Part 1
THE SPANISH SERIES
ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN
THE SPANISH SERIES
_EDITED BY ALBERT F. CALVERT_
GOYA TOLEDO MADRID SEVILLE MURILLO CORDOVA EL GRECO VELAZQUEZ CERVANTES THE PRADO THE ESCORIAL ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR GRANADA AND THE ALHAMBRA LEON, BURGOS, AND SALAMANCA VALLADOLID, OVIEDO, SEGOVIA, ZAMORA, AVILA, AND ZARAGOZA
_In preparation_--
GALICIA SCULPTURE IN SPAIN CITIES OF ANDALUCIA MURCIA AND VALENCIA TAPESTRIES OF THE ROYAL PALACE CATALONIA AND BALEARIC ISLANDS SANTANDER, VISCAYA, AND NAVARRE
ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN
A HISTORICAL & DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE SEVEN PRINCIPAL PALACES OF THE SPANISH KINGS, WITH 164 ILLUSTRATIONS. BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMIX
Edinburgh: T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty
PREFACE
Since despotism has been replaced by constitutional rule the divinity that doth hedge a King has shed something of its significance, but the staunchest republican will admit that there is at least a certain picturesqueness about royalty; and the interest attaching to a crowned head naturally extends to the ancestral homes of majesty. Spain is unusually rich in ‘cloud-capped towers and gorgeous palaces,’ many of which have been the scenes of stirring and momentous events in her history. On the gloomy pile of the Escorial--worthier of an Egyptian Pharaoh--Philip II. stamped conspicuously and indelibly his own sombre personality; Aranjuez and La Granja reveal to us monarchy in its lighter aspect; the Alcazar reminds us of the days when Castilian royalty aped the pomp of the Saracen and became itself half-Oriental; the Royal Palace of Madrid epitomises the greatest crisis in the nation’s history, of the expulsion of its legitimate sovereign, and of the usurpation of the eldest Buonaparte. Napoleon himself ascended its grand staircase, and looking round at the splendid home of the Spanish Bourbons, he was able to say to his brother, ‘I hold at last this Spain so much desired!’
These palaces of the haughtiest royal race in Europe are endowed with the rarest treasures of art and taste such as only a semi-despotic Power could accumulate in bygone days. It is the object of this little book to reveal these riches to the curious in such matters by means of illustrations, the accompanying text being only to be considered in the light of explanatory notes and chronological data.
A. F. C.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. THE ESCORIAL 1
II. LA GRANJA (SAN ILDEFONSO) 19
III. EL PARDO 38
IV. ARANJUEZ 49
V. MIRAMAR 64
VI. EL ALCAZAR (SEVILLE) 74
VII. ROYAL PALACE (MADRID) 91
ILLUSTRATIONS
ESCORIAL
SUBJECT PLATE
View of the Palace, 1 View of the Palace, 2 View of the Palace (east side), 3 North-west angle of the Palace, 4 Principal Façade and Angle of the Palace, 5 View of the Principal Staircase of the Palace, 6 Hall of Ambassadors, 7 Reception Hall, 8 View of the Dining Hall, 9 Pompeian Hall, 10 Library, 11 Chapter Room, 12 The Holy Family, by Raphael, 13 The Last Supper, by Titian, 14 A Smoker, by Teniers, 15 Country Dance, by Goya. Tapestry, 16 Children Picking Fruit, by Goya. Tapestry, 17 The Grape-sellers, by Goya. Tapestry, 18 The China Merchant, by Goya. Tapestry, 19 Diptych, in Ivory, of the 13th Century, 20
SAN ILDEFONSO, LA GRANJA
