The revival in Spain is brief. Cultural studies

General remarks

The Renaissance, or Renaissance, as a phenomenon of cultural development is found in all countries of Western Europe. Of course, the culture of this period is unique in each country, however general provisions, 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 reconquista, 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 whose humanistic ideas were 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 the 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 Rogue Guzmán de Alfarace, The Watchtower of Human Life” by Mateo Alemán) showed how monetary relations penetrated 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 the courage of romance, insight into the character, high feeling harmony.

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Introduction

1.1 Spain in the 15th-16th centuries

1.2 Renaissance in Spain in the 15th-16th centuries

1.3 Renaissance in Spain in the 16th-17th centuries

Chapter 2. Literature of Spain during the Renaissance

2.2 Monuments of Spanish literature

Conclusion

Used Books

Introduction

renaissance spain literature

Renaissance (French renaissance - rebirth) is one of the greatest eras, a turning point in development between the Middle Ages and modern times. The Renaissance covers the XIV-XVI centuries. in Italy, XV-XVI centuries. in other European countries (Spain, etc.). The aesthetic ideal of the Renaissance was formed on the basis of a new progressive worldview—humanism. The real world and man were proclaimed the highest value: Man is the measure of all things.

Humanistic pathos of the era the best way embodied in art, which, as in previous centuries, aimed to provide a picture of the universe.

The formation of bourgeois ideology during the Renaissance is characterized by an orientation toward a materialistic interpretation of the laws of nature (the principle of “conformity with nature”), anthropocentrism (man is seen as the crown of Nature), rationalism (man cognizes the world and himself thanks to Reason, which distinguishes him from all other earthly creatures and brings him closer to God, whose likeness on earth man is).

The emergence of bourgeois ideology leads to the gradual destruction of the medieval concept of the world and man, which established a direct hierarchical connection not only between people, but also between man and all things (the concept of relations “from stone to God”).

At the same time, the Renaissance is a period of rampant Inquisition, the split of the Catholic Church, brutal wars and popular uprisings that occurred against the backdrop of the formation of bourgeois individualism. This is not at all a period of cloudless triumph of humanity over scholastic inertia, as is sometimes imagined as a time whose figures received the proud name of humanists.

The utopianism of humanists in matters of faith made their ideas vulnerable both to the Catholic Church, which hastened to include most of the masterpieces of humanism in the “Index of Prohibited Books,” and to Protestants.

Thus, the deeply contradictory nature of humanistic culture was once again exposed, both in its relationship with the recent cultural past and in its relationship with its immediate spiritual heirs. Both humanists and reformers, in their own way, prepared Europe for a new turn in culture, and they also found the words that still denote the era that began in the 17th century - the era of modern times. Both of them foresaw and tried in their own way to implement the idea of the unity of human culture in its history.

All changes were necessary and sufficient conditions for Europe to enter the New Age - a time of terrible events, new social storms and cataclysms, the first bourgeois revolutions, colonial wars and the development of new lands.

The Renaissance had enormous positive significance in the history of world culture. The art of the Renaissance embodied the ideal of harmonious and free human existence, which nourished its culture.

Based on the above, the topic of our research is formed as follows: “The Renaissance in Spain.”

Purpose of the study: to consider the features and content of the Renaissance in Spain.

Based on the goal, the following tasks are highlighted:

1. Reveal the features and content of the Renaissance in Spain.

2. Consider the monuments of the Renaissance in Spain.

Chapter 1. The emergence and development of the Renaissance in Spain

1.1 Spain in the 15th - 16th centuries

At the end of the 15th century. everything seemed to foreshadow the most rosy future for the country. The reconquest, which had lasted for centuries, ended successfully. In 1492, Granada fell, the last stronghold of Moorish rule on the Iberian Peninsula. This victory was greatly facilitated by the unification of Castile and Aragon during the reign of Isabella and Ferdinand the Catholics. Spain finally became a single national kingdom. The townspeople felt confident. Relying on their support, Queen Isabella pacified the opposition of the Castilian feudal lords. The mighty uprising of the Catalan peasants in 1462-1472. led to the fact that first in Catalonia (1486), and soon afterwards in the entire territory of Aragon, by decree of the king it was abolished serfdom. It no longer existed in Castile. The government patronized trade and industry. The expeditions of Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci were supposed to serve the economic interests of Spain.

At the beginning of the 16th century. Spain was already one of the most powerful and extensive states in Europe. In addition to Germany, under her rule were the Netherlands, part of Italy and other European lands. The Spanish conquistadors captured a number of rich possessions in America. Spain becomes a huge colonial power.

But Spanish power had a very shaky foundation. While pursuing an aggressive foreign policy, Charles V was a strong supporter of absolutism in domestic policy. When the Castilian cities rebelled in 1520, the king, with the help of the aristocracy and the German landsknechts, severely suppressed it. At the same time, real political centralization was not carried out in the country. Traditional medieval customs and laws still made themselves felt everywhere. Spain seemed like a formidable and indestructible colossus, but it was a colossus with feet of clay. Carrying out its policies in the interests of feudal magnates, Spanish absolutism was not able to create conditions that would be conducive to the successful economic development of the country. True, the metropolis siphoned fabulous wealth from the colonies. But these riches became the property of only a few representatives of the ruling classes, who were not at all interested in the development of trade and industry. The heyday of Spanish cities turned out to be relatively short-lived. The situation of the peasantry was unbearably difficult.

During the reign of Philip II (1556-1598), the situation in Spain became downright catastrophic. Under him, Spain became the main stronghold of European feudal and Catholic reaction. However, the wars waged by the king in the interests of the nobility placed an unbearable burden on the shoulders of the country. And they were not always successful. Philip II failed to defeat the Dutch who rebelled against Spanish oppression. Spain suffered a severe defeat in the war against England. In 1588, the “Invincible Armada” barely escaped complete destruction. The reactionary Spanish monarchy still managed to win individual victories, but it was not able to eradicate everything new that was rising to life in various parts of Europe.

The separation of the Northern Netherlands in 1581 testified to this with particular clarity. Domestic policy Spanish absolutism was as reactionary as it was fruitless. By its actions, the government only worsened the already difficult economic situation of the country. Poverty spread across the country like an incurable disease. The wealth of the church and a handful of arrogant grandees looked especially ugly and ominous against the backdrop of popular poverty. The country's financial situation was so hopeless that Philip II had to declare state bankruptcy twice. Under his successors, Spain fell lower and lower until it finally became one of the backwater states of Europe.

The Catholic Church played a huge and dark role in the life of Spain. The liberation of Spain from Moorish rule was carried out under religious slogans; this raised the authority of the church in the eyes of wide circles and strengthened its influence. Without neglecting earthly goods, she became increasingly rich and powerful. Naturally, the church became a faithful ally of Spanish absolutism. She placed the “most holy” Inquisition, which appeared in Spain in 1477 to monitor the Moriscos, at his service. The Inquisition was omnipresent and merciless, seeking to suppress and eradicate any manifestation of free thought. In the 16th century There was no other country in Europe where the fires of the Inquisition burned so often.

1.2 The Renaissance in Spain in the XV-XVI centuries.

The first shoots of the Spanish Renaissance appeared in the 15th century. (sonnets of the Petrarchist poet Marquis de Santillana, etc.). But it had to develop under very specific conditions - in a country where remnants of the Middle Ages could be found at every step, where cities did not acquire modern significance, and the nobility, while declining, did not lose its privileges, and where, finally, the church still belonged terrible power over the minds of people.

