On 21st of January ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’ opened at the Royal Academy, presenting for the first time in the UK, treasures from the collection of The Hispanic Society, New York. Objects include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and ironwork as well as medieval maps and books amassed by Archer M. Huntington in the early 20th century.
Losing yourself among the Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco you would be forgiven for mistaking the Academy’s Main Galleries for the Prado. The voluminous rooms of the Academy trace the history of Spanish visual and material culture, displayed chronologically. Beginning in antiquity, we are taken on a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula through to the colonisation of South America and culminating back in Spain with a large panoramic gouache ‘A Vision of Spain’ by Jose G. Solana commissioned by the Hispanic Society in 1912.
gowithYamo spoke to Art Historian Dr Tom Nickson who studies the influence of ethnic and religious diversity on the visual and material culture of medieval Spain to explore how the exhibition presents ‘Spanish Art’.
The American Hispanic Society has put together a phenomenal collection of Spanish and South American art demonstrating the rich visual culture of the Hispanic world. However this is a landmark exhibition and most of these objects are being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Would you say that ‘Spanish Art’ is relatively underrepresented in the wider art history narrative?
Yes. For much of the 20th century Spain was politically ostracized, while long-standing cultural prejudices meant that the art of Spain was perceived as a poor imitation of that in Italy, France or the Netherlands. That is starting to change, but it is still common to find surveys or essay collections that purport to embrace Europe but omit Spanish or Portuguese material. But that neglect makes it an exciting field of study: there is still much to discover!
Would you say we should scrutinise what we mean by ‘Spanish Art’ particularly art of the medieval period?
Throughout the Middle Ages Spain was home to multiple kingdoms, Christian and Islamic, that were occasionally united by alliances or marriage, but also jostled for control. Only under Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the late 15th century can we speak of (mostly) unified political leadership, especially following the conquest of Granada in 1492. But the idea of a united Spain had existed since the Roman period: the Latin, Castilian, Arabic and Hebrew epitaphs of Ferdinand III of Castile (died 1252) describe him, for example, as ruler of Hispania, Spain, Andalus and Sefarad. Modern scholars often use the term ‘Iberia’ to include al-Andalus, Portugal and the Spanish kingdoms, but this too is problematic, and was almost never used in the Middle Ages.
In European history the ‘Dark Ages’ corresponds to a Golden Age in Islamic rule so even our terminology can be misleading when we start speaking about a broader visual culture for instance many of the earlier objects exhibited here?
Almost all the terms we use as historians are problematic in some way or other, including ‘European’, medieval, ‘Golden Age’, and ‘Islamic’. I’m not sure we will ever find the perfect terminology; for me the most important thing we can do is interrogate our language and remain critically aware of its connotations, even if we sometimes draw on this language for reasons of convenience.
Is it helpful to think of Spanish art as art bound by a shared geographical location rather than belief or style?
It is certainly possible to identify distinct aspects of Islamic, Christian or Jewish art and architecture, especially art produced for religious contexts. But tastes and traditions were also shared across religious boundaries, and were shaped, for example, by the availability of stone or wood in particular areas. But art historical scholarship in Spain is often atomised, with scholars focused exclusively on their local region. It’s important to push against this sometimes, whilst recognising that networks of patrons, artists and tastes might operate at local, regional, national or international levels. As always, it depends on context.
Although the exhibition leans heavily toward the Christian if you look closely, the Pagan-Celtic, Islamic, and Jewish influences can be uncovered. From the blindingly obvious such as a beautiful 15th century illuminated Hebrew Bible and the stunning Alhambra Silk c. 1400, recalling the tiles of the Alhambra palace, to more subtle traces, for instance, the amazing collection of 16th century lustreware plates decorated with Christian motifs but made using an Islamic technique by Islamic craftsman as well as an early 15th-century tin-glazed earthenware baptismal font, decorated on each side with two open palms - an Islamic talisman.
This is all seen before the exhibition explores the way in which indigenous people in colonised South America adapted and modified Christian tropes to preserve aspects of their identity. For me I see the mixed identity underlying the facade of traditional Spain exemplified in Ignacio Zuloaga’s The Family of the Gypsy Bullfighter (1903).
