study carried Spaniards far afield among contemporary tongues, and in one respect led to a remarkable contribution to knowledge. As conquerors and as missionaries Spaniards came in contact with a variety of peoples hitherto unknown, or little known, to the world, from the numerous tribes of the Indians in the Americas to the Chinese and Japanese of the Far East. Many valuable data were accumulated in Spanish about these peoples and their customs, and their languages were studied and in many cases written down by Spaniards, who systematized them for the first time. Much of this material has only recently become available, but it ranks as an achievement of the _siglo de oro_; perhaps the more valuable parts were prepared in the sixteenth century. Meanwhile, the process of purifying Castilian grammar was constantly going on, and it is interesting to note the strong nationalistic tendency in favor of a phonetic spelling as opposed to the expression of the etymological form. Rhetoric was regarded as a part of grammar, and it is easy to understand that in an age of Humanism the question of style should be a favorite topic.

[Sidenote: Lope de Rueda and the development of the national theatre.]

It was in this period that the national theatre developed, and Spaniards displayed such originality and forcefulness as to make a profound impression on the dramatic literature of the world. At the outset of the reign of Charles I, Gil Vicente and Torres Naharro were continuing the tradition of Juan del Enzina with crude farces and allegorical religious plays. Despite the fact that these were generally acted in convents, they were so frequently of a licentious character that in 1548 their publication was forbidden. Meanwhile, classical plays and compositions written in imitation of the Latin and Greek masters were proving difficult competitors to the weakly groping Spanish stage. The regeneration of the national theatre was due to Lope de Rueda of Seville, whose name first appears in 1554. The greatness of Rueda was due primarily to his own acting, which gave him an opportunity to re-introduce Spanish plays and make a success of them. While staging translations of Latin and Italian works, Rueda wrote and played short acts of a dramatic and episodical character. Others carried on the task begun by Rueda until the machinery for the Spanish theatre was fairly well prepared for the works of the great masters,--for example, the three-act comedy had developed, first employed by Francisco de Avendaño. Cervantes wrote a number of plays, between 1583 and 1587, but while they were not without merit they were completely overshadowed by those of the great writers of dramatic literature.

[Sidenote: The great masters of the Spanish theatre.]

First of the great masters, chronologically, was Lope de Vega (1562-1635), who was also one of the most prolific writers of all time. It is said that he wrote 1800 comedies and 400 religious, allegorical plays (one of the leading types of the era), besides many shorter dialogues, of which number 470 of the comedies and 50 of the plays have survived. His writings were not less admirable than numerous, and marked a complete break with the past. An inventive exuberance, well-sustained agreeability and charm, skill in the management of fable and in the depiction of character, the elevation of women to a leading place in the dramatical plot (a feature without precedent), an instinct for theatrical effects, intensity of emotional expression, wit, naturalness and nobility of dialogue, and realism were the most noteworthy traits of his compositions, together with a variety in subject-matter which ventured into every phase of the history and contemporary customs of Spain. His defects were traceable mainly to his facility in production, such as a lack of plan and organization as a whole, wherefore it has been said that he wrote scenes and not complete plays, although his best works are not open to this charge. In the meantime, the paraphernalia of theatrical presentation had been perfected. In 1579 the first permanent theatre was built in Madrid, followed quickly by the erection of others there and in the other large cities. Travelling companies staged plays in all parts of Spain, until the theatre became popular. If Lope de Vega profited from this situation, so also did the stage from him, for he provided it with a vehicle which fixed it in public favor at a time when the balance might have swung either way. The fame of Lope de Vega eclipsed that of his contemporaries, many of whom were deserving of high rank. In recent years one name has emerged from the crowd, that of Friar Gabriel Téllez, better known by his pseudonym, Tirso de Molina (1571-1658). In realism, depiction of character, profundity of ideas, emotion, and a sense of the dramatic he was the equal and at times the superior of Lope de Vega. The successor in fame and popularity of Lope de Vega, however, was Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681), whose compositions faithfully represented the devout Catholicism and chivalric ideals (exaggerating the fact) of his contemporaries. Calderón was above all a writer of religious, allegorical plays. In the domain of the profane his plays were too grave and rigid to adapt themselves to the comic, and they were characterized by a certain monotony and artifice, a substitution of allegory for realism, and an excess of brilliance and lyrical qualities, often tinged with rhetoric and obscure classical allusions. Not only were these three masters and a number of others great in Spain, but also they clearly influenced the dramatic literature of the world; it would be necessary to include most of the famous European playwrights of the seventeenth century and some of later times if a list were to be made of those who drew inspiration from the Spanish theatre of the _siglo de oro_.