During the early Renaissance, interest in science and culture increased in the country, which was greatly facilitated by universities, especially the ancient University of Salamansa and the university founded in 1506 by Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros in Alcalá de Henares. In 1473-1474, book printing appeared in Spain, and journalism developed, dominated by ideas consonant with the ideas of the Reformation and the renewal of the Catholic Church on the model of Protestant countries. The ideas of Erasmus of Rotterdam had a significant influence on the formation of new ideas. One of the first Spanish “freethinkers” was Alfonso de Valdez (c. 1490-1532), who criticized the church. His brother Juan de Valdez (1500-1541) headed a circle of aristocrats involved in religious issues. He outlined his ideas in the essay 110 Divine Judgments (published in 1550). Along with Antonio de Nebrija (1441 - 1522), who wrote the Grammar of the Castilian language on behalf of Isabella of Castile, Juan de Valdez became one of the first researchers of the Spanish language. Their opponents are also known, for example, an ardent supporter of Catholicism, an outstanding orator and historiographer at the court of Charles I, Antonio de Guevara (1441-1522), who later became an inquisitor.

The beginning of Spanish literature in the Castilian language was marked by great monument Spanish heroic epic Song of my Cid (c. 1140) about the exploits of the Reconquista hero Rodrigo Díaz de Bivar, nicknamed Cid. On the basis of this and other heroic poems in the Early Renaissance, the Spanish romance was formed - the most famous genre of Spanish folk poetry. The reformers of Spanish literature were Juan Boscan Almogaver (late 15th century - 1542) and Garcilaso de la Vega (1501-1536), who introduced into literary use motifs and forms borrowed from the Italian Renaissance. They were joined by Hernando de Acuña (1520-1580), famous for his sonnet to Our Lord the King, the master of court poetry and love madrigal Gutierre de Setina (1520-1557), the Portuguese Sa de Miranda (1485-1558), Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1503 -1575), author of the chronicle of the War in Granada (published in 1627). Cristobal de Castillejo (1409-1450) expressed his disapproval of the new poetics in the satire “Against those who abandoned Castilian meters and followed Italian meters.”

At the beginning of the 16th century. the heyday of the chivalric romance began. The samples for the authors were chivalric novels England and France, which developed several centuries earlier. Novels of this genre were translated into Spanish as early as the 15th century. The first and most famous Spanish romance of chivalry, Amadis of Gali, was published in 1508.

In the middle of the 16th century. One of the main genres of Spanish literature of the Renaissance is being formed - the picaresque novel (a novel about the adventures of rogues and scoundrels), the appearance of which is associated with the collapse of old patriarchal ties, the decomposition of class relations, the development of trade and the accompanying trickery and deception. The author of one of the most striking works of this genre - the Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibey (1499) - Fernando de Rojas (about 1465-1541). The tragicomedy is better known under the name Celestine, after the name of the most striking character - the pimp Celestine, whom the author simultaneously condemns and pays tribute to her intelligence and resourcefulness. In the novel, the glorification of love is combined with a satire on Spanish society, and the characteristic features of the genre clearly appear - an autobiographical form of narration, the hero's service with various gentlemen, allowing him to notice the shortcomings of people different classes and professions. During the same period, Spanish national drama took shape, which was based on church traditions and at the same time the genre of folk performances, as well as on the experience of Italian Renaissance drama.

The creator of Spanish humanistic drama was Juan del Encina (1469-1529), who is called the “patriarch of the Spanish theater.” He called his plays from the lives of shepherds, religious and secular, eclogues. Bartolomé Torres Navarro (1531), the author of the first treatise on drama in Spanish, Gil (Gil) Vicente (1465-1536), a Portuguese by birth who wrote in Portuguese and Spanish, and Juan de la Cueva (1543 - 1610), who drew his plots from chronicles and romances. The most interesting part of the literary heritage of Lope de Rueda (1510-1565) is his Passos - small plays based on funny incidents from the life of the lower classes.

In Spanish poetry and drama of the 16th century. have been widely developed religious themes. Many works of Spanish literature of that time were painted in mystical tones. All this, however, did not mean at all that Spanish culture of the Renaissance was an obedient servant of theology. And in Spain there were scientists and thinkers who dared to oppose scholasticism, defend the rights of the human mind and advocate a deep study of nature. These were mainly natural scientists and doctors, whose activities were close to man and his earthly needs. But, of course, Catholic Spain was a country ill suited for the flourishing of humanistic philosophy. But Spanish literature, not so constrained by church dogma, reached a truly remarkable flowering during the Renaissance.

The transformation of Spain from a small medieval state, absorbed in the fight against the Moors, into a world power with very complex international interests, inevitably expanded the life horizons of Spanish writers. New topics appeared, related, in particular, to the life of distant India (America). Great attention was paid to man, his feelings and passions, his moral capabilities. Heroic impulse and knightly nobility were highly valued, i.e. virtues inherited from the time of the Reconquista. But the world of bourgeois acquisitiveness, based on selfishness and selfishness, did not evoke much sympathy. In this regard, it should be noted that in the Spanish literature of the Renaissance the bourgeois element itself is much less expressed than in the literature of a number of other European countries with more intensive bourgeois development.

1.3. Renaissance in Spain in the 16th-17th centuries.

A new stage in the development of the Spanish Renaissance, the so-called high Renaissance, dates back to the second half of the 16th - early 17th centuries. Acting in accordance with the strict principles of the Counter-Reformation (from 1545), Philip II (1527-1598) persecuted progressive thinkers, while at the same time encouraging cultural development, founding a library in El Escorial and supporting many universities. Creative and thinking people, deprived of the opportunity to express themselves in philosophy and journalism, turned to art, as a result of which it survived in the second half of the 16th and 17th centuries. unprecedented flourishing, and this era was called the “golden age.” Some poets and writers intertwined secular ideas of humanism with religious motives.

In the second half of the 16th century. until the 30s of the 17th century. poetry predominates - lyrical and epic. In addition, pastoral novels were popular, and realistic novels and drama emerged. In Spanish lyric poetry there were two opposing poetic schools - Seville and Salamanca. Fernando de Herrera (1534-1597) and other poets of the Seville school gave preference to love lyrics, earthly and sensual, in which civic motives were often heard and heard.

Admiration for ancient poetry, which was considered a high example, aroused the desire to create works in the spirit of the epic poems of Homer and Virgil. The most successful attempt was made by Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga (1533-1594), who wrote Araucana.

Second half of the 16th century. marked by the flourishing of the pastoral romance. The founder of the genre in Spain was the Portuguese Jorge de Montemayor (c. 1520-1561), who wrote “The Seven Books of Diana” (1559), followed by many sequels, for example, Diana in Love (1564) by Gaspar Gil Polo (1585), as well as Galatea (1585) by Cervantes and Arcadia (1598) by Lope de Vega.

At the same time, “Moorish” novels appeared, dedicated to the life of the Moors: the anonymous History of Abencerrach and the beautiful Kharifa and the Civil Wars in Granada (Part I - 1595, Part II - 1604) by Gines Perez de Ita. Thanks to the work of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616), who distinguished himself in various literary genres, Spanish literature gained worldwide fame. His immortal work, the novel The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, conceived as a parody of the chivalric romances of that time, became one of the most striking monuments in world literature.

At the beginning of the 17th century. Spain maintained its position as a world leader, but the economic situation deteriorated sharply, despite the huge influx of gold from colonial America. In the final stage of the Renaissance, often identified as a special period of the Baroque, the prevailing tendency was to interpret what was happening in the country as a consequence of the evil principle in man, an idea consonant with the Christian doctrine of sinfulness. The solution was seen to be an appeal to reason, which helps a person find the way to God, which is reflected in literature, which pays special attention to the contrast between human nature and his mind, between beauty and ugliness, while the beautiful was perceived as something ephemeral and practically inaccessible.

Two styles dominated in poetry - “Gongorism,” named after the greatest poet of the time, Luis de Gongora y Argote (1561-1627), and “conceptism,” from the word concepto, which means “thought.” “Gongorism” was also called “culteranism”, from the word culto (“cultivated”), since this style was intended for a select, educated audience. Gongora was a secular poet and the folk motif in his work, an appeal to the genres of folk poetry (romances and letrilles) are combined with refined artistic techniques. “Conceptism,” the founder of which is considered to be A. de Ledesma, who published a collection of poems, Spiritual Thoughts (1600), opposed “Gongorism.” At the same time, in “conceptualism,” as in “gongorism,” much attention was paid to form, the creation of complex concepts, wordplay, and wit.