We are presented with this seemingly deeply Spanish family portrait but on further inspection the supposedly unified family is disjointed, each member with a strong individual character and looking in a different direction, the womens traditional dresses reference the influence of moorish fashion. The little boy is to be brought up to do the most Spanish of pursuits, bullfighting yet as the title suggests this is a gypsy family or is it? In fact it’s an imagined family imagined by a Basque painter, using his own Basque relatives and friends as models. In a time of increasing nationalism this exhibition is a welcome reminder that scratch the surface of any national identity and you will find a melting pot.
Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is showing at The Royal Academy of Arts until 10th April 2023.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
On 21st of January ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’ opened at the Royal Academy, presenting for the first time in the UK, treasures from the collection of The Hispanic Society, New York. Objects include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and ironwork as well as medieval maps and books amassed by Archer M. Huntington in the early 20th century.
Losing yourself among the Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco you would be forgiven for mistaking the Academy’s Main Galleries for the Prado. The voluminous rooms of the Academy trace the history of Spanish visual and material culture, displayed chronologically. Beginning in antiquity, we are taken on a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula through to the colonisation of South America and culminating back in Spain with a large panoramic gouache ‘A Vision of Spain’ by Jose G. Solana commissioned by the Hispanic Society in 1912.
gowithYamo spoke to Art Historian Dr Tom Nickson who studies the influence of ethnic and religious diversity on the visual and material culture of medieval Spain to explore how the exhibition presents ‘Spanish Art’.
The American Hispanic Society has put together a phenomenal collection of Spanish and South American art demonstrating the rich visual culture of the Hispanic world. However this is a landmark exhibition and most of these objects are being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Would you say that ‘Spanish Art’ is relatively underrepresented in the wider art history narrative?
Yes. For much of the 20th century Spain was politically ostracized, while long-standing cultural prejudices meant that the art of Spain was perceived as a poor imitation of that in Italy, France or the Netherlands. That is starting to change, but it is still common to find surveys or essay collections that purport to embrace Europe but omit Spanish or Portuguese material. But that neglect makes it an exciting field of study: there is still much to discover!
Would you say we should scrutinise what we mean by ‘Spanish Art’ particularly art of the medieval period?
Throughout the Middle Ages Spain was home to multiple kingdoms, Christian and Islamic, that were occasionally united by alliances or marriage, but also jostled for control. Only under Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the late 15th century can we speak of (mostly) unified political leadership, especially following the conquest of Granada in 1492. But the idea of a united Spain had existed since the Roman period: the Latin, Castilian, Arabic and Hebrew epitaphs of Ferdinand III of Castile (died 1252) describe him, for example, as ruler of Hispania, Spain, Andalus and Sefarad. Modern scholars often use the term ‘Iberia’ to include al-Andalus, Portugal and the Spanish kingdoms, but this too is problematic, and was almost never used in the Middle Ages.
In European history the ‘Dark Ages’ corresponds to a Golden Age in Islamic rule so even our terminology can be misleading when we start speaking about a broader visual culture for instance many of the earlier objects exhibited here?
Almost all the terms we use as historians are problematic in some way or other, including ‘European’, medieval, ‘Golden Age’, and ‘Islamic’. I’m not sure we will ever find the perfect terminology; for me the most important thing we can do is interrogate our language and remain critically aware of its connotations, even if we sometimes draw on this language for reasons of convenience.
Is it helpful to think of Spanish art as art bound by a shared geographical location rather than belief or style?
It is certainly possible to identify distinct aspects of Islamic, Christian or Jewish art and architecture, especially art produced for religious contexts. But tastes and traditions were also shared across religious boundaries, and were shaped, for example, by the availability of stone or wood in particular areas. But art historical scholarship in Spain is often atomised, with scholars focused exclusively on their local region. It’s important to push against this sometimes, whilst recognising that networks of patrons, artists and tastes might operate at local, regional, national or international levels. As always, it depends on context.
Although the exhibition leans heavily toward the Christian if you look closely, the Pagan-Celtic, Islamic, and Jewish influences can be uncovered. From the blindingly obvious such as a beautiful 15th century illuminated Hebrew Bible and the stunning Alhambra Silk c. 1400, recalling the tiles of the Alhambra palace, to more subtle traces, for instance, the amazing collection of 16th century lustreware plates decorated with Christian motifs but made using an Islamic technique by Islamic craftsman as well as an early 15th-century tin-glazed earthenware baptismal font, decorated on each side with two open palms - an Islamic talisman.
