DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0467
FROM GOTHIC AGE TO NINETEENTH CENTURY 317
(Pl. 12.7 a), though even in this figure there is a tenseness in the
lean, almost skeleton-like hands and feet and the expressive face.
The drapery sweeps about the figure in massive folds, their broad
simplicity accentuating the emaciation of the body.
Another sculptor in wood whose work is particularly compel-
ling is Pedro de Mena (162.8-1688 a.d.). In his Saint Francis (Pl.
12.7 b) he has expressed fervid piety with sincerity and conviction
and without being overemotional. The long monk’s robe and
hood completely clothe the quiet figure and frame a face which
in its expression of asceticism is typically Spanish. This inter-
pretation of the Italian Saint Francis, who made all creatures his
“little brothers,’’ is peculiarly Spanish. Granted the interpreta-
tion, the simple directness of expression harmonizes well with
the conception.
MINOR ARTS
In Spain as in Italy, the minor arts were closely interwoven
with the major; in fact, the distinction here implied did not exist,
for all artists were craftsmen. As among other peoples, the trade
guilds were of paramount influence. “The formula of admission
to a Spanish brotherhood was very quaint in its punctilious and
precise severity. ... It was required that the candidate for ad-
mission should be a silversmith, married in conformity with the
canons of the church, a man well spoken of among his neighbors,
and not a recent convert to the Christian faith. The day pre-
scribed for choosing or rejecting him was that which was con-
secrated to Saint John the Baptist, coinciding with the festival
of Saint Eligius or San Loy, ‘ the patron and representative ’ of
silversmiths, who in life had been a silversmith himself.’’4 We
hear of Berruguete assisting in the decoration of the palace at
Alcala, carving wooden panels for the choir stalls at Toledo, as
well as making marble tombs for counts and cardinals, and statues
for altarpieces. Juan de Arfe is equally famous for the delicate
workmanship of his silver custodias and for his bronze sepul-
chral statue of Don Cristobal. The famous iron-grille makers
were sculptors and architects as well.
In discussing sculpture we spoke of the popularity of wood as
a medium. It was plentiful and cheap. Besides carving statues
from it, the Spaniard used it for the choir stalls and the great
retables that are so unique a feature of the Spanish cathedrals.
The origin of the retable is the simple altarpiece. With the help
4 Williams, Arts and Crafts of Older Spain, III, p. 222. Then follows a description of the
method of voting by beans or almonds.
(Pl. 12.7 a), though even in this figure there is a tenseness in the
lean, almost skeleton-like hands and feet and the expressive face.
The drapery sweeps about the figure in massive folds, their broad
simplicity accentuating the emaciation of the body.
Another sculptor in wood whose work is particularly compel-
ling is Pedro de Mena (162.8-1688 a.d.). In his Saint Francis (Pl.
12.7 b) he has expressed fervid piety with sincerity and conviction
and without being overemotional. The long monk’s robe and
hood completely clothe the quiet figure and frame a face which
in its expression of asceticism is typically Spanish. This inter-
pretation of the Italian Saint Francis, who made all creatures his
“little brothers,’’ is peculiarly Spanish. Granted the interpreta-
tion, the simple directness of expression harmonizes well with
the conception.
MINOR ARTS
In Spain as in Italy, the minor arts were closely interwoven
with the major; in fact, the distinction here implied did not exist,
for all artists were craftsmen. As among other peoples, the trade
guilds were of paramount influence. “The formula of admission
to a Spanish brotherhood was very quaint in its punctilious and
precise severity. ... It was required that the candidate for ad-
mission should be a silversmith, married in conformity with the
canons of the church, a man well spoken of among his neighbors,
and not a recent convert to the Christian faith. The day pre-
scribed for choosing or rejecting him was that which was con-
secrated to Saint John the Baptist, coinciding with the festival
of Saint Eligius or San Loy, ‘ the patron and representative ’ of
silversmiths, who in life had been a silversmith himself.’’4 We
hear of Berruguete assisting in the decoration of the palace at
Alcala, carving wooden panels for the choir stalls at Toledo, as
well as making marble tombs for counts and cardinals, and statues
for altarpieces. Juan de Arfe is equally famous for the delicate
workmanship of his silver custodias and for his bronze sepul-
chral statue of Don Cristobal. The famous iron-grille makers
were sculptors and architects as well.
In discussing sculpture we spoke of the popularity of wood as
a medium. It was plentiful and cheap. Besides carving statues
from it, the Spaniard used it for the choir stalls and the great
retables that are so unique a feature of the Spanish cathedrals.
The origin of the retable is the simple altarpiece. With the help
4 Williams, Arts and Crafts of Older Spain, III, p. 222. Then follows a description of the
method of voting by beans or almonds.