Renaissance in Spain. Spanish Renaissance Spanish Renaissance in brief
The completion of the Reconquista and the unification of Castile and Aragon gave a powerful impetus to the development of Spanish culture. In the 16th-17th centuries it experienced a period of prosperity known as the “Golden Age”.
At the end of the 15th and first half of the 16th century. In Spain, progressive thought made great strides, manifesting itself not only in the field of artistic creativity, but also in journalism and scientific works imbued with free-thinking. The reactionary policies of Philip II dealt a heavy blow to Spanish culture. But the reaction could not stifle the creative forces of the people, which manifested themselves at the end of the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries. mainly in the field of literature and art.
Spanish culture of the Renaissance had deep folk roots. The fact that the Castilian peasant was never a serf (See F. Engels, Letter to Paul Ernst, K. Marx and F. Engels, On Art, M.-L. 1937, p. 30.), and the Spanish cities were conquered early its independence, created in the country a fairly wide layer of people who had a consciousness of their own dignity. (See F. Engels, Letter to Paul Ernst, K. Marx and F. Engels, On Art, M.-L. 1937, p. 30. )
Although the favorable period in the development of cities and part of the peasantry of Spain was very brief, the legacy of heroic times continued to live in the consciousness of the Spanish people. This was an important source of the high achievements of classical Spanish culture.
However, the Renaissance in Spain was more controversial than in other European countries. In Spain there was not such a sharp break with the feudal-Catholic ideology of the Middle Ages as occurred, for example, in Italian cities during the era of the rise of their economic life and culture. That is why even such progressive people of Spain as Cervantes and Lope de Vega do not completely break with the Catholic tradition.
Spanish humanists of the first half of the 16th century.
Representatives of progressive thought in Spain, active in the first half of the 16th century, were called “Erasmists” (named after the famous humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam). Among them, we must mention first of all Alfonso de Valdez (died 1532), the author of sharp and caustic dialogues in the spirit of the Greek satirist Lucian, in which he attacks the papal throne and the Catholic Church, accusing them of greed and licentiousness. The outstanding Spanish philosopher Juan Luis Vives (1492-1540) was also associated with Erasmus. A native of Valencia, Vivss studied in Paris and lived in England and Flanders. He took part in the pan-European humanist movement. Already in one of his early works, “The Triumph of Christ,” Vives criticizes Aristotelian scholasticism, contrasting it with the philosophy of Plato in the spirit of Italian philosophers of the Renaissance.
More important is the fact that, rejecting medieval scholasticism, Vives brings experience to the forefront: observation and experiment allow one to penetrate into the depths of nature and open the way to knowledge of the world. Thus, Vives is one of the predecessors of Francis Bacon. Man is central to his concept. Vives played an important role in the development of psychology as a science. In his work “On the Soul and Life” he examines in detail the problem of perception. In the pamphlet "The Sage" Vivss provides a humanistic critique of old scholastic teaching methods and develops a progressive pedagogical system that includes the study of classical languages, history and natural sciences. Louis Vives was also a supporter of women's education.
Another Spanish thinker who spoke out against scholasticism and Aristotle dissected by the scholastics was Francisco Sanchez (1550-1632). However, unlike Luis Vives, the spirit of free inquiry leads Sanchez to skepticism. His main work is called “On the fact that there is no knowledge” (1581). Exploring the contradictions contained in the process of human cognition, Sanchez comes to a purely negative thesis: everything we know is unreliable, relative, conditional. Such a pessimistic thesis, put forward in the era of the collapse of medieval orders and dogmatic ideas, was not uncommon, especially in Spain with its acute social contradictions and harsh living conditions.
Folk poetry
The 15th century was a century of flourishing folk art for Spain. It was during this time that many romances appeared. Spanish romance is a national poetic form, which is a short lyrical or lyric-epic poem. The romances glorified the exploits of heroes and dramatic episodes of the fight against the Moors. Lyrical romances depicted the love and suffering of lovers in a poetic light. The romances reflected patriotism, love of freedom and the poetic view of the world characteristic of the Castilian peasant.
Folk romance fertilized the development of Spanish classical literature and became the soil on which the great Spanish poetry of the 16th-17th centuries arose.
Humanistic poetry
In Spain, as in other countries, Renaissance literature developed on the basis of a synthesis of national folk art and advanced forms of humanistic literature. One of the first poets of the Spanish Renaissance, Jorge Manrique (1440-1478), was the creator of the brilliant poem “Couplets on the Death of My Father.” In the solemn stanzas of his work, he speaks of the omnipotence of death and glorifies the exploits of immortal heroes.
Already in the 15th century. An aristocratic trend appeared in Spanish poetry, striving to create “learned lyricism” modeled on the literature of the Italian Renaissance. The largest poet of the early Spanish Renaissance, Garcilaso de la Vega (1503-1536), belonged to this movement. In his poetry, Garcilaso followed the traditions of Petrarch, Ariosto and especially the famous pastoral poet of Italy Sannazzaro. The most valuable thing in Garcilaso's poetry is his eclogues, which depicted in an idealized form the life of shepherds in love in the lap of nature.
Religious lyrics were widely developed in Spanish poetry of the Renaissance. The head of the galaxy of so-called mystical poets was Luis de Leon (1527-1591). An Augustinian monk and doctor of theology at the University of Salamanca, an orthodox Catholic, he was nevertheless accused of heresy and thrown into the prison of the Inquisition, where he was kept for over four years. He managed to prove his innocence, but the poet’s fate itself speaks of the presence in his works of something more than a simple repetition of religious ideas. The magnificent lyrics of Luis de Leon contain deep socially significant content. He acutely feels the disharmony of life, where “envy” and “lies” reign, where unjust judges judge. He seeks salvation in a solitary contemplative life in the lap of nature (ode “blessed life”).
Luis de Leon was not the only poet persecuted by the Inquisition. Many talented sons of the Spanish people were subjected to painful torture in her dungeons. One of these poets, David Abenator Malo, who managed to break free and flee to Holland, wrote about his release: “I came out of prison, out of the grave broken.”
In the second half of the 16th century. in Spain there is an attempt to create a heroic epic. Alonso de Ercilla (1533-1594), who joined the Spanish army and fought in America, wrote a long poem “Araucana”, in which he wanted to glorify the exploits of the Spaniards. Ercilla chose Virgil’s classic poem “The Aeneid” as his model. Ercilla's huge, chaotic work is unsuccessful as a whole. It is replete with fake samples and conventional episodes. In "Araucan" the only beautiful parts are those that depict the courage and determination of the freedom-loving Araucans, an Indian tribe that defended its independence from the Spanish conquistadors.
If the form of an epic poem in the ancient style was not suitable for reflecting the events of our time, then life itself put forward another epic genre, more suitable for depicting them. This genre was the novel.
Spanish novel
From the beginning of the 16th century. chivalric romances became widespread in Spain. The unbridled fantasy of these later creations of feudal literature corresponded to some aspects of the psychology of the people of the Renaissance, who embarked on risky voyages and wandered through distant countries.
In the second half of the 16th century. The pastoral motif, introduced into Spanish literature by Garcilaso de la Vega, was also developed in the form of a novel. Mention should be made here of Jorge de Montemayor's Diana (written around 1559) and Cervantes' Galatea (1585). These novels refract the theme of the “golden age” in their own way, the dream of happy life in the lap of nature. However, the most interesting and original type of Spanish novel was the so-called picaresque novel (novela picaressa).