This is all seen before the exhibition explores the way in which indigenous people in colonised South America adapted and modified Christian tropes to preserve aspects of their identity. For me I see the mixed identity underlying the facade of traditional Spain exemplified in Ignacio Zuloaga’s The Family of the Gypsy Bullfighter (1903).
We are presented with this seemingly deeply Spanish family portrait but on further inspection the supposedly unified family is disjointed, each member with a strong individual character and looking in a different direction, the womens traditional dresses reference the influence of moorish fashion. The little boy is to be brought up to do the most Spanish of pursuits, bullfighting yet as the title suggests this is a gypsy family or is it? In fact it’s an imagined family imagined by a Basque painter, using his own Basque relatives and friends as models. In a time of increasing nationalism this exhibition is a welcome reminder that scratch the surface of any national identity and you will find a melting pot.
Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is showing at The Royal Academy of Arts until 10th April 2023.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
On 21st of January ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’ opened at the Royal Academy, presenting for the first time in the UK, treasures from the collection of The Hispanic Society, New York. Objects include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and ironwork as well as medieval maps and books amassed by Archer M. Huntington in the early 20th century.
Losing yourself among the Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco you would be forgiven for mistaking the Academy’s Main Galleries for the Prado. The voluminous rooms of the Academy trace the history of Spanish visual and material culture, displayed chronologically. Beginning in antiquity, we are taken on a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula through to the colonisation of South America and culminating back in Spain with a large panoramic gouache ‘A Vision of Spain’ by Jose G. Solana commissioned by the Hispanic Society in 1912.
gowithYamo spoke to Art Historian Dr Tom Nickson who studies the influence of ethnic and religious diversity on the visual and material culture of medieval Spain to explore how the exhibition presents ‘Spanish Art’.
The American Hispanic Society has put together a phenomenal collection of Spanish and South American art demonstrating the rich visual culture of the Hispanic world. However this is a landmark exhibition and most of these objects are being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Would you say that ‘Spanish Art’ is relatively underrepresented in the wider art history narrative?
Yes. For much of the 20th century Spain was politically ostracized, while long-standing cultural prejudices meant that the art of Spain was perceived as a poor imitation of that in Italy, France or the Netherlands. That is starting to change, but it is still common to find surveys or essay collections that purport to embrace Europe but omit Spanish or Portuguese material. But that neglect makes it an exciting field of study: there is still much to discover!
Would you say we should scrutinise what we mean by ‘Spanish Art’ particularly art of the medieval period?
Throughout the Middle Ages Spain was home to multiple kingdoms, Christian and Islamic, that were occasionally united by alliances or marriage, but also jostled for control. Only under Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the late 15th century can we speak of (mostly) unified political leadership, especially following the conquest of Granada in 1492. But the idea of a united Spain had existed since the Roman period: the Latin, Castilian, Arabic and Hebrew epitaphs of Ferdinand III of Castile (died 1252) describe him, for example, as ruler of Hispania, Spain, Andalus and Sefarad. Modern scholars often use the term ‘Iberia’ to include al-Andalus, Portugal and the Spanish kingdoms, but this too is problematic, and was almost never used in the Middle Ages.
In European history the ‘Dark Ages’ corresponds to a Golden Age in Islamic rule so even our terminology can be misleading when we start speaking about a broader visual culture for instance many of the earlier objects exhibited here?
Almost all the terms we use as historians are problematic in some way or other, including ‘European’, medieval, ‘Golden Age’, and ‘Islamic’. I’m not sure we will ever find the perfect terminology; for me the most important thing we can do is interrogate our language and remain critically aware of its connotations, even if we sometimes draw on this language for reasons of convenience.
Is it helpful to think of Spanish art as art bound by a shared geographical location rather than belief or style?
It is certainly possible to identify distinct aspects of Islamic, Christian or Jewish art and architecture, especially art produced for religious contexts. But tastes and traditions were also shared across religious boundaries, and were shaped, for example, by the availability of stone or wood in particular areas. But art historical scholarship in Spain is often atomised, with scholars focused exclusively on their local region. It’s important to push against this sometimes, whilst recognising that networks of patrons, artists and tastes might operate at local, regional, national or international levels. As always, it depends on context.