One of the representatives of “conceptualism”, Quevedo tried himself in different genres, but this style reached its greatest development in his satirical essays, Dreams, (1606-1622). An outstanding philosopher, moralist and writer was Baltasar Gracian y Morales (1601-1658), a member of the Jesuit order who spoke under pseudonyms. In his work Wit, or the Art of the Subtle Mind (1648), he formulates the principles of conceptualism.

So: the individual phases of the Renaissance in Spain did not coincide with the corresponding stages of the Renaissance in other countries.

The 15th century in Spanish art represents the period of the emergence of a new artistic worldview.

In the first decades of the 16th century, stylistic phenomena associated with the High Renaissance emerged, but early Renaissance traditions still prevailed.

The time of the highest achievements of Spanish culture is the second half of the 16th century. It is enough to mention the name of the great Cervantes to imagine what deep and multifaceted problems of reality were embodied in the literature of that era. Significant artistic achievements characterize architecture and painting.

The construction of such a majestic ensemble as the Escorial dates back to the second quarter of the 16th century; At this time, the Greek artist Domenico Theotokopouli, known as El Greco, was working in Spain. But unlike the Italian (in particular, Venetian) masters of the late Renaissance period, in whose work the connection and continuity with the circle of artistic ideas of the previous stages of the Renaissance was clearly expressed, the features of the tragic crisis of the late Renaissance were more acutely embodied in Spanish painting.

Chapter 2. Literature of Spain during the Renaissance

2.1 Renaissance literature

Conventionally, the Renaissance in Spain can be divided into three periods: the early Renaissance (until the mid-16th century), the high Renaissance (until the 30s of the 17th century) and the so-called Baroque period (until the end of the 17th century).

One of the first Spanish “freethinkers” was Alfonso de Vades (c. 1490-1532), who criticized the church. His brother Juan de Valdez (1500-1541) headed a circle of aristocrats involved in religious issues. He outlined his ideas in the essay 110 Divine Judgments (published in 1550). Along with Antonio de Nebrija (1441-1522), who wrote the Grammar of the Castilian language on behalf of Isabella of Castile, Juan de Valdez became one of the first researchers of the Spanish language (Dialogue on Language, 1535-1536). Their opponents are also known, for example, an ardent supporter of Catholicism, an outstanding orator and historiographer at the court of Charles I, Antonio de Guevara (1441-1522), who later became an inquisitor.

The reformers of Spanish literature were Juan Boscan Almogaver (late 15th century - 1542) and Garcilaso de la Vega (1501-1536), who introduced into literary use motifs and forms borrowed from the Italian Renaissance. They were joined by Hernando de Acuña (1520?-1580?), famous for his sonnet to Our Lord the King, the master of court poetry and love madrigal Gutierre de Setina (1520-1557), the Portuguese Sa de Miranda (1485-1558), Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1503-1575), author of the chronicle of the War in Granada (published in 1627). Cristobal de Castillejo (1409-1450) expressed his disapproval of the new poetics in the satire Against those who abandoned Castilian meters and followed Italian meters.

At the beginning of the 16th century. the heyday of the chivalric romance began. The models for the authors were the chivalric romances of England and France, which developed several centuries earlier. Novels of this genre were translated into Spanish as early as the 15th century. The first and most famous Spanish romance of chivalry, Amadis of Gali, was published in 1508.

In the middle of the 16th century. One of the main genres of Spanish Renaissance literature is being formed - the picaresque novel (a novel about the adventures of rogues and scoundrels), the appearance of which is associated with the collapse of old patriarchal ties, the decomposition of class relations, the development of trade and the accompanying trickery and deception. The author of one of the most striking works of this genre - the Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibey (1499) - Fernando de Rojas (about 1465-1541). The tragicomedy is better known under the name Celestine, after the name of the most striking character - the pimp Celestine, whom the author simultaneously condemns and pays tribute to her intelligence and resourcefulness. In the novel, the glorification of love is combined with a satire on Spanish society and the characteristic features of the genre clearly appear - an autobiographical form of narration, the hero's service with different masters, allowing him to notice the shortcomings of people of different classes and professions.

During the same period, Spanish national drama took shape, which was based on church traditions and at the same time the genre of folk performances, as well as on the experience of Italian Renaissance drama. The creator of Spanish humanistic drama was Juan del Encina (1469?-1529), who is called the “patriarch of the Spanish theater.” He called his plays from the lives of shepherds, religious and secular, eclogues. Bartolome Torres Naaro (1531), the author of the first treatise on drama in Spanish, Gil (Gil) Vicente (1465-1536?), a Portuguese by birth who wrote in Portuguese and Spanish, and Juan de la Cueva (1543 - 1610), who drew his stories from chronicles and romances. The most interesting part of the literary heritage of Lope de Rueda (1510-1565) is his posos - small plays based on funny incidents from the life of the lower classes.

A new stage in the development of the Spanish Renaissance, the so-called high Renaissance, dates back to the second half of the 16th - early 17th centuries. Acting under the strict principles of the Counter-Reformation (from 1545), Philip II (1527-1598) persecuted progressive thinkers while encouraging cultural development, founding a library at El Escorial and supporting many universities. Creative and thinking people, deprived of the opportunity to express themselves in philosophy and journalism, turned to art, as a result of which it survived in the second half of the 16th and 17th centuries. unprecedented flourishing, and this era was called the “golden age.” Some poets and writers intertwined secular ideas of humanism with religious motives.

In the second half of the 16th century. until the 30s of the 17th century. poetry predominates - lyrical and epic. In addition, pastoral novels were popular, and realistic novels and drama emerged.

In Spanish lyric poetry there were two opposing poetic schools - Seville and Salamanca. Fernando de Herrera (1534-1597) and other poets of the Seville school gave preference to love lyrics, earthly and sensual, in which civic motives were often heard and heard.

The head of the Salamanca school was the Augustinian monk and professor of theology Luis de Leon (1527-1591), the founder of the poetry of the “mystics”. In opposition to the Catholic Church, mystics advocated individual path knowledge of God, merging with Him. The most prominent representatives of this movement are Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada (1515-1582), known as Saint Teresa de Jesus, and Juan de la Cruz (1542-1591), who belonged to the Carmelite Order. The Dominican Luis de Granada (1504-1588), who wrote in Latin, Portuguese and Spanish, also joined the “mystics”.

Second half of the 16th century. marked by the flourishing of the pastoral romance. The founder of the genre in Spain was the Portuguese Jorge de Montemayor (c. 1520-1561), who wrote the Seven Books of Diana (1559), followed by many sequels, for example, Diana in Love (1564) by Gaspar Gil Polo (1585), as well as Galatea ( 1585) Cervantes and Arcadia (1598) Lope de Vega.

The features of a picaresque novel were most clearly expressed in the novel by an unknown author, The Life of Lazarillo from Tormes, His Fortunes and Misadventures, which became widely known. In 1559, the Inquisition added it to the list of prohibited books due to its anti-clerical content. The first volume of the Life of Guzmán de Alfarace, the watchtower of human life by Mateo Aleman (1547-1614?) was published in 1599, the second in 1604. Along with a realistic story about the antics of the picaro, philosophical and moral reasoning in the spirit of Catholicism occupies an important place in the novel.

Peru Francisco Quevedo y Villegas (1580-1645) owns the novel The Life Story of the Rogue Pablos, an example of vagabonds and the mirror of swindlers (1626), perhaps the best example of a picaresque Spanish novel, which combines an amusing narrative about rogues and rascals and the search for a stoic moral ideal. Imitations of Italian short stories also appeared in Spanish literature of the High Renaissance.