[Sidenote: The three types of the sixteenth century novel.]

The history of the Spanish novel in this era reduces itself to a discussion of three leading types, those of chivalry, love, and social customs, the last-named an outgrowth from the picaresque novel, and more often so-called. The novel of chivalry, descendant of _Amadís de Gaula_, was by far the most popular in the sixteenth century, having almost a monopoly of the field. Like the reprehensible “dime novel” of recent American life its popularity became almost a disease, resulting occasionally in a derangement of the mental faculties of some of its more assiduous readers. The extravagant achievements of the wandering knights ended by proving a bore to Spanish taste, and the chivalric novel was already dead when Cervantes attacked it in _Don Quixote_. Meanwhile, the amatory novel had been affected by the introduction from Italy of a pastoral basis for the story, which first appeared in the middle of the sixteenth century and endured for about a hundred years. This novel was based on an impossible situation, that of country shepherds and shepherdesses who talked like people of education and refinement. Only the high qualities of the writers were able to give it life, which was achieved by the excellence of the descriptions, the lyrical quality of the verse, and the beauty of the prose style. The true Spanish novel was to develop out of the picaresque type, which looked back to the popular _La Celestina_ of 1499. About the middle of the sixteenth century and again just at its close there appeared two other works, frankly picaresque, for they dealt with the life of rogues (_pícaros_) and vagabonds. The name “picaresque” was henceforth employed for works which did not come within the exact field of these earlier volumes, except that they were realistic portrayals of contemporary life. Such was the state of affairs when Cervantes appeared.

[Sidenote: Cervantes and _Don Quixote_.]

[Sidenote: The _Novelas exemplares_.]

Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra (1547-1616) had a long and varied career before his publication of the book which was to place him at a bound in the front rank of the literary men of all time. He was a pupil of the Humanist Hoyos in 1568; a chamberlain of Cardinal Acquaviva at Rome in 1569; a soldier from 1570 to 1575, taking part in the battle of Lepanto; and a captive in Algiers from 1575 to 1580. A devotee of _belles lettres_ from youth, he produced many works between 1583 and 1602 in poetry, the drama, and the pastoral novel, in none of which did he attain to real eminence, though a writer of note. In 1603 he wrote the first part of the _Quixote_, and published it in 1605. The book leaped into immediate favor, ran through a number of editions, and was almost at once translated, at least in part, into all the languages of western Europe. It is easy to point out the relationship of _Don Quixote_ to the many types of literature which had preceded it. There was the influence of Lucian in its audacious criticism, piquancy, and jovial and independent humor, in its satire, in fine; of Rojas’ _La Celestina_ or of Rueda in dialogue; of Boccaccio in style, variety, freedom, and artistic devices; of the Italian story-writers and poets of the era; even of Homer’s _Odyssey_; and especially of the novels of chivalry. Nevertheless, Cervantes took all this and moulded it in his own way into something new. The case of the novel of chivalry may be taken for purposes of illustration. While pretending to annihilate that type of work, which was already dead, Cervantes in fact caught the epic spirit of idealism which the novelists had wished to represent but had drowned in a flood of extravagances and impossible happenings, raising it in the _Quixote_ to a point of sublimity which revealed the eternal significance in human psychology of the knightly ideal,--and all in the genial reflection of chimerical undertakings amid the real problems of life. On this account some have said that the _Quixote_ was the last and the best, the perfected novel of chivalry. Withal, it was set forth in prose of inexpressible beauty, superior to any of its models in its depth and spontaneity, its rich abundance, its irresistibly comic force, and its handling of conversation. The surprise occasioned by this totally unlooked for kind of book can in part be understood when one recalls that in the domain of the real and human, the public had had only the three picaresque novels already alluded to, before the appearance of _Don Quixote_. In his few remaining years of life Cervantes added yet other works in his inimitable style, of which the two most notable were the second part of the _Quixote_ (1615), said by many to be superior to the first, and the _Novelas exemplares_, or Model tales (1612-1613), a series of short stories bearing a close relationship to the picaresque novels in their dealings with the lives of rogues, vagabonds, and profligates, but as demonstrably different from them as the _Quixote_ was from the novels of chivalry, especially in that Cervantes was not satirizing, or idealizing, or even drawing a moral concerning the life he depicted, but merely telling his tale, as an artist and a poet. Well might he say that he was the first to write novels in Castilian. There were many writers of fiction after him in the era, but since the novel had reached its culminating point in its first issue, it is natural that the art did not progress,--for it could not!