These novels reflected the penetration of monetary relations into Spanish life, the disintegration of patriarchal ties, the ruin and impoverishment of the masses.
This direction of Spanish literature began with the Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea, better known as Celestina (circa 1492). This novella (at least in its main part) was written by Fernando de Rojas.
60 years after the appearance of “Celestina,” in 1554, the first completed example of a picaresque novel, which had a great influence on the development of European literature, the famous “Lazarillo from Tormes,” was published simultaneously in three cities in the form of a small book. This is the story of a boy, a servant of many masters. Defending his right to exist, Lazaro is forced to resort to cunning tricks and gradually turns into a complete rogue. The attitude of the novel's author towards his hero is ambivalent. He sees in trickery a manifestation of dexterity, intelligence and ingenuity inaccessible to people of the Middle Ages. But in Lazaro the negative qualities of the new human type were also clearly manifested. The strength of the book is in its frank depiction of the social relations of Spain, where under the cassock and noble cloak the basest passions were hidden, brought to life by the fever of profit.
The successor of the unknown author of “Lazarillo from Tormes” was the outstanding writer Mateo Aleman (1547-1614), author of the most popular picaresque novel “The Adventures and Life of the Punter Guzmán de Alfarace, Watchtower of Human Life.” Mateo Alemán's book differs from the novel of his predecessor in the breadth of its social background and in its darker assessment of new social relations. Life is absurd and cynical, says Aleman, passions blind people. Only by conquering these impure aspirations in yourself can you live wisely and virtuously. Aleman is a supporter of Stoic philosophy, inherited by Renaissance thinkers from ancient Roman authors.
Miguel de Cervantes
The picaresque novel represents that line in the development of Spanish literature, which with particular force prepared the triumph of Cervantes's realism.
The work of the greatest Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616) - the founder of new Spanish literature - arose from the synthesis of all the achievements of its previous development. He picked up Spanish and at the same time world literature to a new height.
Cervantes's youth was inspired by the adventurous nature of his time. He lived in Italy, took part in the naval battle of Lepanto, and was captured by Algerian pirates. For five years, Cervantes made one heroic attempt after another to break free. Ransomed from captivity, he returned home a poor man. Seeing the impossibility of existing through literary work, Cervantes was forced to become an official. It was during this period of his life that he came face to face with the prosaic real Spain, with the whole world that was so brilliantly depicted in his Don Quixote.
Cervantes left a rich and varied literary heritage. Starting with the pastoral novel Galatea, he soon turned to writing plays. One of them, the tragedy “Numancia,” depicts the immortal heroism of the inhabitants of the Spanish city of Numancia, fighting against the Roman legions and preferring death to surrendering to the mercy of the victors. Based on the experience of Italian short stories, Cervantes created an original type of Spanish short story, combining a broad depiction of life with teaching (“Edifying Short Stories”).
But everything he created pales in comparison to his brilliant work “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” (1605-1615). Cervantes set himself a modest task - to destroy the influence of fantastic and distant from life knightly novels. But great knowledge folk life, keen observation and ingenious ability to generalize led to the fact that he created something immeasurably more significant.
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Engraving from the title page of one of the first editions of Cervantes' Don Quixote.
Don Quixote dreams of reviving the times of chivalry in an era when they are long gone. He alone does not understand that chivalry has outlived its time and, like the last knight, is a comic figure. In the feudal era, everything was built on the basis of fist law. And so Don Quixote wants, relying on the strength of his hand, to change the existing order, protect widows and orphans, and punish offenders. In fact, he creates unrest, causes harm and suffering to people. “Don Quixote had to pay dearly for his mistake in imagining that knight errantry was equally compatible with all economic forms of society,” says Marx.
But at the same time, the motives for Don Quixote’s actions are humane and noble. He is a staunch defender of freedom and justice, a patron of lovers, and a fan of science and poetry. This knight is a true humanist. His progressive ideals were born out of the great anti-feudal movement of the Renaissance. They were born in the struggle against class inequality, against outdated feudal forms of life. But even the society that replaced it could not realize these ideals. The callous rich peasant, tight-fisted innkeepers and merchants mock Don Quixote, his intention to protect the poor and weak, his generosity and humanity.
The duality of the image of Don Quixote lies in the fact that his progressive humanistic ideals appear in a reactionary, outdated knightly form.
The peasant squire Sancho Panza acts next to Don Quixote in the novel. The limitations of rural living conditions left their mark on him: Sancho Panza is naive and even stupid at times, he is the only person who believed in the knightly ravings of Don Quixote. But Sancho is not without good qualities. He not only reveals his intelligence, but also turns out to be the bearer of folk wisdom, which he expounds in countless proverbs and sayings. Under the influence of the humanist knight Don Quixote, Sancho develops morally. His remarkable qualities are revealed in the famous episode of the governorship, when Sancho discovers his worldly wisdom, unselfishness and moral purity. In none of the works of the Western European Renaissance is there such an apotheosis of the peasant.
Two main actors The novels with their fantastic and naive concepts are shown against the backdrop of real, everyday Spain, a country of swaggering nobility, innkeepers and merchants, wealthy peasants and mule drivers. In the art of depicting this everyday life, Cervantes has no equal.
Don Quixote is the greatest folk book of Spain, a wonderful monument of the Spanish literary language. Cervantes completed the transformation of the Castilian dialect, one of the dialects of feudal Spain, into the literary language of the emerging Spanish nation. The work of Cervantes is the highest point in the development of Renaissance culture on Spanish soil.
Luis de Gongora
In the literature of the 17th century. gloomy, hopeless moods are increasingly intensifying, reflecting an internal breakdown in the public consciousness of the era of the progressive decline of Spain. The reaction to the ideals of humanism was most clearly expressed in the work of the poet Luis de Gongora y Argote (1561-1627), who developed a special style called “Gongorism”. From Gongor’s point of view, only the exceptional, the bizarrely complex, and far from life can be beautiful. Gonyura searches for beauty in the world of fantasy, and even turns reality into a fantastic decorative extravaganza. He rejects simplicity, his style is dark, difficult to understand, replete with complex, confusing images and hyperbole. The literary taste of the aristocracy found its expression in Gongora's poetry. Gongorism, like a disease, spread throughout European literature.
Francisco de Quevedo
The greatest Spanish satirist was Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas (1580-1645). Coming from an aristocratic family, Quevedo participated in Spanish political intrigues in Italy as a diplomat. Acquaintance with the political regime in the Spanish possessions led him to deep disappointment. Taking advantage of his proximity to the court, Quevedo submitted a note in verse to Philip IV, in which he asked the king to reduce taxes and improve the situation of the people. The author of the note was captured and imprisoned by the Inquisition, where he was in chains for 4 years and came out a physically broken man. He died shortly after his release.
Quevedo’s famous picaresque novel “The Life Story of a Rogue Called Pablos, an Example of Tramps and a Mirror of Swindlers” was apparently written in early period his life. This book is undoubtedly the deepest of picaresque novels. Telling the story of the son of a thieving barber and a prostitute - the unlucky Pablos, Quevedo shows a whole system of abuse of a child. Brought up in such conditions, Pablos became a scoundrel. He wanders around Spain, and monstrous poverty and filth are revealed to him. Pablos sees how people deceive each other in order to exist, sees that all their energy is directed towards evil. Quevedo's novel is imbued with bitterness.