Thanks to the work of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1547-1616), who distinguished himself in various literary genres, Spanish literature gained worldwide fame. His immortal work, the novel The Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, conceived as a parody of the chivalric romances of that time, became one of the most striking monuments in world literature.

During this era, the formation of Spanish national drama was completed. Its characteristic features were most fully embodied in the work of Lope F. de Vega Carpio (1562-1635). The worldview of Lope de Vega, an innovator in the field of drama, combined humanistic and patriarchal ideas. He outlined his views on drama in his treatise The New Art of Composing Comedies in Our Time (1609). Lope de Vega is the creator of the drama of honor; in his works, anticipating the classicism of the 17th century appears. the thought of a person’s lack of freedom, since honor for him turns out to be more important than passions. His comedies can be divided into three groups - “court comedies”, “comedies of cloak and sword” and “comedies of bad morals”. He influenced such playwrights as Guillen de Castro y Belvis (1569-1631), Antonio Mira de Amezcua (1574-1644), Luis Vélez de Guevara (1579-1644).

Juan Ruiza de Alarcón y Mendoza (1581-1639) was the first outstanding moralist of the Spanish theater. His famous comedy is The Doubtful Truth (printed in 1621). He is brought closer to Baroque philosophy by the idea of the relativity of truth and lies, the conventionality of all things.

The famous student of Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina (1584-1648), defended the principles of Spanish drama in the book The Villas of Toledo, reminiscent of Boccaccio's Decameron in composition. Tirso de Molina is the author of religious plays, which, like his secular plays, reflected the social contradictions of the time. His philosophical plays treat the theme of sin and heavenly mercy - The Mischief-maker of Seville, or The Stone Guest (1610), the first dramatic adaptation of the legend of Don Juan, and Condemned for Lack of Faith. In his secular plays he turned to dramatic genres developed by Lope de Vega.

“Conceptism,” the founder of which is considered to be A. de Ledesma, who published a collection of poems, Spiritual Thoughts (1600), opposed “Gongorism.” At the same time, in “conceptualism,” as in “gongorism,” much attention was paid to form, the creation of complex concepts, wordplay, and wit.

One of the representatives of “conceptism,” Quevedo tried himself in different genres, but this style reached its greatest development in his satirical essays, Dreams (1606-1622). An outstanding philosopher, moralist and writer was Baltasar Gracian y Morales (1601-1658), a member of the Jesuit order who spoke under pseudonyms. In his work Wit, or the Art of the Subtle Mind (1648), he formulates the principles of conceptualism.

Some poets, such as Juan de Tassis y Peralta, Count of Villamediana (1582-1621) and Salvador Jacinto Polo de Medina (1603-1683), tried to combine the traditions of Góngora and Quevedo in their work.

Baroque dramaturgy reached perfection in the work of Pedro Calderon de la Barca (1600-1680). Like Tirso de Molina, he belongs to the national dramatic school of Lope de Vega. The work of this last great representative of Spanish literature of the “golden age” reflects the pessimistic view of man characteristic of the era. Central piece Calderona - philosophical drama Life is a Dream (1635), main idea which, already alien to the Renaissance, is that for the sake of earthly life one should not give up eternal life. Calderon - for the illusory nature of our ideas about life, since it is incomprehensible. In the play Himself in His Custody (1636) he gives a comic interpretation of the same theme.

Baroque dramaturgy is also represented by the works of other writers, who are sometimes called the “Calderon school.” Among them is Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla (1607-1648). He used the material in his work ancient mythology, history and modernity, and in his drama the motif of the conflict between a person’s duty and his feeling, characteristic of the tragedies of classicism, already appears (Catalan Cain, 1645).

2.2. Monuments of Spanish literature in the 15th - 16th centuries

We have the right to consider the first outstanding literary monument of the Spanish Renaissance to be the "Comedy" or "Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea", better known as "Celestina". In the edition of 1499 it contained 16 acts, in the editions of 1502 another 5 were added to them, as well as a prologue. It is clear that "Celestine" is not intended for theatrical performance - it is a drama for reading, or a dramatic story. There is reason to believe that the author of this anonymous book is Fernando de Poxac, about whom we only know that he was a legal scholar and at one time the deputy mayor of Talavera. The Inquisition was distrustful of him, since Poxac was a Jew, although a convert to Christianity. "Celestina" was created at a time when Spain was entering the Renaissance. A few years before the first edition of the tragicomedy, secular Spanish theater was born. New trends captured the visual arts. Interest in ancient culture and the culture of Italian humanism increased. And in “Celestine” humanistic trends are very clearly felt. It echoes the comedies of Plautus and Terence, very popular during the Renaissance. The speech of the characters, even simple servants, is sprinkled with ancient names, replete with references to ancient philosophers and poets and quotations from works. The learned author of "Celestine" also readily turns to Petrarch's treatises. There is no doubt that the Italian Renaissance short stories, with their sharp portrayals of characters, sharp plot twists and broad development of the love theme, had a certain influence on Celestina. For all that, “Celestine” cannot be called an epigonic work. She grew up on Spanish soil and, despite the foreign names, is closely connected with the Spanish life of the early Renaissance.

This is a talented book about earthly joys and sorrows about a love passion that takes possession of a person’s entire being and challenges medieval customs and ideas. The heroes of the story are the young poor nobleman Calisto and the beautiful Melibea, a girl from a rich and noble family. It was enough for Calisto to meet Melibea and hear her voice for him to lose peace of mind. Melibea became for him the embodiment of all earthly perfections and turned into a deity worthy of enthusiastic worship. At the risk of being accused of heresy, Calisto declares to his servant: “I consider her a deity, just as I believe in her as a deity and do not recognize another ruler in heaven, although she lives among us.” Thanks to the intervention of the old experienced pimp Celestina, Calisto managed to defeat Melibea's chastity. Soon, however, joy turned to grief. The tragic events began with the death of Celestina and two of Calisto's servants. Self-interest destroyed them. In gratitude for her services, Calisto gave Celestina a gold chain. Calisto's servants, who helped Celestina, demanded their share from her. The greedy old woman did not want to satisfy the demands. Then they killed Celestina, for which they were executed in the city square. This tragic story could not help but cast a shadow on the fate of the young lovers. Soon events took on an even darker tone. Calisto fell from the high wall surrounding Melibea's garden. Upon learning of the death of her lover, Melibea throws herself from a high tower. Parents bitterly mourn the death of their daughter. It is impossible not to notice that “The Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibaeus” contains a certain didactic tendency. Addressing readers in a poetic introduction, the author urges them not to imitate “young criminals,” he calls his story “a mirror of destructive passions,” advocates good morals and speaks with caution about Cupid’s arrows. In the mournful monologue of Pleberio, mourning the untimely death of his daughter, ascetic motifs are immediately heard, making one recall the melancholic maxims of medieval hermits. But the author does not stop there either. He seems to be hinting that evil spirits played a fatal role in the union of Calisto and Melibea. To this end, he forces Celestina, who turns out to be not only a pimp, but also a witch, to conjure the spirits of the underworld.

It is difficult to say what in all this corresponds to the views of the author himself, and what may be a forced concession to traditional morality and official piety. The internal logic of the story does not provide grounds for reducing the love of Calisto and Melibea to intrigues evil spirits. Melibea's dying monologue speaks of a great and vibrant human feeling. Turning to God, Melibea calls her love omnipotent. She asks her father to bury her together with the deceased caballero, to honor them with “a single funeral rite.” In death she hopes to regain what she lost in life. No, this is not a devilish obsession! This is a love as powerful as the love of Romeo and Juliet! And the tragic events that fill the story are entirely determined by completely earthly, real reasons. Calisto's fall was, of course, an unfortunate accident. But the love of Calisto and Melibea was still bound to lead to disaster. Inert feudal morality destroyed the happiness of young people. And they were completely worthy of this happiness, for they had the truth of human feelings on their side.