[Sidenote: Lyric and epic poetry.]

While the Spanish theatre and the Spanish novel were of world-wide significance, furnishing models which affected the literature of other peoples, Spanish lyric poetry had only national importance, but it has a special interest at this time in that it was the most noteworthy representative of the vices which were to contribute to destroy Spain’s literary preëminence. In the first place, lyric poetry was an importation, for the Italian lyrics overwhelmed the native product and even imposed their form in Castilian verse. Much excellent work was done, however, notably by Garcilaso de la Vega (1503-1536). Eminent on another account was Luis de Argote y Góngora (1561-1627), commonly referred to by the name of his mother, Góngora. Góngora affected to despise popularity, declaring that he wished to write only for the cultivated classes. To attain this end he adopted the method of complicating the expression of his ideas, making violent departures from the usual order of employing words (hyperbaton), and indulging in artificial symbolism. This practice, called euphuism in English, for it was not peculiar to Spain but became general in Europe, won undying fame of a doubtfully desirable character for Góngora, in that it has ever since been termed _gongorismo_ in Spanish, although the word _culteranismo_ has also been applied. Similar to it was conceptism, which aimed to introduce subtleties, symbols, and obscurities into the ideas themselves. It is natural that the lyric poetry of the later seventeenth century should have reached a state of utter decline. Epic poetry did not prosper in this era; its function was supplied by romance.

[Sidenote: Achievements in satire, panegyrics, and periodical literature.]

In addition to the various forms of prose writing already discussed, there were many others, and great distinction was achieved in them by the Spaniards of the _siglo de oro_. Among the many who might be mentioned was Francisco de Quevedo, especially famous as a satirist and humorist. One interesting type of literature was that of the panegyrics of Spain in answer to the Hispanophobe works of foreigners, who based their characterizations of Spaniards in no small degree, though not wholly, on the exaggerated condemnation of Spain’s dealings with the American Indians by Bartolomé de Las Casas, himself a Spanish Dominican. The _Política indiana_ of Solórzano belongs in this class of literature, as a refutation, though a reasoned one, of the indictment of Las Casas and others. In addition to the already-mentioned “relations of events,” forerunner of the modern newspaper, it is to be noted that the _Gaceta_ (Gazette), the official periodical, began to be published in the seventeenth century. With regard to the non-Castilian parts of Spain it need only be said that Castilian triumphed as the literary language, although works in the vernacular continued to be published in Catalonia, Valencia, and Majorca.

[Sidenote: Influence of Spanish intellectual achievements upon western European thought.]

In dealing with the various phases of the _siglo de oro_ much has already been said about the diffusion of Spanish thought in Europe and its influence in foreign countries. Two factors tended to bring Spanish intellectual achievements to the notice of the world. In the first place, Spanish professors were to be found in many foreign universities, while Jesuit teaching, very largely Spanish, profoundly affected Catholic Europe. In the second place, Spanish works were widely read and translated, although not equally at all times or equally in all places. In general, Italy was the centre for the dissemination of Spanish thought in the sixteenth century, though often by a double translation, from Spanish to Italian and from Italian to a third tongue, and France was the distributing point in the seventeenth century. In addition there were the works in Latin, which were equally available to all. Spanish philosophical writings were comparatively little read, abroad, but those concerning theology and religion were seized upon by friend and foe, while the offerings of the Spanish mystics were also widely translated. An even greater diffusion fell to the lot of the works on jurisprudence, politics, and international law, and the essential importance of Spanish writings in geography, cosmography, natural science, and kindred subjects has already been pointed out. The works of the historians crossed the frontiers, though more particularly those dealing with the Americas, together with the narratives of American travel. The power of Spanish arms was sufficient to induce wide reading of military writings emanating from the peninsula. Naturally, the greatest number of translations was in the field of polite literature. Every type of the Spanish novel found its way to other countries, and the novel of chivalry was almost more admired, abroad, and certainly longer-lived, than in Spain. Cervantes became a veritable cult in Germany and England, and in this special case England became the centre for the diffusion of Spanish genius. In like manner the great dramatists were famous in all of Europe. While the mere knowledge by Europeans of Spanish works would not be a sufficient basis to predicate a vital Spanish influence beyond the peninsula, such information was a condition precedent to its effectuation, and important modifications of western European thought did in fact follow. It would be possible to trace this in every branch of literature and study which has been discussed, but a number of indications have been given already, and the task is one which does not fall within the field of this volume. To those who actually produced an effect should be added the names of those who deserved to do so, but who were prevented by fortuitous circumstances from so doing; the achievements of many of these men are only now being brought to light by investigations in Spanish archives, and in some cases,--for example, in that of the anthropological group of writers about the Americas,--their works still represent contributions to universal knowledge. Toward the close of the seventeenth century Spain’s hegemony in the world of letters began to be supplanted by the rising power of France.