View of the Palace, 21 View of the Palace and the Cascade, 22 View of the Palace, 23 View of the Palace and Fountain of the Fama, 24 View of the Palace from the Fountain of the Fama, 25 View of the Palace, 26 The Palace in perspective, 27 Entrance to the Palace, 28 View of the Collegiate Church and the Palace, 29 Palace of Rio Frio, 30 Cascade, 31 Palace and Fountain of Fama, 32 Fountain of Fama, 33 Fountain of Fama, 34 Fountain of the Courser, 35 Fountain of the Three Graces, 36 Fountain of the Three Graces, 37 Fountain of Neptune, 38 Fountain of Neptune, 39 Part of the Fountain of Neptune, 40 Fountain of Neptune, 41 Fountain of the Baths of Diana, 42 Fountain of Dragons, 43 Fountain of Latona, 44 Fountain of Eslo, or of the Winds, 45 Fountain of Andromeda, 46 Fountain of the Canastillo, 47 Fountain of the Cup, 48 Fountain of the Cup, 49 Source of the Arno, underground river, 50 The River, 51 The Reservoir, 52 The Reservoir, 53 Cascade of the Reservoir, 54 The Lake, 55 Group of Vases in the Parterre of Andromeda, 56 Three Vases in the Parterre of Andromeda, 57 Vase in the Parterre de la Fama, 58 Vase in the Parterre de la Fama, 59 Vase in the Parterre de la Fama, 60 Vase of the Baths of Diana, 61 Vase in the Parterre of Andromeda, 62 Vase in the Parterre of Andromeda, 63 Vase in the Parterre of Andromeda, 64
EL PARDO
View of the Palace from the Grounds, 65 The Palace, 66 The Palace, 67 The Palace, 68 The Palace, 69 Hall of Ambassadors, 70 Hall of Ambassadors, 71 Dining Room, 72 Ante-Room, 73 Ante-Room, 74 Private Room, 75 Private Room, 76 Scene of the Royal Theatre, 77 Royal Box in the Theatre, 78 Casa del Principe, 79
ARANJUEZ
Principal Façade of the Palace, 80 Southern Façade of the Palace, 81 Royal Palace from the Parterre, 82 Royal Palace from the Gardens, 83 Royal Palace and Suspension Bridge over the Tajo, 84 The Grand Staircase, 85 Porcelain Room, Japanese style, 86 Detail of Porcelain Room, Japanese style, 87 Detail of Porcelain Room, Japanese style, 88 Detail of the Porcelain Room, Japanese style, 89 Detail of the Porcelain Room, Japanese style, 90 Casa del Labrador, 91 Convent of San Antonio, 92 Entrance to the Gardens of the Island, 93 Fountain in the Plaza de San Antonio, 94 Avenue of the Catholic Sovereigns in the Gardens of the Island, 95 Jupiter, bronze group in the Gardens of the Island, 96 Ceres, bronze group in the Gardens of the Island, 97 Juno, bronze group in the Gardens of the Island, 98 Pavilions of the River, in the Garden of the Prince, 99 Fountain of Apollo, in the Garden of the Prince, 100 Fountain of Ceres, in the Garden of the Prince, 101 Fountain of Narcissus, in the Garden of the Prince, 102 Fountain of the Swan, in the Garden of the Prince, 103 General View of the Tajo and the Parterre, 104 Fountain of Hercules, in the Gardens of the Island, 105 Fountain of Hercules, in the Gardens of the Island, 106 Fountain of Apollo, in the Gardens of the Island, 107
MIRAMAR
Side View of the Palace, 108 Reception Room, 109 Billiard Room, 110
SEVILLE
Façade of the Alcazar, 111 Alcazar, Gates of the Principal Entrance, 112 Interior of the Hall of Ambassadors, 113 Interior of the Hall of Ambassadors, 114 Interior of the Hall of Ambassadors, 115 Hall of Ambassadors, 116 Hall of Ambassadors, 117 Court of the Hundred Virgins, 118 Court of the Dolls, 119 Court of the Dolls, from the Room of the Prince, 120 Court of the Dolls, 121 Court of the Dolls, 122 Court of the Dolls, 123 Upper Part of the Court of the Dolls, 124 Dormitory of the Moorish Kings, 125 Sleeping Saloon of the Moorish Kings, 126 Entrance to the Dormitory of the Moorish Kings, 127 View of the Gallery from the second floor, 128 Hall in which King St. Ferdinand died, 129 Interior of the Hall of St. Ferdinand, 130 Interior of the Hall of St. Ferdinand, 131
MADRID