There is also nothing supernatural in the death of Celestine and her accomplices. But here we move on to the second, “low” social plane of tragicomedy. Servants and prostitutes are associated with Celestina, i.e. the disenfranchised poor. The author does not gloss over their shortcomings. But at the same time, he understands well that they have their own truth, their own just claims to the world of masters. For example, the prostitute Areus speaks about the bitter fate of the maids, proud of the fact that she “was never called anyone’s.” After all, how many insults and humiliations do maids who depend on arrogant mistresses have to endure: “You spend on them best time, and they pay you for ten years of service with a crappy skirt that they will throw away anyway. They insult and oppress so much that you don’t dare utter a word in front of them.” The servant Sempronio utters an eloquent tirade about true nobility, borrowed from the arsenal of European humanism: “Some say that nobility is a reward for the deeds of ancestors and the antiquity of the family, but I say that You can’t shine from someone else’s light if you don’t have your own. Therefore, do not judge yourself by the brilliance of your illustrious father, but only in your own way.”

There are many expressive figures in tragicomedy. However, the most expressive, most colorful figure is undoubtedly Celestine. The author endows her with intelligence, cunning, cunning, and insight. She has her own attachments. But the main trait of her character is predatory egoism. Standing outside of “decent” society, Celestina is completely free from any norms of class morality. This circumstance led her to cynical and immoral behavior and at the same time allowed her to look at such natural human passions as, for example, love without any prejudice. Of course, Calisto Celestina helped for the money. But she did not at all consider the love of young people to be a sin, and she did not consider her craft to be sinful, since, in her opinion, it did not at all contradict the natural requirements of nature. She even had her own philosophy on this matter, which smacks of heresy. According to Celestine, every day “men suffer because of women, and women because of men, that’s what nature dictates; God created nature, and God can do nothing wrong. And therefore my efforts are very commendable, since they flow from such a source ". But, of course, Celestina was not engaged in pimping and other dark matters out of altruism. Without benefit, she didn’t want to take a step. Confident that in modern society Only money makes life bearable; she did not attach any importance to the fact that she got the money through dishonest means. Celestine proudly talks about her past successes, about the time when many eminent clients fawned over her, young and dexterous. And in her declining years she never ceases to pursue profit and scatter the seeds of vice everywhere. The emerging bourgeois world, with its practice of “heartless purity,” generously endowed her with its shortcomings. Celestine grows in the story into a collective image, into a formidable symbol of the destructive power of self-interested feelings. Thus, at the dawn of the Spanish Renaissance, a work appeared that responded alarmingly to the growth of bourgeois egoism, equally hostile to both the dilapidated world and the world of humanistic illusions.

Celestina herself is devoid of any illusions. She has a very sober view of things, due to all her life experiences. Constantly confronted with the seamy side of life, she is not seduced by its elegant, ostentatious side. She believes that there are no and cannot be idyllic relationships where there are masters and bonded servants, rich and poor. Knowing well the bitter price of poverty, striving to grab for herself everything that is possible, Celestina at the same time does not idealize wealth. Not only because wealth in her view is associated with tedious care and it has already “brought death to many,” but also because it is not people who own wealth, as they naively believe, but “wealth owns them,” making them its slaves. For Celestine, the highest good is independence, unfettered by either current morality or worries about hoarding. Celestine also does not overestimate the piety of the Catholic clergy. She is well aware of the habits of the Spanish clergy, for not only “nobles, old and young,” but also “clergy of all ranks from bishop to sexton” were her clients. The story depicts in a rather frank manner the debauchery that reigns in church circles. In the conditions of feudal-Catholic Spain, such glimpses of humanistic free-thinking did not occur often, and even then only at the early stage of the Spanish Renaissance. "Celestina" is also notable for the fact that it is the first big literary work realistic movement in Renaissance Spain. True, its artistic composition is heterogeneous. While the morals of the lower classes are depicted without any embellishment, the episodes depicting the love of Calisto and Melibea are more conventional and literary. Often a lover turns into a skilled rhetorician, scattering flowers of eloquence, even though this does not really fit with the given psychological situation. Thus, Melibea, in a long dying monologue, lists cases known in history when parents had to suffer greatly. Calisto's tirades can serve as an example of love rhetoric. “O night of my joy,” he exclaims, “when I could bring you back! O radiant Phoebus, speed up your usual run! O beautiful stars, show yourself before the appointed hour!” etc. [19, 286]

It is clear that the servants and their girlfriends express themselves much more simply and sometimes even make fun of the masters’ pompous manner. One day, Calisto, impatiently awaiting the arrival of Melibea, eloquently said to Sempronio: “Until then, I will not take food, even if Phoebus’s horses have already gone to those green meadows where they usually graze, having completed their daily run.” To which Sempronio remarked: “Senor, give up these tricky words, all this poetry. What not everyone needs is accessible and incomprehensible speeches. Say “even if the sun goes down” and your speech will reach everyone. And eat a little jam, otherwise You won't be strong enough." The speech of Celestina and other characters in the plebeian circle, like the later speech of Sancho Panza, is steeply mixed with folk proverbs and sayings. This interweaving, and sometimes the clash of “high” and “low” styles serves in tragicomedy as one of the ways of social characterization and, thus, is undoubtedly associated with the realistic concept of the work.

The author achieves the greatest success by depicting the environment in which Celestine reigns. It is here that we find the sharpest and closest to life characteristics and genre sketches. The scene of the feast at Celestine’s is magnificent, for example. Calisto's lively servants bring with them food from the master's supplies. Their lovers are waiting for them. Dear ones scold and show mercy. The prostitute Elicia scolds Sempronio for daring to praise Melibea's beauty in her presence. She is echoed by Areusa, who declares that “all these noble maidens are celebrated and praised for their wealth, and not for their beautiful bodies.” The conversation turns to the question of nobility. “He is low who considers himself low,” says Areusa. “As are the deeds, so is the race; we are all, in the end, children of Adam and Eve. Let everyone strive for virtue himself and not seek it in the nobility of his ancestors.” (Remember that Sempronio already said something similar. This persistent repetition of humanistic truths undoubtedly indicates that these truths were always dear to Bachelor Rojas). Areusa immediately complains about the plight of maids in rich houses. Celestina turns the conversation to other topics. In the circle of people she likes, she feels light and free. She remembers her best years when she lived in contentment and honor. But her youth is gone, she has grown old. However, her heart still rejoices when she sees happy lovers. After all, she experienced firsthand the power of love, which “equally commands people of all ranks and breaks all barriers.” Love left along with youth, but wine remained, which “drives away sadness from the heart better than gold and coral.” This time Celestine appears before us in a new light. She is no longer a predatory, crafty fox stalking her prey, but a person in love with life and its splendor. Usually so calculating and sober, in this scene she becomes a poet, finding very bright and warm words to glorify earthly joys. The Renaissance itself speaks through its lips. To this should be added her characteristic wit, resourcefulness, insight, and ability to conduct a conversation - sometimes quite simply, sometimes floridly, in a lush oriental taste, depending on who she is talking to and what goal the old bawd pursues.

The author creates a rather complex and convex character. Of all the characters in the tragicomedy, it is Celestine who is most remembered. It is not for nothing that “The Tragicomedy of Calisto and Melibaeus” is usually called by her name, which has become a household name in Spain. Celestine reflected some of the characteristic features of that controversial transitional era. Therefore, it either repels or attracts, it is life itself. And tragicomedy in general is a kind of mirror of Spanish life at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. "Celestina" had a significant influence on the subsequent development of Spanish literature. This influence is felt in drama and, especially, in the picaresque novel, where the life of the urban lower classes is widely depicted. Until Cervantes' Don Quixote, Celestina was undoubtedly the most significant work of Spanish Renaissance literature.

In 1554, the first Spanish picaresque novel, “The Life of Lazarillo of Tormes and His Fortunes and Misfortunes,” was published, apparently written in the 30s of the 16th century. unknown author. It is possible that the novel was created by one of the freethinkers - followers of Erasmus of Rotterdam, who were critical of the Catholic Church. Such freethinkers were found in Spain during the time of Charles V. In any case, in the Life of Lazarillo, an anti-clerical tendency is very noticeable, although somewhat muted.