[Sidenote: Causes of the decline in Spanish intellectual productivity]

All peoples who have had their period of intellectual greatness have sooner or later fallen from their high estate, and it was inevitable that this should occur in the case of Spain. The decline in the peninsula was so excessive in degree, however, that historians have enquired whether there were not certain special causes to induce it. The baleful effect of the Inquisition, exercising a kind of religious censorship on all works, has usually been regarded as of the first importance in this respect. Yet the Inquisition existed during the period of greatness as well as in that of decadence, and to assert that the prohibitions placed upon the expression of even such important ideas as those having a religious bearing could dry up the native independence and freedom of Spanish thought is to confess a lack of knowledge of Spanish character. The Inquisition was one of a great many factors having some influence to check production, but it was not responsible to the degree that has been charged. The same thing is true of the government censorship independent of the Inquisition. Another factor of some importance was that the manifestations of the _siglo de oro_ had no solid foundation in the education of the masses, who remained as ignorant as in preceding centuries. If any set of causes can be singled out from the rest, it is probable that those having to do with the political and economic decline of the country as a whole affected, also, the intellectual output of the country. A natural aptitude in the Spanish people, together with the national expansion in resources and power, had enabled them in the sixteenth century to develop an all-round intellectual productivity, more especially of a scientific order, and when this phase of the Golden Age was already dead, private wealth, refinement, and tradition remained to encourage expression in the realm of polite literature. Even this prop was removed by the end of the seventeenth century, and the final decline became inevitable.

[Sidenote: Great era of the fine arts.]

The general conditions affecting the history of art were the same as those already pointed out in dealing with literature. Spain produced painters whose works were to serve as among the greatest models of all time, and her attainments in other phases of art, if less inspiring, were of a distinguished order. Spanish architecture, though rarely approved by modern critics, was to become a force in the world through its transmission to the Americas. The so-called “Mission style” of California is nothing more than a reminiscence of the art forms of Spain in this period and the next.

[Sidenote: Spanish Renaissance architecture.]

[Sidenote: The Herreran style.]

[Sidenote: Baroque architecture.]

A continuation of the evolution begun in the preceding era, from Gothic to Renaissance architecture, resulted in the banishment of the former. The Renaissance edifices were in three principal styles, which did not succeed one another rigorously in turn, but which were mixed together, or passed almost imperceptibly from one to another, although roughly representing a certain chronological order. The first of these was characterized by the predominance of Renaissance factors over those which were more properly plateresque. The façades of San Marcos of León and of the _ayuntamiento_ (city hall) of Seville are good examples. By far the most noteworthy style was that of the second of this period, called variously “Greco-Roman,” “second Renaissance,” and “Herreran” (after Juan de Herrera, its principal exponent), and employed most largely in the second half of the sixteenth and the first part of the seventeenth century. The edifices of this group were noteworthy for the attempt made in them to imitate the Roman architecture of the later empire through the suppression of adornment and the multiplication of flat surfaces and straight lines, achieving expression through great size and massiveness of structure, together with the use of rich materials. In the matter of embellishment the classical orders were superimposed, Doric being used in the lower story, Ionic in the next, and finally Corinthian. The pyramid capped with a ball was the favorite style of finial, while gigantic statues were also placed in niches high up in the façade. The whole effect was sombrely religious, often depressingly so. The greatest example of this type of art is the Escorial, the famous palace of Philip II, built by Juan de Herrera, possibly the most noteworthy single edifice of Christian Spanish architecture in existence, and certainly the most widely known. In the reign of Philip IV there was a pronounced reaction against the sobriety of the Herreran style, and the pendulum swung to the other extreme. Adornment and movement of line returned, but were expressed in a most extravagant way, as exemplified by the excessive employment of foliage effects and by the use of broken or twisted lines which were not structurally necessary and were not in harmony with the rest of the edifice. Variety and richness of materials were also a leading characteristic. This style, usually called “baroque,” also “churrigueresque” (from Churriguera, its leading architect), has numerous examples, of which the façade of the palace of San Telmo in Seville may be taken as a type.