In the second period of his activity, Quevedo turned to creating satirical pamphlets. A special place among them is occupied by his “Visions” - several satirical and journalistic essays depicting images of the afterlife in a grotesque and parodic spirit. Thus, in the essay “The Devil-Possessed Policeman,” a hell is presented where kings and the court camarilla, merchants and rich people are roasted. There is no place for the poor in hell, for they have no flatterers and false friends and no opportunity to sin. In the 17th century The process of degeneration of the picaresque novel genre began.
Spanish theater
Spain, like England and France, experienced in the 16th - 17th centuries. great flowering of drama and theater. The social content of the Spanish drama from Lope de Vega to the Calderas is the struggle of the absolute monarchy, full of intense drama, with the liberties of old Spain, obtained by the Spanish nobility, cities and Castilian peasants during the reconquista.
In contrast to the French tragedy, which was based on ancient models, a national drama arose in Spain, completely original and popular. Dramatic works were created for public theaters. Patriotic spectators wanted to see on stage the heroic deeds of their ancestors and the topical events of our time.
Lope de Vega
The founder of Spanish national drama was the great playwright Lope Felix de Vega Carpio (1562-1635). A soldier of the “Invincible Armada” army, a brilliant socialite, a famous writer, Lopo de Vega remained a religious person throughout his entire life, and in his old age he became a priest and even a member of the “holy” Inquisition. This duality of Lope de Vega reflected the characteristic features of the Spanish Renaissance. He expressed in his work the humanistic aspirations of this wonderful era, and at the same time Lope de Vega, a leading man of his time, could not break with the traditions of feudal-Catholic Spain. Her social program was the desire to reconcile the ideas of humanism with patriarchal customs.
Lope de Vega was an artist of rare creative fertility; he wrote 1,800 comedies and 400 one-act allegorical cult plays (about 500 works have survived to us). He also wrote heroic and comic poems, sonnets, romances, short stories, etc. Like Shakespeare, Lope de Vega did not invent the plots of his plays. He used various sources - Spanish folk romances and chronicles, Italian govels and books of ancient historians. A large group of plays by Lope de Vega are historical dramas from life different nations. He also has a play from Russian history - “The Grand Duke of Moscow”, dedicated to the events of the early 17th century.
In his main works, Lope de Vega depicts the strengthening of royal power, the struggle of Spanish kings against rebellious feudal lords and Moorish hordes. He portrays the progressive significance of the unification of Spain, while sharing the people's naive faith in the king as a representative of non-class justice, capable of resisting the tyranny of the feudal lords.
Among the historical plays of Lope de Vega, folk-heroic dramas (“Peribañez and Commander Ocaña”, “The Best Alcalde is the King”, “Fu-ente Ovejuna”), depicting the relations of three social forces - peasants, feudal lords and royalty, are of particular importance. Showing the conflict between the peasant and the feudal lord, Lope de Vega stands entirely on the side of the peasant.
The best of these plays is “Fuente Ovejuna” - one of the greatest dramas not only of Spanish, but also of world theater. Here Lone de Vega to a certain extent defeats his monarchical illusions. The action of the play dates back to the second half of the 15th century. The commander of the Order of Calatrava is rampaging through his village Fuente Ovejuna (Sheep Spring), encroaching on the honor of peasant girls. One of them, Laurencia, with a hot speech raises the peasants to revolt, and they kill the offender. Despite the fact that the peasants were obedient subjects of the king, and the commander participated in the struggle against the throne, the king ordered the peasants to be tortured, demanding that they hand over the murderer. Only the resilience of the peasants, who answer all questions with the words: “Fhonte Ovehuna did this,” forced the king to reluctantly let them go. Following Cervantes, the author of the tragedy “Numancia,” Lope de Vega created a drama about popular heroism, its moral strength and resilience.
In a number of his works, Lope depicts the despotism of royal power. Among them, the excellent drama “Star of Seville” stands out. The tyrant king encounters the inhabitants of the holy fool of Seville, defending their honor and ancient liberties. The king must retreat before these people, recognize their moral greatness. But the social and psychological power of "The Star of Seville" approaches the tragedies of Shakespeare.
The duality of Lope de Vega was most manifested in dramas dedicated to the family life of the Spanish nobility, the so-called “dramas of honor” (“The Dangers of Absence”, “Victory of Honor”, etc.). For Lopo de Vega, marriage should be based on mutual love. But after the marriage has taken place, its foundations are unshakable. Having suspected his wife of treason, the husband has the right to kill her.
The so-called comedies of cloak and sword depict the struggle of young Spanish nobles - people of a new type - for freedom of feeling, for their happiness, against the despotic power of their fathers and guardians. Lope de Vega builds a comedy on dizzying intrigue, on coincidences and accidents. In these comedies, glorifying love and human free will, Lope de Vega's connection with the humanistic literary movement of the Renaissance was most evident. But in Lope de Vega, the young man of the Renaissance does not have that inner freedom that delights us in Shakespearean comedies. The heroines of Lope de Vega are faithful to the noble ideal of honor. In their appearance there are cruel, few attractive features, associated with the fact that they share the prejudices of their class.
Playwrights of the Lope school
Lope de Vega performs not alone, but accompanied by a whole galaxy of playwrights. One of Lope's immediate students and successors was the monk Gabriel Telles (1571-1648), known as Tirso de Molina. The place that Tirso occupies in world literature is determined primarily by his comedy “The Mischief of Seville, or the Stone Guest,” in which he created the image of the famous seducer of women Don Juan. The hero of the play, Tirso, does not yet have the charm that captivates us in the image of Don Juan among writers of later eras. Don Juan is a depraved nobleman, remembering the feudal right of the first night, a seducer who strives for pleasure and does not disdain any means to achieve his goal. This is a representative of the court camarilla, insulting women of all classes.
Pedro Calderoy
Spanish drama once again rose to great heights in the work of Pedro Calderon de la Barca (1600-1681). The figure of Calderon is deeply contradictory. Coming from a noble aristocratic family, Calderoy was a knight of the Order of Sant Iago. priest and honorary chaplain to King Philip IV. He wrote not only for the folk theater, but also for the court theater.
Calderon's secular plays are directly adjacent to Lope's dramaturgy. He wrote “comedies of cloak and sword,” but Calderoy achieved special realistic power in his “dramas of honor.” Thus, in the drama “The Physician of His Honor,” Calderon painted an expressive portrait of a Spanish nobleman of the 17th century. Fanatical religiosity and equally fanatical devotion to his honor coexist with this nobleman with ruthless sobriety, Jesuit cunning and cold calculation.
Calderon's drama "The Alcalde of Salamey" is a reworking of the play of the same name by Lope de Vega. The village judge Pedro Crespo, who has a developed sense of self-worth and is proud of his peasant origins, condemned and executed a noble officer who dishonored his daughter. The struggle of a simple village judge against a rapist nobleman is depicted with great artistic force.
A large place in Calderon’s heritage is occupied by religious dramas - dramatized “lives of saints”, etc. The main idea of these plays is purely Catholic. But Calderon usually portrays a buffoon who soberly laughs at religious miracles.
The wonderful drama “The Miraculous Magician” is close to religious plays. Marx called this work “the Catholic Faust.” The hero of the play is a searching and daring person. In his soul there is a struggle between a sensual attraction to a woman and the Christian idea. Calderon's play ends with the triumph of the Christian-ascetic principle, but the great artist depicts the earthly, sensual element as something powerful and beautiful. There are two jesters in this play. They ridicule miracles, expressing their crude distrust of religious fiction.