Although the exhibition leans heavily toward the Christian if you look closely, the Pagan-Celtic, Islamic, and Jewish influences can be uncovered. From the blindingly obvious such as a beautiful 15th century illuminated Hebrew Bible and the stunning Alhambra Silk c. 1400, recalling the tiles of the Alhambra palace, to more subtle traces, for instance, the amazing collection of 16th century lustreware plates decorated with Christian motifs but made using an Islamic technique by Islamic craftsman as well as an early 15th-century tin-glazed earthenware baptismal font, decorated on each side with two open palms - an Islamic talisman.
This is all seen before the exhibition explores the way in which indigenous people in colonised South America adapted and modified Christian tropes to preserve aspects of their identity. For me I see the mixed identity underlying the facade of traditional Spain exemplified in Ignacio Zuloaga’s The Family of the Gypsy Bullfighter (1903).
We are presented with this seemingly deeply Spanish family portrait but on further inspection the supposedly unified family is disjointed, each member with a strong individual character and looking in a different direction, the womens traditional dresses reference the influence of moorish fashion. The little boy is to be brought up to do the most Spanish of pursuits, bullfighting yet as the title suggests this is a gypsy family or is it? In fact it’s an imagined family imagined by a Basque painter, using his own Basque relatives and friends as models. In a time of increasing nationalism this exhibition is a welcome reminder that scratch the surface of any national identity and you will find a melting pot.
Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is showing at The Royal Academy of Arts until 10th April 2023.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
On 21st of January ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’ opened at the Royal Academy, presenting for the first time in the UK, treasures from the collection of The Hispanic Society, New York. Objects include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and ironwork as well as medieval maps and books amassed by Archer M. Huntington in the early 20th century.
Losing yourself among the Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco you would be forgiven for mistaking the Academy’s Main Galleries for the Prado. The voluminous rooms of the Academy trace the history of Spanish visual and material culture, displayed chronologically. Beginning in antiquity, we are taken on a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula through to the colonisation of South America and culminating back in Spain with a large panoramic gouache ‘A Vision of Spain’ by Jose G. Solana commissioned by the Hispanic Society in 1912.
gowithYamo spoke to Art Historian Dr Tom Nickson who studies the influence of ethnic and religious diversity on the visual and material culture of medieval Spain to explore how the exhibition presents ‘Spanish Art’.
The American Hispanic Society has put together a phenomenal collection of Spanish and South American art demonstrating the rich visual culture of the Hispanic world. However this is a landmark exhibition and most of these objects are being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Would you say that ‘Spanish Art’ is relatively underrepresented in the wider art history narrative?
Yes. For much of the 20th century Spain was politically ostracized, while long-standing cultural prejudices meant that the art of Spain was perceived as a poor imitation of that in Italy, France or the Netherlands. That is starting to change, but it is still common to find surveys or essay collections that purport to embrace Europe but omit Spanish or Portuguese material. But that neglect makes it an exciting field of study: there is still much to discover!
Would you say we should scrutinise what we mean by ‘Spanish Art’ particularly art of the medieval period?
Throughout the Middle Ages Spain was home to multiple kingdoms, Christian and Islamic, that were occasionally united by alliances or marriage, but also jostled for control. Only under Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the late 15th century can we speak of (mostly) unified political leadership, especially following the conquest of Granada in 1492. But the idea of a united Spain had existed since the Roman period: the Latin, Castilian, Arabic and Hebrew epitaphs of Ferdinand III of Castile (died 1252) describe him, for example, as ruler of Hispania, Spain, Andalus and Sefarad. Modern scholars often use the term ‘Iberia’ to include al-Andalus, Portugal and the Spanish kingdoms, but this too is problematic, and was almost never used in the Middle Ages.
In European history the ‘Dark Ages’ corresponds to a Golden Age in Islamic rule so even our terminology can be misleading when we start speaking about a broader visual culture for instance many of the earlier objects exhibited here?
Almost all the terms we use as historians are problematic in some way or other, including ‘European’, medieval, ‘Golden Age’, and ‘Islamic’. I’m not sure we will ever find the perfect terminology; for me the most important thing we can do is interrogate our language and remain critically aware of its connotations, even if we sometimes draw on this language for reasons of convenience.
Is it helpful to think of Spanish art as art bound by a shared geographical location rather than belief or style?