[Sidenote: Vigorous development of sculpture and the lesser arts.]

Sculpture developed into a vigorous art, though still employed mainly as auxiliary to architecture or in religious statuary. Gothic sculpture in both the pure and the plateresque form struggled against Italian influences until the middle of the sixteenth century, when the latter triumphed. Berruguete, Montañés, and Alonso Cano, the first-named largely responsible for the just-mentioned Italian victory and the two latter flourishing in the time of Philip IV, were the leading names of the era. A peculiarity of the Spanish sculptors was that they worked in wood, being especially noteworthy for the images (many crucifixions among them) which they made. The realism of the image-makers saved Spanish sculpture from the contamination of baroque art, which took root in other countries. The decline came, however, with the introduction later in the seventeenth century of the practice of dressing the images, so that only the head, hands, and feet were in fact sculptured. From this the sculptors went on to attach false hair and other false features, going even to the extreme of affixing human skin and finger nails. Other factors combined with this lack of taste to bring on the decay of the art. The excellent work in this period of the _artesonados_, or ceilings of carved woodwork, should not pass unnoticed. Meanwhile, work in gold, silver, iron, and bronze was cultivated assiduously, of which the principal manifestations of a national character were the shrines and gratings. In general, the Renaissance influences triumphed in these arts, as also in the various allied arts, such as the making of tapestry. The gold workers enjoyed an expansion of output springing naturally from the surplus wealth in secular hands, and a similar lot fell to the workers in silks and embroideries; both industries produced materials of a high artistic quality. In ceramic art Arabic tradition had one noteworthy survival in the azulejos, or varnished bricks painted by hand in blue and white and used as tiles. Renaissance factors at length appeared to change the geometric designs, reminiscent of the Moslem past, to the more prevalent classic forms. Aside from azulejos proper other tiles of many colors, often gilded, were employed.

[Sidenote: Appearance of an independent Spanish school in painting.]

In the early years of this period the Italian influence on Spanish painting held full sway. The leading factors were the Florentine school, headed by Raphael, and the Venetian school, of which Titian was the most prominent representative. The latter, notable for its brilliant coloring and effects of light, was by all odds the more important of the two. Spaniards went to Italy to study, and not a few Italian painters came to Spain, while many works of the Italian masters, especially those of Titian, were procured by Charles I and Philip II. Nevertheless, the signs of a truly Spanish school began to appear about the middle of the sixteenth century, and before the close of Philip II’s reign the era of Spanish independence in painting and the day of the great masters were at hand, to endure for over a century. With characteristic individuality, Spaniards did not separate into well-defined local schools, but displayed a great variety, even within the same group. Still, in a general way the Andalusians may be said to have accentuated the use of light and a warm ambient, while the Castilians followed a more severe style, employing darker tones. All devoted themselves to the depiction of religious subject-matter, but with no attempt at idealism; rather, the mundane sphere of realism, though in a religious cloak, preoccupied them, with attention, too, to expression and coloring more than to drawing and purity of form.

[Sidenote: El Greco, first of the great masters in painting.]

[Sidenote: Ribera.]

[Sidenote: Zurbarán.]

[Sidenote: Velázquez, greatest of the masters.]

[Sidenote: Murillo.]

[Sidenote: Coello.]

[Sidenote: Other notable painters.]