Spain was a land of stark contrasts. This is very noticeable not only in social life, but also in literature.

Conclusion

Spanish literature of the Renaissance in the 4th - 6th centuries, unlike other European countries of that time, developed under very specific conditions. The country still retained remnants of the Middle Ages, the cities did not acquire modern significance, the nobility, which was in decline, did not lose its privileges, and, finally, the church still held enormous power.

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By the beginning of the 16th century. Spain became one of the strongest powers in the world, becoming part of the huge Habsburg empire. However, she did not know such a powerful Renaissance process as in other European countries.

The extraordinary power of the Catholic Church, which played a positive role during the period of the Reconquista - the reconquest of the country from the Moors - left a deep imprint on the development of the entire Renaissance culture. Having received unlimited power, the church turned into a reactionary force that suppressed everything new and progressive. Therefore, the freethinking so characteristic of Italians had almost no opportunity to manifest itself here, and a huge layer of drama, created by humanist writers, consisted of plays with religious and moral content. Religious morality also left its mark on painting, where poeticizing a person was not only impossible, but also inappropriate.

At the same time, the 16th century was marked by the appearance in Spain of a galaxy of remarkable writers, architects, sculptors, and painters. It is not for nothing that the second half of the 16th and early 17th centuries, when Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Gongora, Juan de Herrera, and El Greco worked, is usually called the “golden age” of Spanish culture, despite all the horrors of the Inquisition and despotism of the authorities.

The initial stage of the development of national Spanish art was associated with the unification of the country in 1479 under the rule of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. Isabella invited foreign architects to her court who worked in the late, “flaming” Gothic style. But in Spain they encountered the Moorish art of Mudejar, previously unknown to them. As a result, a new, original style emerged Plateresque(from platero - silver, by association with the products of silversmiths). The facades and interiors of cathedrals and palaces looked bizarre jewelry. Moreover, the main effect was achieved due to the continuous carpet filling of the wall plane with rich sculpture, stucco and the play of bright sunlight and shadow. In Plateresque architecture, decor in the form of protrusions of various shapes has become widespread - rhombuses, large shells, floral ornament, figurines of people and coat of arms.

Plateresque style. Fragment of the interior of the Church of St. Jacob. Toledo

In the first half of the 16th century. There was a spread of Renaissance influences in connection with the inheritance by the Spanish king Charles I of the crown of the German emperor under the name Charles V. Spain became an integral part of the huge Habsburg empire, which owned Germany, the Netherlands, part of Italy and colonial lands in America.

This fact led to the emergence of a kind of “apex” Renaissance in Spain. The facades of buildings began to be decorated with elements of ancient orders, garlands, medallions, statues, and portrait busts.

To wonderful examples of Spanish renaissance architecture include the Palace of Charles V in Granada and the courtyard of the Alcazar in Toledo.

But the most significant work in the history of Spanish Renaissance architecture, the likes of which Europe did not know in the 16th century, is the famous Escorial, the palace-monastery, the residence of Philip I, the monk-king. A grandiose building dedicated to St. Lawrence, was erected 45 kilometers from Madrid as a symbol of the power of the great monarchy.

Escorial, which received its name due to the proximity of iron mines (from escoria - slag), was built by the famous Spanish architect Juan de Herrera(1530-1597).

Escorial housed a monastery, palace premises, the tomb of the Spanish kings, a library, and a hospital. The absolutely rectangular palace-monastery was based on the shape of the lattice on which St. Lawrence, the heavenly patron of the palace. At the four corners stood towers, symbolizing the legs of an inverted lattice; altar apse of the Cathedral of St. Lawrence, framed by a rectangular projection in which the personal apartments of Philip II were located, resembled the handle of a lattice, and numerous rectangular

Escorial. Spain

New claustro courtyards depicted its bars. The architectural appearance of Escorial reflected all the features inherent in the buildings of antiquity: symmetry, rectangular plan, order elements. At the same time, Errerauchel and national traditions Spanish-Moorish architecture: impregnable walls that simultaneously serve as living quarters, with corner towers and spiers, characteristic of alcazar fortresses, courtyards with ponds, as was customary among the Moors.

Escorial laid the foundation for a new classicist style, which replaced Plateresque and was named after the architect - Herreresco, the peculiarity of which was the absence of any decorative ornaments, except for balls.

The dominant feature of the entire ensemble of the monastery-palace is the majestic cathedral topped with a dome, the western façade of which is decorated with white marble statues of Old Testament kings, which gave its name to the courtyard in front of the entrance. The cathedral is a cross-domed basilica with a narthex. Its interior space is designed in a strict Doric order and, like all the buildings of Escorial, is made of light gray local granite, which enhances the strict and majestic appearance of the ensemble. The only decoration is the frescoes on the vaults, the picturesque image behind the altar - the retablo, bronze statues of saints and Spanish kings on both sides of the altar.

Statues of kings play an important emotional role in the interior of the cathedral. Made of gilded bronze, wearing cloaks inlaid with colored metal and enamels, the kneeling figures of Charles V and Philip II create the illusion of the eternal presence of royalty and their families at the masses taking place in the cathedral.

In connection with the decoration of Escorial with frescoes and paintings, a school of court painters arose at the court of Philip II, called Spanish Romanism. It was a kind of similarity to the French school of Fontainebleau, but less

Pampeo Leoni. Statues of Philip P, his son Don Carlos and wives. Escorial

bright. The classical simplicity of Escorial determined the same standards in painting. But the craftsmen who decorated El Escorial belonged to the official artistic movement that developed under the influence of Italian mannerism. The works created looked elegant in appearance, but were insignificant artistically. These are the paintings on the vaults of the Cathedral of St. Lawrence, completed Luca Cambiaso, better known in Spain under the name of Luke of Genoa. Such are the works of the most famous master in El Escorial Tibaldi Pellegrino, who painted paintings for the retablo, frescoes for the gallery of the Court of the Evangelists and the ceiling of the library.

The Escorial Library, a treasury of the intellectual life of Spain, occupied one of the first places in Europe in the collection of rare manuscripts. Therefore, Philip II paid the closest attention to its decoration. Tibaldi painted the vault, strippings 1 and lunettes, precisely following the compositional arrangement of the ceiling paintings of the Sistine Chapel. In the middle part of the vault allegories of the seven liberal arts were presented, each of which was repeated in a pictorial composition on the formwork.

For example, the allegorical figure of Music corresponded to the illustration of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and the image of David the psalmist, inspiredly accompanying himself on the lyre and performing psalms for the Old Testament king Saul.

These paintings, designed for external effect, were masterfully composed and seemed to be full of movement. But in essence the painting was a purely decorative interweaving of bodies naked or draped in fabric, absolutely

1 Stripping - a small vault formed by two curved ribs.

tical Despite the bright palette and the predominant poisonous green, blue, red, pink tones, the painting seems strangely discolored. However, not representing in itself artistic value The painting of the school of Spanish Romanism most of all corresponded to the spirit of Escorial, organically merging with his special atmosphere of artificiality, detachment, and unreality.

By the end of the 16th century, Spain had already clearly shown all the signs of economic decline, which led to the political collapse of the world monarchy of Charles V and Philip II and to the loss of the dominant position that Spain occupied in Western Europe. Hopelessness and despair, which took hold of ever wider sections of the people, were accompanied by increased mystical sentiments, religious fanaticism, and the perception of the world as a kind of dream.

The very embodiment of the catastrophe that ended the Renaissance in Spain was art Dominica Theotokopouli, nicknamed due to his Greek origins El Greco(1541-1614). The work of this artist equally combined the traditions of three great artistic cultures-Byzantine, Italian and Spanish. But, perhaps, only in Spain, during the period of the collapse of the world empire and the triumph of feudal and Catholic reaction, could such an extremely mystical and exalted art, in tune with Italian mannerism, develop.