The Royal Palace, 132 The Royal Palace from the Plaza de Oriente, 133 The Royal Palace, 134 Principal Façade of the Palace, 135 The Royal Palace from the Plaza de Oriente, 136 The Royal Palace, 137 The Royal Palace, 138 Palace from the Plaza de la Armeria, 139 Grand Staircase of the Palace, 140 Principal Staircase of the Palace, 141 Grand Staircase of the Palace, 142 The Grand Staircase, 143 Hall of Columns, 144 General View of the Throne Room, 145 The Throne, 146 The Throne, 147 Detail of Throne Room, 148 Ceiling of the Throne Room, by Tiepolo, 149 Ceiling of the Throne Room, by Tiepolo, 150 Ceiling of the Throne Room, by Tiepolo, 151 The King’s Privy Council Chamber, 152 The Queen’s Room, 153 The Music Room, 154 The Room of Mirrors, 155 Reception Room, 156 Bronze Urn in the Reception Room, 157 Room of Charles III., 158 Chinese Room, by Gasparini, 159 Chinese Room, by Gasparini, 160 Porcelain Room, 161 Corner in the Porcelain Room, 162 The Porcelain Room, 163 Porcelain Group in the Buen Retiro, 164
Royal Palaces of Spain
I
THE ESCORIAL
If men may be known by their works, the Escorial will help us to a better understanding of Philip of Spain--of his temperament and his purpose--than can be gained by the study of any other architectural monument for which he was responsible. Philip II. was guilty of craft and duplicity; he inflicted suffering and death upon hosts of his innocent vassals; he has been depicted as a monster of cruelty and bigoted intolerance. But as a monarch inspired with unfaltering belief in the divine right of his kingship, he could not be expected to be tolerant of the stubbornness of others; and as the instrument of God, appointed to enforce religious unity not only among his own subjects, but also upon the rest of Europe, he doubtless felt he was justified in employing any means to accomplish his mission.
The Emperor Charles V. had exhorted Philip to exterminate every trace of heresy from his dominions, and his son never forgot the injunction nor sought to escape the obligation that had been thrust upon him. Throughout his reign, which was inaugurated by an impressive _auto-da-fé_ at Valladolid--in which twelve tortured creatures were sacrificed on the fiery altar of their sovereign’s religious zeal--and closed in an agony of devotion and unshaken faith, he pursued a course which he never doubted was right. A Spaniard of the Spaniards, convinced that Spain was the only centre of true religion, he allowed nothing to stand between him and the attainment of his high purpose. An intense and dangerous individualist, cursed with the religious exaltation of his house, his ecstatic asceticism enabled him to endure suffering and practise rigid mortifications with the same stoicism as that with which he afflicted others. In his zeal for God and Spain he was sincere; he never permitted failure, disaster, or catastrophe to daunt him. His most cherished schemes were frustrated; his beloved country was pauperised and desolated by his policy; he, who devoted all his energies and power to the crushing of Protestantism, lived to see the hated faith enthroned in England, Scotland, Holland, North Germany, and Scandinavia; yet he died after a lingering illness of indescribable physical suffering in the great monastery he had built to the honour of God, convinced to the end of his acceptability as Vicegerent of Jehovah, and conscious that he had exercised his trust to the brighter glory of his Maker.
As the inheritor of divine rights, Philip could do no wrong, and as the greatest king of the greatest kingdom of the world, he always rose superior to personal or national calamity. His arms suffered overwhelming reverses in the Netherlands; he retaliated with massacre and extermination, and was deaf to entreaty. The defeat of his ‘invincible’ Armada was the death-blow to his hopes of converting England to the true faith, but he heard the news of this crowning catastrophe of his life without suffering his ‘marble serenity’ to be ruffled. Into his dying ears was poured the story of the dire devastation of Cadiz by the English fleet, but he only gnawed his rude crucifix and resigned himself the more devoutly to the will of God.