Calderon's philosophical concept was reflected with particular force in his drama “Life is a Dream.” The events taking place in the play are not only real, but also symbolic. King Basilio of Poland, an astrologer and magician, learns that his newborn son will be a scoundrel and a murderer. He imprisons his son Segismundo in a tower located in a desert area, and keeps him there chained and dressed in animal skin. Thus, Segismundo is a prisoner from birth. This image of a young man chained in chains is a symbolic image of humanity, which is in slavish dependence on social conditions. Wanting to verify the words of the oracle, the king orders the sleeping Segismundo to be transferred to the palace. Having woken up and learned that he is a ruler, Segismundo immediately shows the traits of a despot and a villain: he threatens the courtiers with death, raises his hand against his own father. Man is a prisoner, a slave bound in chains, or a despot and tyrant - this is Calderon’s thought.
The conclusions that Calderon reaches are fantastic and reactionary. Returned back to the tower, Segismundo wakes up and decides that everything that happened to him in the palace was a dream. He now believes that life is a dream. Dream - wealth and poverty, power and submission, right and lawlessness. If this is so, then a person must renounce his aspirations, suppress them and come to terms with the flow of life. Calderon's philosophical dramas are a new type of dramatic work, unknown to Lope de Vega.
Calderoy combines deep realism with reactionary features in his work. He sees a way out of the tragic contradictions of reality in following the ideas of the feudal-Catholic reaction, in the cult of noble honor.
Despite all the contradictions inherent in Spanish literature of the 16th-17th centuries, the artistic values it created, especially the Spanish novel and drama, are an outstanding contribution to world culture.
Architecture
The plastic arts also reached great heights in this era. After a long period of dominance of Gothic style and the flourishing of Moorish architecture in Spain in the 16th century, interest in the architecture of the Italian Renaissance awakened. But, following his examples, the Spaniards originally transformed the forms of Italian architecture.
The second half of the 16th century dates back to the work of the brilliant architect Juan de Herrera (1530-1597), the creator of the special “Herreresque” style. This style takes the forms of ancient architecture. And yet Herrera’s greatest creation, the famous palace of Philip II Escorial, bears very little resemblance to the traditional forms of classical architecture.
The very idea of Escorial, which is at the same time a royal palace, a monastery and a tomb, is very characteristic of the era of the Counter-Reformation. In my own way appearance El Escorial resembles a medieval fortress. It is a square structure with towers at the corners. A square divided into a number of squares - this is the plan of the Escorial, reminiscent of a lattice (the lattice is a symbol of St. Lawrence, to whom this building is dedicated). The gloomy but majestic bulk of El Escorial symbolizes the stern spirit of the Spanish monarchy.
Renaissance motifs in architecture already in the second half of the 17th century. degenerate into something pretentious and cutesy, and the risky boldness of forms hides only internal emptiness and meaninglessness.
Painting
Painting was the second area after literature in which Spain created values of world-historical significance. True, Spanish art does not know harmonious works in the spirit of Italian painting of the 15th-16th centuries. Already in the second half of the 16th century. Spanish culture has produced an artist of astonishing originality. This is Domeviko Theotokopouli, a native of Crete, known as El Greco (1542-1614). El Greco lived for a long time in Italy, where he learned a lot from the famous masters of the Venetian school, Titian and Tintoretto. His art is one of the branches of Italian mannerism, which originally developed on Spanish soil. Greco's paintings were not successful at court; he lived in Toledo, where he found many admirers of his talent.
Greco's art reflected with great dramatic force the painful contradictions of his time. This art is clothed in a religious form. But the unofficial interpretation of church subjects distances El Greco’s paintings from the official templates of church art. His Christ and the saints appear before us in a state of religious ecstasy. Their ascetic, emaciated, elongated figures bend like tongues of flame and seem to reach towards the sky. This passion and deep psychologism of Greco's art brings him closer to the heretical movements of the era.
Escorial. Architect Juan de Herrera. 1563
Spanish painting experienced its real flourishing in the 17th century. Among Spanish artists of the 17th century. we should mention first of all José Ribeiro (1591-1652). Adhering to the traditions of the Italian Caravaggio, he develops them in a completely original way and is one of the most prominent national artists of Spain. The main place in his heritage is occupied by paintings depicting the executions of Christian ascetics and saints. The artist skillfully sculpts human bodies protruding from the darkness. It is characteristic that Ribeira gives his martyrs the characteristics of people from the people. The master of large compositions on religious themes, combining prayerful ecstasy and rather cold realism, was Francisco Zurbaran (1598-1664).
Diego Velazquez
The greatest Spanish artist Diego de Silva Velazquez (1599-1960) remained the court painter of Philip IV until the end of his life. Unlike other Spanish artists, Velazquez was far from religious painting; he painted genre paintings and portraits. His early works are scenes from folk life. The mythological scenes of Velazquez “Bacchus” (1628) and “The Forge of Vulcan” (1630) are also related in a certain sense to this genre. In the painting “Bacchus” (otherwise known as “The Drunkards”), the god of wine and grapes looks like a peasant guy and is surrounded by rude peasants, one of whom he crowns with flowers. In Vulcan's Forge, Apollo appears among the half-naked blacksmiths who have given up their work and look at him in amazement. Velazquez achieved amazing naturalness in depicting folk types and scenes.
Evidence of the artist’s full maturity was his famous painting “The Capture of Breda” (1634-1635) - a festive military scene with a deeply thought-out composition and a subtle psychological interpretation of the faces. Velazquez is one of the world's greatest portrait painters. His work is marked by truthful psychological analysis, often merciless. Among his best works is a portrait of the famous favorite of the Spanish king, Duke Olivares (1638-1641), Pope Innocent X (1650), etc. In Velazquez’s portraits, members of the royal house are presented in poses full of importance, solemnity and grandeur. But ostentatious grandeur cannot hide the fact that these people are marked with the mark of degeneration.
A special group of Velazquez’s portraits consists of images of jesters and freaks. Interest in such characters is typical for Spanish artists of this era. But Velazquez knows how to show that ugliness belongs to humanity just as much as beauty. Sorrow and deep humanity often shine in the eyes of his dwarfs and jesters.
A special place in Velázquez’s work is occupied by the painting “The Spinners” (1657), depicting the royal manufactory for making tapestries. Women workers are visible in the foreground; they reel wool, spin, and carry baskets. Their poses are characterized by free ease, their movements are strong and beautiful. This group is contrasted with elegant ladies inspecting the manufactory, very similar to those woven into tapestries. The sunlight penetrating into the workroom leaves its cheerful imprint on everything, bringing poetry into this picture of everyday life.
Velazquez's painting with free colorful strokes conveys the movement of form, light and transparency of air.
The most prominent of Velazquez's students was Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1617-1682). His early works depict scenes of street urchins who freely and casually settled down on a dirty city street, feeling like real masters in their rags. Murillo's religious painting is marked by sentimental traits and indicates the beginning decline of the great Spanish school.
* This work is not a scientific work, is not a final qualification work and is the result of processing, structuring and formatting the collected information intended for use as a source of material for self-preparation of educational works.
BOSH JEROME is a Dutch artist. 1460-1516
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REMBRANDT HARMENS VAN Rijn is a Dutch artist. 1606—1669
RUBENS PETER PAUL - Flemish artist. 1577-1640
EL GRECO - Spanish artist. 1541-1614
When they talk about Renaissance painting, everyone immediately imagines Italy and the great Italian masters - Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael. But brilliant artists appeared not only in Italy. Famous painters lived and worked in almost all European countries of that time.