The era of splendor began with Domenico Theotocopuli (1545?-1625), better known as “El Greco.” As indicated by his name this artist was not Spanish in origin, but Greek. The character of his works, however, was so original and its influences were so powerful in the formation of the Spanish school that he may truly be claimed for Spain, where he lived and worked. He established himself at Toledo in 1577, which city is still the best repository of his paintings. His early style was marked by a strong Venetian manner, with warm tones, great richness, firm drawing, and an intense sentiment of life. Toward 1581 he began to change to a use of cold, gray, shadowy tones, and the employment of a kind of caricature in his drawing, with long and narrow heads and bodies. By this method, however, he was able to attain wonderful results in portraiture. Aside from his own merits no painter so profoundly influenced the greatest of the masters, Velázquez. Chronologically next of the great painters was Ribera (1588-1656), called “Espagnoletto” in Italy, where he did most of his work in the Spanish kingdom of Naples. Naturalism, perfect technique, and the remarkable bodily energy of the figures he depicted were the leading qualities of his work. The diffusion of his paintings in Spain tended to make him influential in the Spanish school, to which his individuality, as well as his birth, entitled him to belong. Zurbarán (1598-1663) was the most rigorous of the realists, including all the accessories in his paintings, even to the minute details of a person’s dress. Less vigorous than Ribera he was best in his portrayal of monks, in which subject-matter his sombrely passive, exceedingly religious atmosphere found a suitable vehicle. He was nevertheless a brilliant colorist. Next in point of time came Diego Velázquez de Silva (1599-1660), greatest of Spanish masters and possibly the greatest of all painters. Velázquez had various periods and various styles, in all of which he produced admirable works. Unlike his predecessors and those who succeeded him as well, he was as diverse in subject-matter as it was possible to be, within the law, and was far less notable for his religious works than for his many others. He depicted for all time the court life of Philip III and Philip IV, including the portraits of those kings and the other leading figures of the court. Some of his greatest work appeared in these portraits, which he knew how to fit into a setting of landscape, making the central figure stand out in a way that no other painter has surpassed or perhaps equalled. He also painted common people (as in his _Los borrachos_, or Intoxicated men) and queer people (as in his paintings of dwarfs), and drew upon mythology (as in his composition entitled “the forge of Vulcan”) and upon contemporary wars (as witness the famous “surrender of Breda”). Once only, during a lapse of the prohibitory law, did he paint a nude,--the celebrated Venus of the mirror, now in London, one of the greatest works of its kind. In many of his paintings he revealed himself as a wonderful landscape painter. His landscapes were characterized by the use of a pale, yet rich, pervading blue, and by effects of distance and atmosphere. No painter is more inadequately set forth by photography. To know Velázquez, one must see his works.[58] After Velázquez came Murillo (1618-1682), an Andalusian, who well represented the traits of southern Spain. His leading characteristics were a precise, energetic drawing, fresh, harmonious coloring, and a religious sentiment which was a remarkable combination of imaginative idealism, or even supernaturalism, of conception with realism of figures and scenes. His biblical characters were represented by the common people of the streets of Seville. Few painters have more indelibly stamped their works with their own individuality. Last of the masters was Coello (1623?-1694), who maintained the traditions of the Spanish school, though under strong Venetian influence, amidst a flood of baroque paintings which had already begun to corrupt public taste. Other names might well be included in the list of great Spanish painters in this era, such as Pacheco, Roelas, Herrera, and especially Valdés Leal and Alonso Cano. Indeed, it would be difficult to overestimate the importance of the Spanish school. It is not unthinkable that a list of the ten greatest painters in the history of the world would include the names of Velázquez, El Greco, and Murillo, with a place reserved for Goya (of the eighteenth century), and with the claims of Ribera deserving consideration.

[Sidenote: Noteworthy character of Spanish music.]

Spanish music, though not so important in the history of the world as that of Italy or Germany, had a notable development in this period, and displayed an individuality which distinguished it from that of other lands. For the first time it came into a place of its own, apart from recitation or the merely technical presentation of medieval church ceremonial, and was characterized by a certain expressiveness, approaching sentimentality and having a flavor which has led many to assert that its roots were to be found in the song and dance of Spanish Moslems. To be sure, the influence of Italy was greatest at this time. The _siglo de oro_ in Spanish music was the sixteenth century, in the time of the four great composers of the era, Morales, Guerrero, Cabezón, and Victoria. The greatest works were in the field of religious music, in which various parts were sung to the accompaniment of the organ. Music of the court occupied a half-way post between church and popular music, displaying a combination of both elements, with song to the accompaniment of the viola, which filled the rôle of the modern piano. At the close of the sixteenth century the viola was replaced by the guitar, which became the national instrument of Spain. Popular music found its fullest expression in the theatre. It got to be the fashion for the entire company to sing as a preliminary to the play, to the music of the viola, the harp, or the violin. This song had no necessary connection with the play, but song in dialogue soon began to be employed as an integral part of one-act pieces of what might be termed a vaudeville type. In the seventeenth century, song invaded the legitimate stage, and some operas were sung in which the dialogue was entirely in music or else alternated with recitation. The last-named type, the _zarzuela_, became particularly popular. Unfortunately, none of the examples of this music which would have been most interesting, such as that employed in the _zarzuelas_ of Lope de Vega and the other masters, has survived. Its true character therefore remains unknown, although its use in theatrical representation is an important fact in the history of the art.