Spanish artists - bright as the sun of their homeland

The great Spanish artists in their works touched upon topics that concern every person, therefore their names remained in the centuries. Starting with El Greco, you can distinguish nine such masters, who lived from the XVI to XX century. The highest flourishing is the 17th century. Otherwise it is also called Golden. This is the Baroque period.

Sixteenth century

The first who glorified the Spanish school was the Greek Domenico Theotokopoulos (1541-1614), who was nicknamed El Greco in Spain. In those days fires often burned over heretics. Therefore, secular topics were practically not touched upon. Stank and fresco painting are types of illustrations to Holy Scripture. But even here it was necessary to exercise great caution. Traditional interpretations were required.

El Greco combines religious themes with an amazingly beautiful and magnificent color scheme, which precedes the appearance of Baroque. One of his masterpieces, "The Apostles Peter and Paul" (1582-592), is kept in Russia. It depicts a simple illiterate fisherman Peter and the creator of the whole Christian doctrine, highly educated Paul, naturally, with the Bible. Christianity in the first centuries has won all hearts with its love for people, mercy and simplicity - it was enough to just believe, and any person educated and no, poor or rich, became a Christian. Spanish artists learned a lot from the painter, who possessed a unique style associated with eye disease. However, for a long period his painting was forgotten and reopened in three centuries.

Baroque - The Golden Age

As nowhere, Catholicism is still strong, moreover, it represents a powerful and formidable force that requires a person to mortify carnal desires and joys and complete immersion in religious ritual. Spanish artists such as José Ribera (1591-1652), Francisco Zurbarán (1598-1664), Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) and Bartolomeo Murillo (1617-1682) are the brightest representatives of this period. They are familiar with the works of Caravaggio, who exerts a great influence on them, not with their still lifes, but with their understanding of what death is and how close it is to life.

Spanish artists Ribera and Zurbaran

This association is somewhat arbitrary. Painting by Jose Ribera (1591-1652) is distinguished by themes related to martyrdom and naturalism in depicting the sufferings of saints and heroes from mythology, as well as the sharp contrast of light and shadow. Francisco Zurbaran (1598-1664) creates his best paintings, painted with lyricism, in the 30s of the 16th century. In 1662, he will tenderly write "The Madonna with the Child and John the Baptist."

The bright image of a baby in the middle of a simple and natural composition immediately attracts attention, like the gentle face of the Madonna, and the golden clothes of the kneeling John, at whose feet a symbolic white sheep is located. The raised Christ will be the shepherd of a great herd of believers. Zurbaran writes only from nature - this is his principle, using the contrast of deep shadows and strong light. Zurbaran was friendly with the brilliant artist Diego Velazquez, who helped him with orders. Spanish artists sought to support each other.

Velasquez (1599-1660)

Initially, the Spanish artist Diego Velazquez, living in Seville, works a lot on genre scenes, as well as allegorical paintings. But the acquaintance with Italian painting from the royal collection greatly changed his aesthetic views. It changes coloring to soft silvery and turns to transparent tones. With great difficulty, he manages to get the place of a court painter. But King Philip IV immediately appreciated the gift of the young artist, and he later created portraits of members of the royal family. The peak in his work were two paintings, unsolved until now, before that much meaning was laid in them by the artist. This is the Meninas (1656), that is, the suite of courtiers under the heirs of the royal throne, and Pryakhi (1658).

In the "Meninas" at first glance everything seems simple. In the big room there is a young infanta, surrounded by maid of honor, bodyguard, two dwarfs, a dog and an artist. But behind the painter on the wall is a mirror, in which the king and the queen are reflected. There is a royal couple in the room or not - this is one of the mysteries. There are many more of them, for a huge article. And there is no single answer to any riddle.

From Francisco Goya to Salvador Dali

Born in Zaragoza, Goya (1746-1828) becomes an official court painter, but then loses this place and receives the post of vice-director of the Academy of Arts. In any capacity, Goya works a lot and quickly, creating cardboard for tapestries, portraits, painting churches, painting pictures for the cathedral in Valencia. He works all his life hard and a lot, changing as a master, moving from light festive compositions with saturated colors to a swift and abrupt schedule, and if this painting is dark and gloomy.

The school of drawing in Spain does not die, but the next artist of Spanish painting, a great master, will appear in 1881. This is Picasso. The only not marked his work. This is the "blue" and "pink" periods, and cubism, and surrealism, and pacifism. Behind all his works there is a subtle irony and a desire to be sold. And he could draw. Creating in the Cubist period portraits of his beloved, which were sold as hot pies, for himself he writes it in the style of realism. And only becoming a wealthy man, he began to allow himself to paint, as he wants.

His work "Don Quixote" (1955) is laconic. The knight himself, his squire, a horse, a donkey and several windmills are depicted. Don Quixote is light, weightless, and Rosinante is almost a bag of bones. In contrast, Sancho on the left is a black heavy mass. And although both figures stand still, the figure is full of movement. The lines are energetic, catchy, full of humor.

The famous Spanish artist Salvador Dali is eccentric. This man had everything to sell. And pictures, and diaries, and books. He made himself a fortune thanks to the energetic help of Elena Diakonova's wife , better known as Gala. She was both his muse and manager. Their alliance was very successful commercially.

Finishing on this article on the topic of famous Spanish artists, it must be said that they all possessed a bright personality, like the sun of Spain.