We explain what the Golden Age was, its aesthetic periods and its main authors. In addition, its characteristics, trends and more.
The Golden Age begins around 1492.
What was the Golden Age?
The Golden Age is a period of Spanish literary culture that took place between the 16th and 17th centuries. It was a period of flourishing arts and literature in Spain during the Habsburg dynasty.
This period began around 1500, with the reunification of the Iberian Peninsula under the Catholic Monarchs, and ended towards the end of 1600. Despite its name, it is not an exact delimitation of time, but rather identifies a literary and artistic style that was in vogue for more than a century and a half, and which encompasses the Renaissance and the Baroque.
The literature of the Golden Age was marked by the values of Spanish patriotic sentiment and Catholicism. Among the preferred genres, epic works and ballads stood out, which in the early Renaissance took the form of chivalric novels. Throughout the 16th century, picaresque novels appeared, which recounted the comic adventures of chivalrous characters.
Between the most important literary authors of the Spanish Golden Age Garcilaso de la Vega (1498?-1536), Santa Teresa de Jesús (1515-1582), Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), Luis de Góngora (1561-1627), Lope de Vega (1562-1635), stand out. Francisco de Quevedo (1580-1645) and Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681).
In relation to the plastic arts, the Spanish Golden Age was marked by the paintings of El Greco, towards the end of the Renaissance, and Diego Velázquez, who became an icon of the Spanish Baroque.
The denomination Golden age It was devised by Luis José Velázquez, Marquis of Valdeflores, a scholar and antiquarian of the 18th century. He used it for the first time in his studio Origins of Castilian poetry of 1754, although by this he was referring exclusively to the 16th century. Later the use of the expression spread and ended up being used to designate the Spanish literary culture of the 16th and 17th centuries.
See also: Rococo
Historical context of the Golden Age
The death of Pedro Calderón de la Barca marked the end of the Golden Age.
At the end of the 15th century, the Catholic Monarchs (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon) managed to complete the so-called Spanish Reconquista by defeating the troops of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada. With this victory, they expelled the last Muslim state from the peninsula. In addition, they incorporated Navarre and Naples, conquered the Canary Islands, occupied areas of North Africa and began overseas expansion across the Atlantic, which led to the discovery of America.
In this way, the Catholic Monarchs turned Spain into one of the most powerful empires of the time. In turn, the Spanish Empire obtained a constant influx of riches and gold through the conquest and colonization of the American continent during the 16th century.
In this context, Spanish culture and art gained great momentum and were linked to different themes. On the one hand, the artistic works exalted the greatness of the Spanish State and Catholicism. On the other hand, they were influenced by the Italian Renaissance, Spanish impressions of the American world and, later, the European Baroque. Furthermore, in this period the printing press was introduced, which allowed greater dissemination of literary works and generalized the use of the Vulgar Spanish language in writings, instead of Latin.
During the Spanish Golden Age, knowledge that was traditionally reserved for the educated upper classes became popular. Educational institutions expanded, various artistic works were disseminated and publications multiplied. In this context, the literary genres of satire and popular comedy, the picaresque novel and, above all, the polyphonic novel were particularly promoted. Music, painting and sculpture were also influenced by mannerism in the exaggeration of forms and the abundance of content.
Aesthetic periods of the Golden Age
The art of the Golden Age was characterized by exaggeration and abundance of content.
The Golden Age includes two different aesthetic periods:
- The Spanish Renaissance. It spanned the reigns of the Catholic Monarchs, Charles I and Philip II, during the 16th century. The Renaissance style in Spain took on particular aesthetic forms, marked by the fusion of the Italian Renaissance movement with Spanish Iberian elements, and influenced by the Islamic aesthetics of the lands recovered in the Reconquista.
- The Spanish Baroque. It spanned the reigns of Philip III, Philip IV and Charles II during the 17th century. The Baroque style in Spain was marked by a reaction against idealized beauty and a search for realism.
See also: Baroque period
Golden Age Literature
Don Quijote of La Mancha It is one of the most representative works of the Spanish Golden Age.
During the Spanish Golden Age, literature was characterized by the development of the following genres:
- The novel of chivalry. It was a fictional narrative form for gentlemen, which achieved great diffusion due to the development of the printing press and inaugurated the format of “serialized novels”, which separated the publication into chapters and sought the appearance of intrigues. The most representative novel of the Golden Age was Don Quijote of La Mancha, written by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. In 1605 the first half was published in four parts, and in 1615, the continuation.
- The picaresque novel. It was a type of satirical novel, starring rogues, young people from a low social class, marginalized or criminal, who made a living by taking advantage of others with their ingenuity. This antihero functioned as a contrast to the medieval chivalric ideal and expressed a social criticism of the
- Spanish institutions and the distance between the life of the nobles and that of the humble. Among the most representative works of the picaresque novel are The life of Lazarillo de Tormes and his fortunes and misfortunes (1544, anonymous), Guzman of Alfarache (1599 and 1604, Mateo Alemán) and The life of the hustler (1604-1620, Francisco de Quevedo).
- Ascetic and mystical poetry. It was a type of religious composition, with Catholic roots, in which poets explored their spiritual calling. This trend consolidated the Spanish Catholic faith, in the face of the division of the Church with the Protestant Reformation. The works of Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Jesus were representative of this genre.
- Theatrical works. They were works with a renewed theatrical proposal, comic and influenced by contemporary literature and the creation of swashbuckling comedies. Among the main playwrights of the period are Lope de Vega, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Tirso de Molina and Juan Ruiz de Alarcón.
- Historical studies. It was a type of narrative aimed at recounting historical events relevant to Spain, such as the wars of reconquest or the reigns of important monarchs.
Golden Age Painting
El Greco was one of the leading painters of the Spanish Golden Age.
During the Golden Age, the visual arts were characterized by the influence of mannerism, in painters such as El Greco, and other trends of the Italian Renaissance, in artists such as Juan de Juanes and Alonso Sánchez Coello.
Throughout the 17th century, with the influence of the Baroque, the works of Diego Velázquez, José de Ribera and Alonso Cano also stood out.
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References
- Angulo Íñiguez, D. (1980). “Spanish painting of the 14th and 15th centuries” and “Spanish painting of the 16th century and Portuguese painting of the 16th and 17th centuries”. History of art. Volume 2. EISA Distributor
- Fusi, JP and Calvo Serraller, F. (2014). “The Hispanic monarchy” and “Baroque and Counter-Reformation”. History of the world and art in the West. Gutenberg Galaxy.
- Peña de Gómez, MP (2006). “The 16th century.” Basic manual of art history. University of Extremadura.