A small country - the Netherlands - gave the world very interesting artists. Art historians call their work “Northern Renaissance”. Hieronymus Bosch occupies a special place among the painters of the Northern Renaissance.
His real name van Aken. He was born and worked in the small town of Bos. Almost nothing is known about the life of Hieronymus of Bos - Bosch. The Netherlands then belonged to Spain, and Bosch spent most of his life in the capital of the Spanish Kingdom - Madrid.
Hieronymus Bosch. A load of hay is a similar fantasy world. They are inhabited by monsters and deformed creatures created from the body parts of animals, insects and humans. Human faces reveal envy, bitterness, stupidity, complacency and greed. The painting “A Cart of Hay” was written on the theme of the proverb “Life is a cart of hay, and everyone tries to snatch a bigger clump of hay for themselves.” The painting “Ship of Fools” is a symbol of human stupidity.
But Bosch’s work is not an attempt to humiliate man, to pour mud into the creation of God and nature. Looking at the paintings of this artist, a person sees his vices. Bosch's genius is so unique, so impressive that under its influence a person thinks about himself and his vices much more often than after boring moralizing sermons.
Another famous Dutch artist is Bruegel the Elder or Muzhitsky. His first name is Peter, and his last name is the name of the village in which he was born.
Bosch had a very strong influence on Bruegel's work. Bruegel's early paintings were created under his influence. Their names speak about this: “The Fight of Chests and Piggy Banks”, “The Fight of Lent with Maslenitsa”, “The Feast of the Skinny” and “The Feast of the Fat”, “The Triumph of Death”, “The Land of the Lazy”.
The painting “Flemish Proverbs” is a unique illustration of folk sayings. It depicts several dozen characters who seem to have decided to refute what the proverbs say. Someone is trying to break through a wall with their forehead, someone is throwing flowers at the pigs' feet, someone is burying a well.
Bruegel is not just a follower of Bosch. He preserved the spirit of his beloved artist in his early paintings, looked at the world from his point of view, but with his own eyes, and recreated this world with his brush.
Bruegel's works were extremely popular. Even the Spanish king bought them, although the artist did not paint portraits of the nobility. His paintings were filled with common people and were in no way suitable for decorating the luxurious halls of palaces.
In the second period of his work, Bruegel moved away from the satirical depiction of life. He wrote a cycle of twelve paintings “The Seasons”, such paintings as “Peasant Dance”, “Village Wedding”.
Under the brush of the great master, scenes and episodes of ordinary life rose to philosophical generalizations. His parable paintings are especially striking. Here is The Fall of Icarus. The plowman calmly plows the land. A shepherd grazes sheep, a fisherman catches fish, ships sail on the sea. Everyone is busy with their own business. And in the corner of the picture is the leg of Icarus who fell into the sea. You won't notice it right away. Icarus wanted to ascend to the sun, his fall is a tragedy, a catastrophe, a symbol of the defeat of a daring hero. But no one noticed either his flight or his fall.
Or the painting “Artist and Connoisseur”. At the easel, the painter has given all his strength to his work. And behind him is a laughing customer with a wallet in his hand. Bruegel's most famous parable painting is “The Blind”.
It reminds us of the words from the Bible: “If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Six blind men, holding each other, are going to God knows where. Their blind guide has already fallen from the cliff, the second one is also about to fall, the rest, not seeing what threatens them, are moving behind them. Looking at this picture, a person thinks about himself, who does not know tomorrow, and about all of humanity, which after millennia still cannot answer the question of the Greek philosophers: “Who are we, where do we come from and where are we going? »
Bruegel had many nicknames. Due to his age, he was called Bruegel the Elder - in contrast to his sons, who also became famous artists. By rural origin - Bruegel Muzhitsky. In some chronicles he was called Bruegel the Ridiculous - based on the content of his early paintings. He can rightfully be called Bruegel the Philosopher. Or rather, one of the art critics said about him, calling him Bruegel I the Great.
The work of Peter Rubens also belongs to the Northern Renaissance. Rubens was born into the family of an elder of the city of Antwerp. Rubens' father was a Protestant, and he had to flee from persecution of Catholics to Germany, to Cologne. In Cologne, he found himself under the protection of Prince William of Orange, a supporter of Protestantism. The prince's wife patronized the fugitive, and the prince, out of jealousy, first put him in prison and then exiled him to the German town of Nassau, where Peter Paul Rubens was born. After the death of his father, Rubens and his mother returned to Flanders - as part of modern Belgium was then called - to Antwerp.
The future artist graduated from a Jesuit school, and his mother assigned him as a page to Countess Laleng. Serving under a noble lady gave him the opportunity to master secular customs and learn to behave in high society. After several years of painting, Rubens visited Italy. He did not strive for creativity, but simply copied paintings by famous Italian masters.
Returning to his homeland, he became the court painter of the rulers of the Southern Netherlands, Infanta Isabella and Archduke Albert. Great Italian painting awakened the artist in him. He began to paint, combining the skill developed by long exercises with the cheerful spirit of his beloved homeland.
Rubens' paintings are a hymn to the joy of life. It is no coincidence that he wrote a lot in mythological stories. These are “The Judgment of Paris”, “Diana on the Hunt”, “Bacchus”. But even the paintings he created on biblical themes are filled with angels and saints who are more like the pagan gods Venus and Apollo. Art critics put Rubens on the same level as the geniuses of the Italian Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael. They wrote that he took the clarity of composition from Leonardo, power and temperament from Michelangelo, and tenderness of colors from Raphael.
Rubens worked very hard. To decorate the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, he created a series of paintings, The Life of Marie de' Medici, with images of the French queen Marie de' Medici, King Henry IV and King Louis XIII. The palaces of the Spanish and English kings are decorated with portraits of his work.
At fifty-three, Rubens was widowed - his wife died. A few years later, the already middle-aged artist fell passionately in love with the sixteen-year-old beauty Elena Fourman and married her.
Rubens and his young wife lived a happy married life. The artist idolized his beloved. He created more than twenty portraits of her alone. And such images of her as “Portrait of Elena Fourman with Children” and “Fur Coat” are considered the pinnacles of world painting.
During his life, Rubens painted a huge number of paintings - about three thousand. And each of them entered into a golden background; world painting. Rubens alone would not have been able to paint so many paintings. Many capable students worked in his workshop. Rubens made a sketch of the future painting, his students painted it, and Rubens then completed the work.
Only one of these students grew into an independent painter.
His name was Van Dyck. He reached the heights of his skill and became a famous portrait painter; aristocrats and kings of different countries commissioned portraits from him, but the most famous was his self-portrait.
Van Dyck was very handsome. Romantic love adventures brought him no less fame than his talent as an artist.
Rembrandt's name is on a par with the geniuses of the Northern Renaissance.
He was the son of a simple miller from the small Dutch town of Leiden. His three brothers received the profession of ordinary artisans. When Rembrandt grew up, his father's business went so well that he decided to educate his fourth son. Rembrandt entered a Latin school, whose students continued their studies at the university. The young man did not shine with success in science. He was attracted to painting, his father had to give in and send him to the artist’s studio.
Having mastered the skills and techniques of a painter, Rembrandt moved to the largest and richest city in Holland - Amsterdam. The first successfully completed order - a group portrait of Dr. Tulpa and his colleagues - brought fame and money to the young artist.