It is certainly possible to identify distinct aspects of Islamic, Christian or Jewish art and architecture, especially art produced for religious contexts. But tastes and traditions were also shared across religious boundaries, and were shaped, for example, by the availability of stone or wood in particular areas. But art historical scholarship in Spain is often atomised, with scholars focused exclusively on their local region. It’s important to push against this sometimes, whilst recognising that networks of patrons, artists and tastes might operate at local, regional, national or international levels. As always, it depends on context.
Although the exhibition leans heavily toward the Christian if you look closely, the Pagan-Celtic, Islamic, and Jewish influences can be uncovered. From the blindingly obvious such as a beautiful 15th century illuminated Hebrew Bible and the stunning Alhambra Silk c. 1400, recalling the tiles of the Alhambra palace, to more subtle traces, for instance, the amazing collection of 16th century lustreware plates decorated with Christian motifs but made using an Islamic technique by Islamic craftsman as well as an early 15th-century tin-glazed earthenware baptismal font, decorated on each side with two open palms - an Islamic talisman.
This is all seen before the exhibition explores the way in which indigenous people in colonised South America adapted and modified Christian tropes to preserve aspects of their identity. For me I see the mixed identity underlying the facade of traditional Spain exemplified in Ignacio Zuloaga’s The Family of the Gypsy Bullfighter (1903).
We are presented with this seemingly deeply Spanish family portrait but on further inspection the supposedly unified family is disjointed, each member with a strong individual character and looking in a different direction, the womens traditional dresses reference the influence of moorish fashion. The little boy is to be brought up to do the most Spanish of pursuits, bullfighting yet as the title suggests this is a gypsy family or is it? In fact it’s an imagined family imagined by a Basque painter, using his own Basque relatives and friends as models. In a time of increasing nationalism this exhibition is a welcome reminder that scratch the surface of any national identity and you will find a melting pot.
Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is showing at The Royal Academy of Arts until 10th April 2023.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
On 21st of January ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’ opened at the Royal Academy, presenting for the first time in the UK, treasures from the collection of The Hispanic Society, New York. Objects include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and ironwork as well as medieval maps and books amassed by Archer M. Huntington in the early 20th century.
Losing yourself among the Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco you would be forgiven for mistaking the Academy’s Main Galleries for the Prado. The voluminous rooms of the Academy trace the history of Spanish visual and material culture, displayed chronologically. Beginning in antiquity, we are taken on a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula through to the colonisation of South America and culminating back in Spain with a large panoramic gouache ‘A Vision of Spain’ by Jose G. Solana commissioned by the Hispanic Society in 1912.
gowithYamo spoke to Art Historian Dr Tom Nickson who studies the influence of ethnic and religious diversity on the visual and material culture of medieval Spain to explore how the exhibition presents ‘Spanish Art’.
The American Hispanic Society has put together a phenomenal collection of Spanish and South American art demonstrating the rich visual culture of the Hispanic world. However this is a landmark exhibition and most of these objects are being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Would you say that ‘Spanish Art’ is relatively underrepresented in the wider art history narrative?
Yes. For much of the 20th century Spain was politically ostracized, while long-standing cultural prejudices meant that the art of Spain was perceived as a poor imitation of that in Italy, France or the Netherlands. That is starting to change, but it is still common to find surveys or essay collections that purport to embrace Europe but omit Spanish or Portuguese material. But that neglect makes it an exciting field of study: there is still much to discover!
Would you say we should scrutinise what we mean by ‘Spanish Art’ particularly art of the medieval period?
Throughout the Middle Ages Spain was home to multiple kingdoms, Christian and Islamic, that were occasionally united by alliances or marriage, but also jostled for control. Only under Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the late 15th century can we speak of (mostly) unified political leadership, especially following the conquest of Granada in 1492. But the idea of a united Spain had existed since the Roman period: the Latin, Castilian, Arabic and Hebrew epitaphs of Ferdinand III of Castile (died 1252) describe him, for example, as ruler of Hispania, Spain, Andalus and Sefarad. Modern scholars often use the term ‘Iberia’ to include al-Andalus, Portugal and the Spanish kingdoms, but this too is problematic, and was almost never used in the Middle Ages.
In European history the ‘Dark Ages’ corresponds to a Golden Age in Islamic rule so even our terminology can be misleading when we start speaking about a broader visual culture for instance many of the earlier objects exhibited here?