It was in Spain that El Greco found the most favorable soil for the flowering of his brilliant art.

Hoping to receive a royal commission, El Greco painted a small canvas for Philip II, “Philip’s Dream,” where images of heaven, earth and hell were combined in space. The fact that the painting made the desired impression was evidenced by the royal order for a large altar image for the Cathedral of St. Lawrence. But the painting, which did not resemble the standard examples of Romanism, was not hung in the cathedral. El Greco moved to Toledo, with which he remained associated until his death. Toledo, which was once the “heart of Spain,” famous for its solemn religious processions, theatrical performances, and illuminations, was primarily the center of intellectual life. Tirso de Molina, Lope de Vega - the greatest playwrights of the “golden age” of Spanish theater - created their immortal works here.

During his life in Toledo, El Greco wrote a large number of paintings: “Saint Martin and the Beggar”, “Crucifixion”, “The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles”, “Trinity”, “Baptism”, “Espolio” (“Tearing off the Clothes”), “Execution of St. Mauritius”. Many of them can be called great, but the painting “The Burial of Count Orgaz” represents the zenith of the master’s skill and glory.

The plot is based on a medieval legend about a Castilian nobleman, hero of the reconquest, Count Orgaz, who donated great treasures for the church where he wanted to be buried. During the funeral, a miracle happened: St. Augustine and St. Stefan with his own hands buried the body of the pious count.

The lower part of the picture is devoted to the mournful scene of the funeral ceremony, and the miracle happening on earth is consonant with the miracle happening in heaven: Christ, at the head of the host of saints, accepts the soul of the deceased. But the funeral participants, among whom the artist painted excellent portraits of his contemporaries, do not see the mystical apotheosis in the sky, although the clouds and fluttering clothes of the angel carrying away the soul of the deceased almost touch their heads. What is happening in the celestial sphere is revealed only to the gaze of one priest, who is a kind of connecting link between two plans of the composition.

In El Greco's painting the surreal principle prevails. The very environment in which the artist places a scene is a fantastic other world.

The boundaries between earth and sky are shifted, plans are shifted, the sky is perceived as the abode of the deity, to which all the thoughts of those living on earth are directed.

He also created his own unique image of a man, full of spiritual aristocracy and mystical illumination, but devoid, of course, of a heroic beginning. El Greco's exalted images are like ethereal shadows. They have overly elongated figures, distorted forms, convulsive gestures, elongated pale faces with wide open eyes.

But the most important thing in his figurative system is color. Iconographic traditions that he learned in his youth, which he, being a native of Fr. Crete, studied with Byzantine masters, and his long stay in Venice determined the artist’s coloristic achievements. El Greco achieved exceptional luminosity of colors, as if emitting an internal flame. The abundance of unexpected reflexes - yellow on red, yellow on green, bright pink on dark red, green on red, the use of dazzling white and deep black colors - all imparts stunning emotional intensity to his paintings.

El Greco had no followers; his work served as a kind of watershed between two great artistic eras, when the outgoing traditions of the Renaissance were replaced by a new one. art XVII V.

A clear reflection of Renaissance trends in the culture of Spain was the classical romance. It arose and developed from the lyric-epic poem and became the most widespread literary genre, because its rhythm most closely matched the melodiousness of Spanish speech.

As a genre, romance originated during the Reconquista, reflecting episodes of the Spanish conquest of their lands from the Moors. During the Renaissance, due to increased interest in folk origins, the popularity of romances reached its apogee. They entered the court of Queen Isabella, and there was no corner on the Iberian Peninsula where romances were not sung to musical accompaniment. This rich and unique literary heritage is divided into three main groups.

So called chronicles(noticieros) romances arose immediately after real events and were a kind of literary chronicle. One of the most striking of these cycles were the romances about King Rodrigo, under whom the conquest of Spain by the Moors took place.

Along with romances of historical content, a whole group appeared wild novels, which are characterized by extreme laconicism and simplicity.

Sometimes the romance ended with edification, like, say, the romance about a young man who insulted the ashes. This romance served as a source for worldwide famous play Tirso de Molina's "The Mischief of Seville", with which began an endless gallery of images of Don Juan in world literature:

To the early mass of the caballero “I will bring you to my place for the holiday

Once I went to God’s temple, I invite you in the evening.”

Not to listen to the mass, - “Don’t laugh, caballero,

To see gentle ladies, I will be at the feast today.”

Ladies who are more beautiful in the house of the embarrassed caballero

And fresher than flowers. He returned at the same time.

But the eyeless yellow skull walked gloomily for a long time.

Found myself on the way. Finally the day faded away.

He kicked this skull, and when evening fell,

I kicked him. He sent servants to set the table

Baring his teeth in laughter, I didn’t have time to sip the wine -

The skull pulled back as if alive. There was a loud knock on the door.

Here he sends a page,

For him to open the lock.

"Just ask your master

Does he remember our agreement?

“Yes, my page, tell me that I remember,

Let him come in, so be it.”

The skull sat down in a golden chair,

But he doesn’t want to eat or drink.

“Not to eat your dinner,

I appeared at one o'clock at night,

And then, at exactly midnight

You went to church with me.”

The hour has just struck midnight,

The rooster is crowing in the yard,

And they go to the temple,

It's just midnight.

There's an open grave

The knight sees in the middle,

"Don't be afraid, caballero,

You go in there, come in. You will sleep next to me and eat my food”, “God did not give me permission, I will not go into the grave”, “If it were not for the name of God, Which protects you from evil, If the amulet around your neck did not save Your soul, You would entered the grave alive for evil deeds. So go, unworthy one, and return to your home again. If you meet a skull, bow low, low. Having read the “Pater Noster”, bury it in the ground, If you want the same to be done to you after death.”

The third group consisted of romances literary, lyrical,which the greatest Spanish writers began to writeLope de Vega, Luis de Gongora, Francisco Quevedo.

The flowering of Spanish culture was immediately preceded by the most celebrated period in the country's history. At the end of the 15th century, the previously fragmented Spain was united under the rule of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. In 1492, Spain, united under central authority, completed the Reconquista - the centuries-long struggle of the Spaniards against the Arabs to reconquer the Iberian Peninsula. Characteristic feature Spanish art, in contrast to other European countries, is a tiny proportion of secular works created in this state for a very long period after the end of the Middle Ages and the onset of modern times. At a time when the Italians and Flemings happily used the wealth of subjects from ancient history or mythology, as well as the life around them, the scope of activity of Spanish artists was limited exclusively to Christian themes. At first, the only oasis among this hegemony of ideology was the images of royalty and their families - the court portrait, the first secular genre in Spanish painting, from which Spanish art critics sometimes derive further development non-religious painting.

The line of development of the court portrait ran separately from the main theme of Spanish art, and the masters of this direction had to solve special problems in their work, creating works that reflected their unique approach to the problem of depicting a person. The solution to this problem had to combine both ideal ideas about the model and its realistic vision - without simplifying it. And the Spanish courtier portrait art based on several different components, it has created its own unique style. Consideration of the various impulses that influenced the Spanish portrait helps to better appreciate its specificity.

To form it distinctive features Local Spanish tastes, the influence of the Italian Renaissance, and also, to a large extent, the influence of the Northern Renaissance, especially the Dutch school of painting, became extremely important.

Artistic workshops of the Iberian Peninsula in a period of new awakening European art and the departure from the principles of the Middle Ages did not happen, unlike Italy and the cities of Northern Europe, to become powerful

Spanish painting is unique and unlike anything else. Spanish artists made a very great contribution to world culture. Spanish painting has its origins in the painting of church frescoes and altars, which were created by Italian, German and Dutch masters. True, the Spaniards adopted only the technique, and the passion and fanaticism that their works possess are their own, not borrowed from anyone. The name Domenikos Theotokopoulos (1541 - 1614) is known as the name of the first famous painter of Spain, who studied in Italy with Titian and was invited to Spain by Philip II. The heyday of Spanish culture: literature and theater (sanctified by the names of Cervantes and Lope de Bega), and then painting, did not coincide with the period of the highest economic and political power of Spain and came somewhat later. The golden age of Spanish painting is the 17th century, or more precisely, the 80s of the 16th - 80s of the 17th century.