Rembrandt married the daughter of a wealthy lawyer, Saskia, and lived happily and carefree for seven years. He painted paintings on biblical themes - “The Blinding of Samson”, “Adoration of the Magi”, “Christ with the Disciples”, “Holy Family” and on the themes of ancient Greek myths - “Danae”, “Ganymede”. Rembrandt loved his wife very much and painted her constantly.
The unexpected death of Saskia had a very strong effect on the artist. Gradually he became poorer. He had to sell off his collection of paintings and rarities. He was declared an insolvent debtor, and until the end of his days Rembrandt lived in dire need.
The reason for poverty was that Rembrandt did not want to please his customers. It all started with the painting “Night Watch”. It was ordered by city guard officers. Each of them wanted to see themselves in the foreground in the best pose. Rembrandt did not paint an official, ceremonial, group portrait, but a narrative painting. A detachment of city guards sets out on a campaign. Everything is in motion. Some of the officers were in the foreground, some in the background, some were visible in full height, and someone got lost among other figures. The little girl with the chicken, who somehow got into the picture, attracts more attention than any of the officers, whose face is also almost covered by the hand of another guard.
The customers demanded that the painting be remade. Rembrandt refused. After all, he achieved what he wanted as an artist - he conveyed mood, feelings, created interesting and lively characters. The officers refused to pay the money.
After this incident, Rembrandt received orders less and less often. And he didn’t seem to notice it. The artist brought urban beggars, old men and old women to his studio and enthusiastically painted their portraits. He was no longer interested in payment for the work - he was absorbed in the desire to paint a portrait so that the person’s face reflected his soul. The artist became a philosopher in his paintings, he lost customers, money and gained immortal fame. A hundred, two hundred years will pass, the portrait of an old beggar woman by his brush will be appreciated higher than any other portrait of a king.
One of latest works Rembrandt - painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son” on the theme of a biblical parable. The parable tells how a son left his father and brothers. Far from his home, he indulged in revelry and squandered his share of the inheritance. To feed himself, he had to hire himself as a swineherd and eat from a pig trough. Having repented, he returned to his father, and his father forgave him and accepted him into his parents' home. This painting embodies everything that Rembrandt achieved over many years of research and work. They see it as a symbol life path each person and the biography of the artist himself.
The famous master of the Renaissance is Albrecht Durer. He was born in Germany, in the city of Nuremberg, in the family of a jeweler. His father taught him his skills. Having become an engraver, Albrecht became interested in drawing. After four years of travel and acquaintance with the works of the best artists, Albrecht Dürer returned to his hometown, married the daughter of a wealthy mechanic and opened his own workshop.
His engravings brought him fame. The German Emperor ordered the city authorities to pay the artist 100 guilders a year so that he could work and travel. After visiting Italy, Dürer met with Raphael and gave him his self-portrait. Raphael was delighted with his skill.
Durer's most famous engraving is “The Four Horsemen” from the Apocalypse series. Apocalypse - translated from Greek as “revelation” - is one of the books of the New Testament that tells about the end of the world. The engraving depicts Pestilence, War, Famine and Death, which are destined to destroy most of humanity.
Durer's engravings are executed with mathematical precision. The artist was the author of several treatises: “On Painting”, “On the Beautiful”, “On Proportions” and books on fortification - the science of building fortifications.
The works of Durer the engraver are considered the pinnacle of engraving art. But Dürer also became famous as a painter. His brushes include several famous self-portraits and paintings of remarkable color saturation. After their success, Dürer proudly wrote to his friend: “I silenced all the painters who said that I was good at engraving, but could not handle paint in painting. Now everyone says they haven't seen more beautiful colors ».
Dürer's engravings and paintings amaze with their perfect accuracy. He went down in the history of painting as a creator who verified the rainbow of colors and the clarity of lines with a compass and a mathematical formula.
Spain during the Renaissance gave the world the names of the great painters El Greco and Velazquez.
El Greco was born on the Greek island of Crete. His real name is Domenico Theotocopouli. He studied painting from Greek icon painters. Then he worked for some time in Titian’s studio in Venice and lived in Rome. After this, El Greco left for Spain, where he painted all his famous paintings.
Already in Rome El Greco became famous artist, they predicted a great future for him. According to legend, he had to leave Rome because of his excessive pride and arrogance. Once, in a conversation about the fact that the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, were not so much Christian as pagan in spirit, El Greco said among artists that if these frescoes were scraped off, he would create others that were not inferior to them in painting and much more superior to them in spiritual content. This statement first stunned everyone present, and then caused laughter and contempt. All artists and experts stopped
communicate with a daring young man, and he left Rome in the hope of becoming a court painter for the Spanish king.
Disappointment awaited him in Madrid - the king did not like the works of the visiting painter. El Greco settled in the old capital of Spain, Toledo, which had just been abandoned by the king.
Here he received an order to paint a painting depicting Jesus Christ before the crucifixion for the altar of the main temple of Toledo - the Espolio Cathedral. The film was an incredible success. The author was ordered seventeen copies of it.
Artists from all over Spain came to see the masterpiece. El Greco's unusual painting amazed them. Elongated figures, as if reflected in water; enlarged, iconographic eyes; violet, lilac, pearl gray colors in combination with red; The ghostly, as if pre-storm, flickering lighting mesmerized the audience.
El Greco lived in Toledo until the end of his days. He painted pictures on biblical themes and left behind many portraits. All his works are made in the same extraordinary style. Perhaps he did not surpass Michelangelo, but nevertheless he created his own, unique painting, powerful, passionate and mysterious.
During his lifetime, El Greco was revered as the greatest Spanish artist. After his death, he was forgotten and remembered four hundred years later, when twentieth-century painters rediscovered him and used his techniques as the basis for new trends in art.
Another Spanish genius, Velazquez, had just begun to take his first steps in art at the time of El Greco’s death. His teacher was a fan of Italian painting, and especially Raphael.
Velazquez reached the highest heights of skill. It is said that the French poet Théophile Gautier, seeing one of Velázquez’s paintings for the first time, asked: “Where is the painting?” - the poet either really mistook the image for reality, or with these words he wanted to praise Velazquez’s talent. And the Pope, seeing his portrait, exclaimed: “Too true!” Velazquez was not easy good artist, his brush revealed the inner essence of a person, even if he wanted to hide it.
For almost forty years, Velazquez served as court painter to the Spanish king and received the title of marshal. He painted portraits of courtiers and members of the royal family. Among his paintings is a whole series of portraits of dwarfs and jesters.
While traveling in Italy, Velazquez took part in a painting competition held in Rome. By decision of the artists themselves, Velazquez was recognized as the winner. This is how the Spanish master received recognition in the homeland of painting. Velazquez’s famous paintings are “Las Meninas” (maids of honor), the historical painting “The Surrender of Breda”, “Venus in front of the Mirror”, “The Spinners”.
After the artist’s death, the following was carved on his tombstone: “Painter of Truth.”
Painting of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in France did not have the same development as in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain. But France gave the world a painter whose work marked the emergence of a new art direction - classicism.
This painter is Nicolas Poussin. He was born into the family of a soldier who, after long wars between Protestants and Catholics, became a peasant. Poussin was fond of drawing and painting since childhood. He had no money for education, and he fled from home with a traveling painter, and after some time he ended up in Paris. The young man often had to go hungry.
