DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0466
3i6
SPAIN
the placing upon the canvas. The figure forms a rather sharp
triangle occupying most of the space with a strongly felt vertical
axis. The base of the triangle is strengthened by the curving
back of the chair, which balances the hands.
But nowhere else do we appreciate Goya’s insight into the life
about him and his fearlessness in expressing it so clearly as in
the Caprices. In this series he pictures with stinging satire the
weakness of the State, the greed and corruption of the Church,
the hypocrisies of the people, and the social rottenness. In the
foreground of IHAy Hide Them? (Pl. 12.6 c) a miser with snarling
face tightly clutches his money bags, bending over them as if to
protect them from the four men who stand laughing at him. He
is probably one of the clergy; for the great wealth and greed
of the Church at that time were commonly known. Goya’s
draughtsmanship is as incisive as his satire is biting. With a few
strokes he has suggested in a most convincing way the volume
of the figure and its cramped position, as well as an ample spa-
ciousness for the other figures. Besides using line most economi-
cally he has massed the lights, darks, and half-tones in such a way
that the essential fact stands out with amazing lucidity and at
the same time the composition becomes an interesting pattern of
tones.
SCULPTURE
In sculpture as in painting we see a reflection of the emotional
Spanish temperament, the strong religious bias, and the working
of foreign influences. Although stone and particularly bronze
were used by the sculptors, wood was always a popular material
and was ordinarily painted in natural colors and gilded. The
painting of the statue was considered to be of equal importance
with the carving, if we may judge from the fact that well known
painters were employed for this part of the work. The contracts
made by one sculptor stipulated that he himself was to select the
painter to color his statues.
Alonso Berruguete (c. 1486-1561 a.d.) well illustrates the
fusion of the Spanish temperament and foreign influence. Al-
though he studied in Rome not only sculpture but architecture
and painting, and was a pupil of Michelangelo, he returned to
the native polychrome wood sculpture when he came back to
Spain. In his figures Spanish fervor is expressed in terms of
Michelangelo; that is, to Michelangelo’s superb realization of
form, vigor, and restlessness is added an ecstatic emotion typically
Spanish. Somewhat less emotional than some is the Saint Peter
SPAIN
the placing upon the canvas. The figure forms a rather sharp
triangle occupying most of the space with a strongly felt vertical
axis. The base of the triangle is strengthened by the curving
back of the chair, which balances the hands.
But nowhere else do we appreciate Goya’s insight into the life
about him and his fearlessness in expressing it so clearly as in
the Caprices. In this series he pictures with stinging satire the
weakness of the State, the greed and corruption of the Church,
the hypocrisies of the people, and the social rottenness. In the
foreground of IHAy Hide Them? (Pl. 12.6 c) a miser with snarling
face tightly clutches his money bags, bending over them as if to
protect them from the four men who stand laughing at him. He
is probably one of the clergy; for the great wealth and greed
of the Church at that time were commonly known. Goya’s
draughtsmanship is as incisive as his satire is biting. With a few
strokes he has suggested in a most convincing way the volume
of the figure and its cramped position, as well as an ample spa-
ciousness for the other figures. Besides using line most economi-
cally he has massed the lights, darks, and half-tones in such a way
that the essential fact stands out with amazing lucidity and at
the same time the composition becomes an interesting pattern of
tones.
SCULPTURE
In sculpture as in painting we see a reflection of the emotional
Spanish temperament, the strong religious bias, and the working
of foreign influences. Although stone and particularly bronze
were used by the sculptors, wood was always a popular material
and was ordinarily painted in natural colors and gilded. The
painting of the statue was considered to be of equal importance
with the carving, if we may judge from the fact that well known
painters were employed for this part of the work. The contracts
made by one sculptor stipulated that he himself was to select the
painter to color his statues.
Alonso Berruguete (c. 1486-1561 a.d.) well illustrates the
fusion of the Spanish temperament and foreign influence. Al-
though he studied in Rome not only sculpture but architecture
and painting, and was a pupil of Michelangelo, he returned to
the native polychrome wood sculpture when he came back to
Spain. In his figures Spanish fervor is expressed in terms of
Michelangelo; that is, to Michelangelo’s superb realization of
form, vigor, and restlessness is added an ecstatic emotion typically
Spanish. Somewhat less emotional than some is the Saint Peter