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In the sixteenth century, Spain emerged as
the most dominant European power. This
period not only marked a moment of political
preeminence but a flowering of culture know
as the Siglo de Oro, or Golden Age. |
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From fine arts to decorative arts and
literature, the outstanding holdings of the
Hispanic Society suggest the talent and
vision of those working during Spain's
Golden Age.
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The Hispanic Society possesses
an extraordinary collection of
twenty-seven globes from the
seventeenth through nineteenth
centuries. One of the rarest and
oldest, the globe of Blaeu,
illustrated here is the only one of
its edition found today in the
United States. |
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Terrestrial Globe
"1601", after ca. 1621
William Janszon Blaeu
(1571-1638)
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From the Hispanic Society's small but
significant collection of indigenous
mesoamerican manuscripts come other
works evoking the Americas as the first
Spaniards found it. |
As they settled there, Spaniards endeavored
to construct a world like the one they had in
Europe, and from early imprints to impressive
pieces of ceramics and furniture, this new
society is evoked in the Hispanic Society. |
Bishop's Featherwork Miter
Michoacán (Mexico),
ca. 1559-66
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One of the most striking objects
to emerge from the confluence of
Spanish and indigenous crafts is
the Hispanic Society's featherwork
miter. |
The decorative arts are well represented by
several exceptional pieces in the Hispanic
Society. |
Furniture, ceramics, and textiles all testify
to the skill of craftsman active throughout
the Iberian Peninsula. |
Elaborate decoration of inlaid
bone, ivory and boxwood
characterizes Spanish
sixteenth-century furniture. |
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Chest
Spain, 1500-1600
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In this period, Cervantes wrote the novel Don
Quixote (1605 and 1615). The Library of the
Hispanic Society owns not only these copies |
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of the first edition of the two parts of Cervantes's
classic novel but many subsequent editions
and translations.
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Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
El ingenioso hidalgo Don
Quixote de la Mancha
Madrid: Juan de la Cuesta, 1605 |
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Throughout this period, religious reform in
Spain led to a revitalized Church which
commissioned works that would inspire
faith and teach doctrine. |
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They turned to painters such as Luis de
Morales and El Greco in the sixteenth
century. |
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Painted while El Greco was in
Rome, the Pietá is a work of
exceptional quality. The artist
evokes the pathos of the event
with a tragic intensity, as the
Magdalene and St. John the
Evangelist support the dead
Christ while the Virgin looks
up, lost in grief. |
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Pietá, ca. 1575
Domenikos Theotokopoulos,
called El Greco [1521-1641]
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In addition to religious works, Spanish patrons
frequently commissioned portraits,
and those in the Hispanic Society not only |
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testify to the artist's talent but they also evoke
the world of the Hapsburg court and the rigid
etiquette that governed it. |
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Portrait of a Little Girl,
ca. 1638-44
Diego Velázquez
(1599-1660)
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The Portrait of a Little Girl is one
of Velázquez's most immediate
and engaging works, combining
naturalism and intimacy in a way
characteristic of the best Golden
Age portraiture.
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