Over the years, Spain has produced many significant figures. From sports, to politics, many renowned people have had their meager beginnings in this eastern European country. Some of the greatest, however, were the artists. Not only did Spaniards create beautiful paintings, but they also birthed entirely new sects in the art culture. Although innumerable world famous painters have been Spanish, three of the most prominent artists were Diego de Velázquez, Francisco Goya, and Pablo Picasso. The first of these great painters was Diego de Velázquez. Born in Seville, Spain, in 1599, Velázquez possessed great talent in the realm of art. His parents recognized this, and at the young age of eleven, he was apprenticed to Francisco Pacheco, a talented local artist. For the next six years, Velázquez studied under this man, learning the trade, and perfecting the style of Pacheco himself. Here Velázquez learned to look to nature for inspiration and enlightenment, a value which he held close throughout his whole career, which is evident in his paintings. In 1617, after his six years of apprenticeship were completed, Velázquez set up his own studio, in which he painted primary religious works and portraits, but also bodegones, portrayals of kitchens. A year later, Pacheco offered his daughter, Juana, as a wife for Velázquez. Now the son-in-law of his greatest teacher, Velázquez pursued a career as a religious painter. After painting a portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares, he gained
La Movida Madrileña, meaning “The Action of Madrid”, was an unplanned countercultural movement from 1977 to 1985 in Spain. It began when Dictator Francisco Franco died and Spain erupted with pent-up energy. It was a movement that valued style over substance. The cultural revolution was evident in the music, subculture, fashion, alcohol, drugs, and sexual experimentation. La Movida took place primarily in Madrid, although some other cities such as Barcelona and Vigo had their own Movidas. Popular
Francisco Goya is one of the most remarkable artists of the eighteenth century. Born in the village of Fuendetodos in Spain, Goya grew up to become an inspirational painter after pursuing his studies in art. Goya began working for the Spanish royal court and created several works that were a criticism to the political and social problems of the contemporary era. He won several commissions from the royal court after establishing his esteem as a portrait artist. During the period of enlightenment,
In the painting The Immaculate Conception (Figure 1) painted by Antonio de Palomino y Velasco, there is a prominent central figure found in the middle of the canvas. The figure is a woman draped in white and blue garments with red accents and surrounded by cherubs and doves. The woman is the Virgin Mary and has a crown of 12 stars around her head. Both cherubs and doves are often used as religious symbols and this piece of art is Biblical in that it illustrates Mary very much like she is described
He is considered the most important artist in Spain during the late 18th and early 19th century and was one of the most prominent and successful painters in Europe. Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes was a romantic painter and printmaker whose style changed drastically throughout his life; he is considered the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. His style fits into the category of Romanticism, which is most apparent in his paintings of the Spanish Royal family after becoming First
A number of modern artists have focused on reflecting personal perception of the world through a contemporary Baroque style in art. The increasing popularity of Baroque nowadays is due to the complex processes that took place in society and the solutions the modern culture has to offer to resolve them. Truly, through the history, the emergence of Baroque elements has always reflected the complexity of human life, followed by technological progress and cultural exchange. Eventually, Baroque, the style
In the artistic view of surrealism, artists would paint unreasoned, questionable, and dubious scenes with vivid precision, that aimed to combine dream and reality to an ultimate or decisive reality (Breton, 1924). A prominent Belgian surrealist artist during the 20th century, known as René Magritte, was known for his unique and astounding output of surrealism, and his critique and ideology of surrealist art differed from any other prominent surrealist artist. Throughout this passage, I will argue
though it is illegal. Its on trains, buses, buildings you name it there has most likely been graffiti on it. Let’s start with what the definition of graffiti is, “writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place” (Bing.com).
Graffiti can be traced back as far as world war 2 the most famous tag of that time being, “Kilroy was here” along with an illustration the artist or ‘writer’ they are also known as, is unknown but believed to work in a
Chapter 2: Europeans and the New World, 1492 – 1600
When humans entered the Iberian Peninsula almost 32000 years ago, the first civilization of Spain was formed. Since then, the country has traveled from an era of prehistoric Iberia to the Middle Ages to a rise as an empire and a member of the European Union .
The main reason why Spain grew so much in power during the fifteenth century is because of a series of events that took place around that time. The first in such a series of events
destined to be the most powerful ruler in French history. Born in 1683 in France to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, he was next in line to the throne under his father. The first of many obstacles in his life was presented in 1643, when Louis XIII died and left Louis XIV to the throne at the age of 5; causing him to quickly adjust to the King lifestyle. Throughout his life beginning in his early childhood, Louis XIV was faced with difficulties that molded him to become the most prominent ruler in French
I believe that this message was intended to showcase the situation to the people of the time. It was also a painting to forbade the war that was going to eventually happen and a last reminder of the once peaceful and happy Spain they had before. However the audience who would see it now would see it a bit differently. The audience probably wouldn’t know the historical context of this artwork that well and not immediately understand the social and historical meaning because