Spanish art of the 16th-18th centuries was characterized by the existence of not classical, but medieval, Gothic traditions. The role of Moorish art in connection with the centuries-old domination of the Arabs in Spain is undeniable for the entire Spanish culture, which managed to rework Moorish features in an unusually interesting way, merging them with the original national ones.

Spanish artists had two main customers: the first was the court, wealthy Spanish grandees, the aristocracy, and the second was the church. The role of the Catholic Church in the formation of the Spanish school of painting was also very great. The tastes of customers were shaped under her influence. But the severity of the fate of the Spanish people, its originality life paths developed a specific worldview of the Spaniards. Religious ideas, which, in fact, sanctify all the art of Spain, are perceived very concretely in the images of real reality, the sensory world surprisingly coexists with religious idealism, and the folk, national element bursts into the mystical plot. In Spanish art, the ideal of a national hero is expressed primarily in the images of saints.

The concept of “court portrait” includes certain characteristic features that are unusual for other types of the portrait genre. This is primarily due to the special social status portrayed and related functions, including ideological ones. But although the range of models for court portraiture is not very narrow, including images of the retinue - high-ranking aristocrats, and portraits of the royal family, as well as - in the case of the Spanish court - images of dwarfs and freaks (los truhanes), the most essential subject His image always remained exclusively of the monarch - and no one else but him. In this work, the topic was limited to images exclusively of kings, since it is their portraits that are the quintessence of the image and are executed at the highest level, and also serve as a typological and iconographic example.

The image of the supreme ruler, unlike other portraits created at court even by the same artists, was invariably filled with certain unique qualities. They were generated by an ideology that placed God's anointed one separately from all others, even those closest to him by blood. The portrait of the king, in contrast to the images of his relatives, concentrated in an even more exaggerated form all the qualities inherent in this courtly art, and also used certain techniques intended exclusively for him - associated with the special, unique position of the monarch on earth. The state of mind of subjects, including artists, is characterized, for example, by the well-known postulate of law “Imago regis, rex est” - the image of the king is the king himself, and crimes or oaths committed in the presence of this image are equivalent to those committed in the personal presence of the monarch.

Thus, the king and his images, thanks to the faith of his subjects, became related in function to the celestials and their images, which was undoubtedly reflected in the portraits.

At the end of the 15th century. The Reconquista (the war for the liberation of the Iberian Peninsula from Arab rule, which lasted almost eight centuries) ended and a unified Spanish kingdom was formed. In the 16th century An active military policy, and above all the seizure of vast territories in the newly discovered America, turned Spain into one of the richest European monarchies. However, prosperity did not last long - already at the end of the century the country experienced economic decline, and in the wars with England in the 16th and 17th centuries. she lost supremacy at sea.

In cultural development, it was precisely by the 17th century. Spain reached its greatest prosperity, primarily in literature and painting. Since Spain gained independence and unity quite late, the creation of a national artistic style seemed especially important. For a country that did not have firmly rooted traditions, this was not easy.

The development of Spanish painting and sculpture was also complicated by the position of the Catholic Church: the Inquisition established strict censorship of art. However, despite whole line strict restrictions, Spanish masters worked in almost all genres and covered in their creativity the same range of topics as their contemporaries from other European countries.

In architecture, the traditions of medieval European and Arab architecture (especially in the decorative design of buildings) were combined with the influence of the Italian Renaissance, and from the 17th century. - Baroque. As a result, Spanish architecture never completely freed itself from eclecticism - a combination of features of different styles in one work. National identity was manifested much more clearly in sculpture, in particular in wooden sculpture. The painting combines European influence and national characteristics turned out to be the most harmonious and received a deeply original embodiment.

Speaking about the culture of Spain, it should be noted that with all the attention to art from the royal court, the most brilliant masters still worked in the provinces. It was their creativity that determined the main artistic trends of that time.

Inquisition (from Latin inquisitio - “search”) - in the Catholic Church in the 13th-19th centuries. courts independent from secular authorities, established to combat heresies (religious movements that deviated from the official provisions of the Church).

The Spanish painter, sculptor and architect El Greco (Theotokopouli Domenico) was born in Crete in 1541, hence his nickname - The Greek. He studied traditional icon painting in Crete, after 1560 he went to Venice, where he may have studied with Titian, and in 1570 to Rome.

The creative style was formed mainly under the influence of Tintoretto and Michelangelo. In 1577, El Greco moved to Spain and settled in Toledo, where he worked from 1577 until his death (April 7, 1614), creating a number of remarkable altars. His works are characterized by incredible emotionality, unexpected angles and unnaturally elongated proportions, creating the effect of rapid changes in the scale of figures and objects ("Martyrdom of St. Mauritius", 1580-1582). El Greco's masterfully painted paintings on religious subjects with a large number of characters are akin to the poetry of Spanish mystics in their unreality. Such, for example, is the solemn and majestic composition “The Burial of Count Orgaz” (1586-1588).

Finding himself first in the orbit of the influence of Titian and Michelangelo, and then embarking on the path of Mannerism, El Greco became the herald of Baroque art. The desire to go beyond the limits of ordinary human experience makes him similar to the Spanish mystics - the poet Juan de la Cruz, St. Teresa and St. Ignatius of Loyola. That is why Spain became fertile ground for the work of El Greco, which, in turn, was readily adopted spanish art. Over time, scientific knowledge and mathematics began to become increasingly important in his work.

Emotionality is also characteristic of El Greco’s portraits, which are sometimes marked by psychological and social insight. The features of unreality appear most clearly in later works masters (“Opening of the fifth seal”, “Laocoon”, 1610-1614). “View of Toledo” (1610-1614) is covered in a keen poetic perception of nature and a tragic worldview. El Greco's work was forgotten after the artist's death and rediscovered only at the beginning of the 20th century, with the advent of expressionism.

El Greco died in 1614.

Renaissance painting Vinci Raphael

Burial of Christ. 1560

Christ heals the blind. 1567

Dormition Holy Mother of God. 1567

Modena Triptych. 1568

Last Supper. 1568

Mount Sinai. 1570-72

Cleansing the temple. 1570

Christ heals a blind man.1570-75

Worship of the shepherds. 1570-72

Annunciation. 1570

Giulio Clovio. 1571-72

Vincenzo Anastaci. 1571-76

Pieta` (Lamentation of Christ). 1571-76

Annunciation. 1575

Portrait of a man. 1575

Portrait of a sculptor. 1576-78

Penitent Mary Magdoline. 1576-78

Tearing off Christ's clothes. 1577-79

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 first half XVI V.

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 a 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 new human type. The strength of the book is in its frank depiction of social relations in Spain, where under the cassock and noble cloak the basest passions, brought to life by the fever of profit, were hidden.

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 far-from-life chivalric novels. But his excellent knowledge of 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 discovers his intelligence, but also turns out to be a carrier folk wisdom which is expressed 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, selflessness 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 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, Example of Tramps and Mirror of Swindlers,” was apparently written in the early period of 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,” 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 involuntarily let them go. Following Cervantes, the author of the tragedy "Numancia", Lope de Vega created a drama about popular heroism, his 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. Their appearance has cruel, unattractive 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 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 produced an artist of striking originality. This is Domeviko Theotokopouli, a native of Crete, known as El Greco (1542-1614). El Greco for a long time lived in Italy, where he learned a lot from famous masters 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 into one whole, was Francisco Zurbaran (1598-1664).

Diego Velasquez

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 wrote 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 half-naked blacksmiths who have quit 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.

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