Almost all the terms we use as historians are problematic in some way or other, including ‘European’, medieval, ‘Golden Age’, and ‘Islamic’. I’m not sure we will ever find the perfect terminology; for me the most important thing we can do is interrogate our language and remain critically aware of its connotations, even if we sometimes draw on this language for reasons of convenience.
Is it helpful to think of Spanish art as art bound by a shared geographical location rather than belief or style?
It is certainly possible to identify distinct aspects of Islamic, Christian or Jewish art and architecture, especially art produced for religious contexts. But tastes and traditions were also shared across religious boundaries, and were shaped, for example, by the availability of stone or wood in particular areas. But art historical scholarship in Spain is often atomised, with scholars focused exclusively on their local region. It’s important to push against this sometimes, whilst recognising that networks of patrons, artists and tastes might operate at local, regional, national or international levels. As always, it depends on context.
Although the exhibition leans heavily toward the Christian if you look closely, the Pagan-Celtic, Islamic, and Jewish influences can be uncovered. From the blindingly obvious such as a beautiful 15th century illuminated Hebrew Bible and the stunning Alhambra Silk c. 1400, recalling the tiles of the Alhambra palace, to more subtle traces, for instance, the amazing collection of 16th century lustreware plates decorated with Christian motifs but made using an Islamic technique by Islamic craftsman as well as an early 15th-century tin-glazed earthenware baptismal font, decorated on each side with two open palms - an Islamic talisman.
This is all seen before the exhibition explores the way in which indigenous people in colonised South America adapted and modified Christian tropes to preserve aspects of their identity. For me I see the mixed identity underlying the facade of traditional Spain exemplified in Ignacio Zuloaga’s The Family of the Gypsy Bullfighter (1903).
We are presented with this seemingly deeply Spanish family portrait but on further inspection the supposedly unified family is disjointed, each member with a strong individual character and looking in a different direction, the womens traditional dresses reference the influence of moorish fashion. The little boy is to be brought up to do the most Spanish of pursuits, bullfighting yet as the title suggests this is a gypsy family or is it? In fact it’s an imagined family imagined by a Basque painter, using his own Basque relatives and friends as models. In a time of increasing nationalism this exhibition is a welcome reminder that scratch the surface of any national identity and you will find a melting pot.
Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is showing at The Royal Academy of Arts until 10th April 2023.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
On 21st of January ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’ opened at the Royal Academy, presenting for the first time in the UK, treasures from the collection of The Hispanic Society, New York. Objects include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and ironwork as well as medieval maps and books amassed by Archer M. Huntington in the early 20th century.
Losing yourself among the Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco you would be forgiven for mistaking the Academy’s Main Galleries for the Prado. The voluminous rooms of the Academy trace the history of Spanish visual and material culture, displayed chronologically. Beginning in antiquity, we are taken on a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula through to the colonisation of South America and culminating back in Spain with a large panoramic gouache ‘A Vision of Spain’ by Jose G. Solana commissioned by the Hispanic Society in 1912.
gowithYamo spoke to Art Historian Dr Tom Nickson who studies the influence of ethnic and religious diversity on the visual and material culture of medieval Spain to explore how the exhibition presents ‘Spanish Art’.
The American Hispanic Society has put together a phenomenal collection of Spanish and South American art demonstrating the rich visual culture of the Hispanic world. However this is a landmark exhibition and most of these objects are being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Would you say that ‘Spanish Art’ is relatively underrepresented in the wider art history narrative?
Yes. For much of the 20th century Spain was politically ostracized, while long-standing cultural prejudices meant that the art of Spain was perceived as a poor imitation of that in Italy, France or the Netherlands. That is starting to change, but it is still common to find surveys or essay collections that purport to embrace Europe but omit Spanish or Portuguese material. But that neglect makes it an exciting field of study: there is still much to discover!
Would you say we should scrutinise what we mean by ‘Spanish Art’ particularly art of the medieval period?