But he met good people along the way. He became friends with the curator of the royal art collections and library and was given the opportunity to copy paintings by Italian masters. Poussin dreamed of working in Italy.
Hungry, without money and sick, he returned to his village, worked tirelessly, tried twice to get to Rome and only the third time he achieved his goal - he ended up in the capital of painting. Here he was lucky - he was introduced to Cardinal Barberini, the patron saint of artists and poets. The cardinal's orders helped Poussin get on his feet.
Time passed, and the works of the French master gained fame. He was offered to become the prince of the Academy of Arts. King of France Louis XIII, on the advice of Cardinal Richelieu, invited Poussin to Paris and gave him the title of first painter to the king. He was entrusted with painting the royal palace - the Louvre, which later became a museum, storage artistic values France. The king surrounded the famous painter with honor and even gave him a small palace. The son of poor peasants, who secretly fled home and starved in Paris, achieved everything he could dream of. But court life and the intrigues of his rivals prevented him from working.
Poussin asked the king to leave to go to Rome. During his absence, Richelieu died, and then Louis XIII himself. At court they forgot about Poussin, and he lived in Rome for the rest of his life. He placed the modest income and fruitful work of a painter above wealth and honors. Poussin painted mainly landscapes and paintings with biblical and mythological subjects. Particularly famous are the landscapes “The Seasons” and the paintings “The Kingdom of Flora” and “The Arcadian Shepherds”.
Poussin's canvases are balanced and majestic. The heroes are noble, the colors are harmonious. The style that Poussin created was called classicism, from the word “classical”. Classical, from the Latin word “class” - “rank”, were called works of the first category, that is, the best.
Poussin's later followers, who created works according to the laws of classicism, turned out to be only conscientious craftsmen who failed to breathe life into their heroes. Since then, “classicism” often means cold adherence to correct, but boring models, and the paintings of Poussin, the founder of classicism, have not yet faded and are rightfully included in the treasury of world painting.
General notes
Revival or Renaissance as a phenomenon cultural development found in all countries Western Europe. Of course, the culture of this period is unique in each country, but the general principles on which the culture of the Renaissance is based can be reduced to the following: the philosophy of humanism, “conformity with nature,” i.e. materialistic understanding of the laws of nature, rationalism.
Note 1
The Renaissance laid the foundation for a new value system for the entire modern Western European civilization.
The specificity of the Spanish Renaissance lies in the fact that at the time of its inception, the Inquisition, on which Catholic ideology relied, was “raging” in the country. Under these conditions, active criticism of religious dogmas was impossible. However, after the completion of the unification of Castile and Aragon, or the reconquest, the culture of Spain took off in the $1600 - first half of the $1700 century.
Spanish humanists
First of all, Spanish humanism is associated with the name of Erasmus of Rotterdam, who lived at the court of Charles of Spain and humanistic ideas which was known throughout Europe; his Spanish followers are even called “erasmists.” The most famous and important were Alfonso de Valdez, Juan Luis Vives and Francisco Sanchez.
Valdez, in his caustic dialogues, exposes the greed and licentiousness of representatives of the Catholic Church and the papal throne. Vives criticizes Aristotle's scholasticism and gives priority in science to observation and experiment in science, with the help of which one can not only penetrate deeply into nature, but also find a way to knowledge of the world.
This scientist is considered the predecessor of Francis Bacon. The scientist advocates for a progressive education system with the inclusion of classical languages, as well as for women's education. Sanchez was also a critic of scholasticism, but he was distinguished by his skepticism in his view of free inquiry. He has a sensational work “On the absence of knowledge,” in which the scientist comes to the conclusion that all our knowledge is unreliable, relative, conditional, because the process itself.
Note 2
Let us note that the ideas of Spanish humanists, unlike Italian ones, did not leave a noticeable mark on the philosophical research of that era.
Literature and artistic culture of the Spanish Renaissance
Spanish literature, painting, and sculpture flourished in this era. Let us briefly describe each direction.
The literature of the Spanish Renaissance was a combination of national folklore with forms of humanistic literature. This is especially evident in poetry, whose representatives were:
- Jorge Manrique,
- Luis de Leon
- Alonso de Ercilla,
- and others.
However, to describe modern life the most popular genre was the novel. Spain is famous for chivalric (“Don Quixote” by Cervantes) and picaresque novels. In the latter, the authors (“Celestina” by Fernando de Rojas, “The Adventures and Life of the Trickster Guzmán de Alfarace, The Watchtower of Human Life” by Mateo Alemán) showed how monetary relations penetrated into Spanish life, patriarchal ties decomposed, and the masses were ruined and impoverished.
Spanish national dramas have also gained worldwide fame. The most famous playwright of this era is Lope de Vega, who wrote more than 2000 works, of which 500 are known, and many of them are performed on the stage of all the leading theaters in the world and filmed, for example, “Dog in the Manger” and “The Dancing Teacher”.
Let us also note Tirso de Molina, the monk Gabriel Telles was hiding under this name. He wrote the comedy “The Mischief of Seville, or the Stone Guest,” which brought him worldwide fame. The painting of the Spanish Renaissance is represented by the names of El Greco and Diego Velazquez, whose works are valuable on a world-historical scale.
Note 3
The painful contradictions of time are reflected with enormous dramatic force in Greco's paintings. Velazquez's paintings are characterized by bold romance, insight into the character's character, and a high sense of harmony.
In the 8th century The Arabs conquered Spain. The Spanish war of liberation proceeded with varying degrees of success, and only at the end of the 15th century. The Iberian Peninsula was liberated from Arab rule and, in addition to Portugal, an independent state was formed - Spain.
At the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century. Literature and theater, painting and architecture in Spain reached an unprecedented peak. Spanish national art, especially during the period late Renaissance, gave an unusually complete reflection of its time. The brilliant creator of “Don Quixote” Cervantes and the playwright Lope de Vega were not alone in their work: in those same years, Greco and Velazquez, Zurbaran and Murillo won recognition with their paintings among humanists in other countries.
In the 16th century In Spain, chivalric novels are widely distributed - a genre already forgotten in other countries. These novels idealized medieval knights with their extraordinary, fabulous adventures and fostered admiration for the feudal world. But the ideal picture of knightly tournaments and duels, extraordinary passions and virtues did not correspond to the cruel reality.
The humanistic literature of Spain was faced with the task of overcoming the influence of chivalric romances, which led away from the knowledge of real life.
The greatest humanist writer of Spain, one of the most remarkable realists in the literature of the Renaissance, was Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra.
Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra (1547 - 1616)
The life of Cervantes, the creator of Don Quixote, was not easy. He came from an impoverished noble family. Although Cervantes received a good liberal arts education, for a long time he could not find use for his knowledge and abilities: an unenviable service in the cardinal’s retinue, a soldier’s lot and the bitter years of Algerian captivity, and finally, the place of a traveling official collecting taxes. While in this service, Cervantes ends up in prison due to someone else's fault.
Cervantes never received real recognition of his work during his lifetime. Having entered the literary field early, Cervantes discovered the full power of his genius talent only in his later years, when he created the wonderful stories “Edifying Novels”, true scenes from folk life - “Interludes” and, finally, the famous novel “The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha” - an epic about the Knight of the Sad Countenance and his faithful squire Sancho Panza.
The heroes of the novel “Don Quixote” - the impoverished nobleman Alonso Quijano and the savvy, roguish peasant Sancho Panza - still attract readers all over the world. These two main characters of the novel perfectly convey the contradictions and contrasts of Spain at that time.