This was the man who in the leisure of thirty years of his life stamped his individuality upon the Royal Palace and Monastery of the Escorial, and fashioned this mighty pile to be a monument to his power and a revelation of his mind--a mind diseased with that virus of morbidity which turned from the contemplation of mercy, charity, and love to ponder on the awful and retributive side of religion. The man explains the edifice, and the edifice is the picture of the man. The granite towers, resting on deep massive foundations, rise boldly into the heavens--lofty, aspiring, severe, like the prayers his stern heart sent up to God. The spacious halls and lofty corridors, all leading finally to the church and the altar, have been likened to the avenues of his mind.
In 1557, two years before Philip first showed himself to his people as champion of the purity of the faith, the meeting between the Spanish and the French arms at St. Quentin credited Spain with a decisive and sorely needed victory. The battle involved the destruction of a church dedicated to St. Lawrence, and Philip, who had spent the day invoking the aid of the martyred saint, bound himself by an oath to found a monastery to his name. He had also been bound under the will of Charles V. to provide a royal burial-place for the reception of his father’s remains, and Philip was probably actuated by a desire to fulfil both these obligations in building the monastery of the Escorial. In the ‘Carta de Dotacion,’ which appears in Cabrera’s _Vida de Felipe II._, the king explains his reasons as follows:--
‘In acknowledgment of the many and great blessings which it has pleased God to heap on us, and continue to us daily, and, inasmuch as He has been pleased to direct and guide our deeds and acts to His holy service, and in maintenance and defence of His holy faith and religion, and of justice and peace within our realms; considering likewise what the emperor and king, my lord and father, in a codicil which he lately made, committed to our care, and charged us with, respecting his tomb, the spot and place where his body and that of the empress and queen, my lady and mother, should be placed; it being just and meet that their bodies should be most duly honoured with a befitting burial-ground, and that for their souls be said continually masses, prayers, anniversaries, and other holy records, and because we have, besides, determined that whenever it may please God to take us away to Him, our body should rest in the same place and spot near theirs ... for all these reasons we found and erect the Monastery of San Lorenzo el Real, near the town of El Escorial, in the diocese and archbishopric of Toledo, the which we dedicate in the name of the Blessed St. Lawrence, on account of the special devotion which, as we have said, we pray to this glorious saint, and in memory of the favour and victories which on this day we received from God....
Although located in a desolate waste of rugged mountains and treeless plains, amid surroundings which most men would shun, the site of the Escorial was selected as the result of much careful thought and personal investigation by ‘the holy founder,’ as Philip is called by the monks. His sentimental attachment to the spot is explained by its air of unrelieved melancholy, but he was also influenced in his choice by the fact that the district contained the abundance and quality of stone suitable for his purpose. Already he had conceived the form and dimensions of his hermitage and sanctuary, the austerity and magnitude of which were to be in harmony with its natural surroundings. Before the work of clearing the land was begun he had erected upon the newly acquired site a rude temporary lodging for his own accommodation. He entrusted his ideas for the construction of the building to Juan Bautista de Toledo, whose plans, ambitious and eccentric in the first place, were severely revised by Philip. On April 23, 1563, the first stone was laid, and from that time until September 13, 1584, when the pile was completed, the king, assailed by the fear that he might die before his scheme was brought to completion, devoted every moment he could seize from affairs of State to superintending the work, and urging architects, artists, and decorators to greater efforts in the accomplishment of their several tasks.
In 1567 Toledo died and was succeeded by Juan de Herrera, who enlarged the convent and added a bell-tower to the building. In 1574 the temporary _Panteon_, or royal burying-place, situated under the high altar of the church, was completed, and to this vault the remains of Charles V. were transferred in 1574. The solemn service with which they were received was terminated by a terrific storm which broke over the monastery and made a wreck of the gorgeous dais that had been erected for the ceremony. During another storm which visited the district, when the construction of the edifice was almost finished, a lightning stroke set fire to the fabric, destroying the fine belfry and its costly peal of bells and doing much other damage. In 1582 an epidemic, which carried off the queen, attacked the king, and for a while his life was despaired of. But Philip survived to see the completion of his initial plans, and two years later he took formal possession of his royal home which had cost the then enormous sum of £660,000. Here for fourteen years he lived, half monarch and half monk, exercising alternately the powers of a tyrant and the self-sacrificing humiliations of a saint, and boasting that, from the foot of a mountain, he governed both the old and new world with two inches of paper.