Having read numerous knightly novels, Alonso Quijano comes up with the knightly name Don Quixote of La Mancha, to which Sancho Panza later adds the nickname Knight of the Sad Image. He goes on a journey in search of adventure. Every adventure, every detail of this journey reveals the contrast between imaginary life and the harsh reality. Hence arise extraordinary adventures with windmills, a herd of sheep, convicts, puppet theater. With his behavior, Don Quixote evokes ridicule and only occasionally pity, but his reasoning often reveals deep wisdom and unchanging love for people. Through the mouth of Don Quixote, Cervantes expresses advanced, democratic ideas.
Don Quixote angrily denounces the enslavement of man by man. He declares that “to turn... into slaves those whom God and nature created free seems to me extremely cruel” and that “decent people should not be the executioners of their neighbors.”
“Freedom, Santo,” he says, “is one of the most precious bounties that heaven pours out on people... For the sake of freedom, just as for the sake of honor, one can and should risk one’s life, and, on the contrary, bondage is the greatest of all misfortunes that can happen to a person.”
Sancho Panza, to whom these words are addressed, rightfully occupies a significant place in the novel. Sancho is closely connected with the people's environment, free from class prejudices, with the peasantry, which had a sense of self-esteem and vast life experience.
The joint journey of the knight and his squire does not free them from illusions immediately, but only after a series of tragicomic and instructive events and meetings. Returning home, Don Quixote pronounces a murderous sentence before his death chivalric romances. As an image of a selfless fighter, Don Quixote retains its charm to this day.
"Don Quixote" belongs to the best works world literature.
“...he approached the gray one, hugged him, kissed his forehead as a sign of greeting...” Illustrations by G. Doré for Cervantes’ novel “Don Quixote.”
Images of Cervantes also live in Russian art - in the drawings and illustrations of I. E. Repin, V. A. Serov and Kukryniksov, in the Soviet film about Don Quixote, where such wonderful actors as N. K. Cherkasov gave their interpretation of Cervantes’ characters and Yu. V. Tolubeev. Content and interesting book about the author of “Don Quixote” - “Cervantes. Life and creativity,” wrote the scientist K. N. Derzhavin.
Lope de Vega (1562-1635)
Lope de Vega found his place in life without much difficulty. Unlike Cervantes, he received lifetime recognition.
In which ones only? literary genres Lope de Vega did not perform: in drama, epic poetry and lyric poetry, literary theory and criticism, short story! However, the first place in his work undoubtedly belongs to drama. Of Lope de Vega's many plays, about five hundred were published, mostly comedies.
A humanist writer, Lope de Vega knew how not only to amuse the viewer - he expanded his horizons, introducing him to the historical past, the life of other peoples - distant Rus' and overseas America. He forced people to think about the fate of their homeland, about the miserable existence of dispossessed peasants.
In his plays, the clever tricks of the servants evoked sympathy - gracioso, who in many ways resembled Shakespeare's jesters. Lope de Vega relatively rarely denounced the political tyranny and despotism of the ruling circles.
A special place in the playwright’s work is occupied by his wonderful drama “Fuente Ovejuna” (“Sheep Spring”, 1612 - 1613). This play depicts real event Spanish history of the 15th century. - an uprising of peasants against the feudal lord.
It openly and sharply characterizes the commander (one of the highest ranks of the spiritual order) - the ruler of the village of Fuente Ovejuna; his unbridled tyranny is mercilessly exposed.
The uprising is suppressed, many peasants are tortured during interrogation. However, with their cohesion, their moral fortitude, they turn out to be stronger than armed detachments. The only answer they give to the question of who killed the commander is “Fuente Ovejuna!” (i.e. the whole village) - they deprive the court of the opportunity to identify the culprits.
However, Lope de Vega weakens the courage of this popular resistance with a conciliatory ending in the spirit of his time: the king himself becomes a “good” landowner instead of the murdered commander.
The great master of female portraiture, Lope de Vega creates in this drama a wonderful image of the heroine - Laurencia, who has become, as it were, a symbol of people's honor and courage. Her humanity and citizenship sharply contrast with the class prejudices and immorality of the commander, and her love for Frondoso reveals the charm of her personality. Laurencia is not alone, along with her are her worthy fellow villagers - Esteban, her father, Pascuala. The character of Laurencia is close to Shakespeare’s heroines, so the role of Laurencia has firmly entered the repertoire of outstanding tragic artists of the world theater, including Ermolova (see vol. 12 DE, article “M. N. Ermolova”).
The playwright reveals the personal fates of the heroes of this drama against the backdrop of social events. This was an extraordinary phenomenon for the Spanish theater of the 17th century.
Lope de Vega's comedies “Dog in the Manger,” “Girl with a Jug,” “The Dancing Teacher,” and “The Valencian Widow” enjoy constant success among Soviet audiences. The secret of this recognition is not only in the entertaining plot, in skillful and funny situations, in the skillful construction of dialogue, but also in the humanistic interpretation of events and characters. The constant engine of action in comedies is the servant - gracioso. Clever, inventive and resourceful, roguish and mocking, he often turns out to be more experienced and smarter than his noble master, whose interests he protects, without, however, forgetting about his own. Laughter in the comedies of Lope de Vega plays no less a role than the love affair that underlies many of his everyday comedies, the so-called comedies of the cloak and sword.
Lope de Vega has many characters of different ages and social status. But they are all united by optimism in life, the ability to rejoice, love, and hate.
Faith in human energy makes Lope de Vega's plays interesting, and their stage embodiment gives pleasure to our contemporary people.
The ideas of the Spanish Renaissance found complete expression in the works of Cervantes and Lope de Vega, who were destined to become rulers of the thoughts of many generations.
The history of the Renaissance begins in This period is also called the Renaissance. The Renaissance changed into culture and became the forerunner of the culture of the New Age. And the Renaissance ended in the 16th-17th centuries, since in each state it has its own start and end date.
Some general information
Representatives of the Renaissance are Francesco Petrarca and Giovanni Boccaccio. They became the first poets who began to express sublime images and thoughts in frank, common language. This innovation was received with great enthusiasm and spread to other countries.
Renaissance and art
The peculiarity of the Renaissance is that the human body became the main source of inspiration and subject of study for artists of this time. Thus, emphasis was placed on the similarity of sculpture and painting with reality. The main features of the art of the Renaissance period include radiance, refined use of the brush, the play of shadow and light, care in the work process and complex compositions. For Renaissance artists, the main images were from the Bible and myths.
The resemblance of a real person to his image on this or that canvas was so close that fictional character seemed alive. This cannot be said about the art of the twentieth century.
The Renaissance (its main trends are briefly outlined above) perceived the human body as an endless beginning. Scientists and artists regularly improved their skills and knowledge by studying the bodies of individuals. The prevailing view then was that man was created in the likeness and image of God. This statement reflected physical perfection. The main and important objects of Renaissance art were the gods.
Nature and beauty of the human body
Renaissance art paid great attention to nature. A characteristic element of the landscapes was varied and lush vegetation. The blue-hued skies, pierced by the sun's rays that penetrated the white clouds, provided a magnificent backdrop for the floating creatures. Renaissance art worshiped beauty human body. This feature was manifested in the refined elements of the muscles and body. Difficult poses, facial expressions and gestures, a harmonious and clear color palette are characteristic of the work of sculptors and sculptors of the Renaissance period. These include Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt and others.