Throughout the Middle Ages Spain was home to multiple kingdoms, Christian and Islamic, that were occasionally united by alliances or marriage, but also jostled for control. Only under Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the late 15th century can we speak of (mostly) unified political leadership, especially following the conquest of Granada in 1492. But the idea of a united Spain had existed since the Roman period: the Latin, Castilian, Arabic and Hebrew epitaphs of Ferdinand III of Castile (died 1252) describe him, for example, as ruler of Hispania, Spain, Andalus and Sefarad. Modern scholars often use the term ‘Iberia’ to include al-Andalus, Portugal and the Spanish kingdoms, but this too is problematic, and was almost never used in the Middle Ages.
In European history the ‘Dark Ages’ corresponds to a Golden Age in Islamic rule so even our terminology can be misleading when we start speaking about a broader visual culture for instance many of the earlier objects exhibited here?
Almost all the terms we use as historians are problematic in some way or other, including ‘European’, medieval, ‘Golden Age’, and ‘Islamic’. I’m not sure we will ever find the perfect terminology; for me the most important thing we can do is interrogate our language and remain critically aware of its connotations, even if we sometimes draw on this language for reasons of convenience.
Is it helpful to think of Spanish art as art bound by a shared geographical location rather than belief or style?
It is certainly possible to identify distinct aspects of Islamic, Christian or Jewish art and architecture, especially art produced for religious contexts. But tastes and traditions were also shared across religious boundaries, and were shaped, for example, by the availability of stone or wood in particular areas. But art historical scholarship in Spain is often atomised, with scholars focused exclusively on their local region. It’s important to push against this sometimes, whilst recognising that networks of patrons, artists and tastes might operate at local, regional, national or international levels. As always, it depends on context.
Although the exhibition leans heavily toward the Christian if you look closely, the Pagan-Celtic, Islamic, and Jewish influences can be uncovered. From the blindingly obvious such as a beautiful 15th century illuminated Hebrew Bible and the stunning Alhambra Silk c. 1400, recalling the tiles of the Alhambra palace, to more subtle traces, for instance, the amazing collection of 16th century lustreware plates decorated with Christian motifs but made using an Islamic technique by Islamic craftsman as well as an early 15th-century tin-glazed earthenware baptismal font, decorated on each side with two open palms - an Islamic talisman.
This is all seen before the exhibition explores the way in which indigenous people in colonised South America adapted and modified Christian tropes to preserve aspects of their identity. For me I see the mixed identity underlying the facade of traditional Spain exemplified in Ignacio Zuloaga’s The Family of the Gypsy Bullfighter (1903).
We are presented with this seemingly deeply Spanish family portrait but on further inspection the supposedly unified family is disjointed, each member with a strong individual character and looking in a different direction, the womens traditional dresses reference the influence of moorish fashion. The little boy is to be brought up to do the most Spanish of pursuits, bullfighting yet as the title suggests this is a gypsy family or is it? In fact it’s an imagined family imagined by a Basque painter, using his own Basque relatives and friends as models. In a time of increasing nationalism this exhibition is a welcome reminder that scratch the surface of any national identity and you will find a melting pot.
Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is showing at The Royal Academy of Arts until 10th April 2023.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
On 21st of January ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’ opened at the Royal Academy, presenting for the first time in the UK, treasures from the collection of The Hispanic Society, New York. Objects include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and ironwork as well as medieval maps and books amassed by Archer M. Huntington in the early 20th century.
Losing yourself among the Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco you would be forgiven for mistaking the Academy’s Main Galleries for the Prado. The voluminous rooms of the Academy trace the history of Spanish visual and material culture, displayed chronologically. Beginning in antiquity, we are taken on a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula through to the colonisation of South America and culminating back in Spain with a large panoramic gouache ‘A Vision of Spain’ by Jose G. Solana commissioned by the Hispanic Society in 1912.
gowithYamo spoke to Art Historian Dr Tom Nickson who studies the influence of ethnic and religious diversity on the visual and material culture of medieval Spain to explore how the exhibition presents ‘Spanish Art’.
The American Hispanic Society has put together a phenomenal collection of Spanish and South American art demonstrating the rich visual culture of the Hispanic world. However this is a landmark exhibition and most of these objects are being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Would you say that ‘Spanish Art’ is relatively underrepresented in the wider art history narrative?
Yes. For much of the 20th century Spain was politically ostracized, while long-standing cultural prejudices meant that the art of Spain was perceived as a poor imitation of that in Italy, France or the Netherlands. That is starting to change, but it is still common to find surveys or essay collections that purport to embrace Europe but omit Spanish or Portuguese material. But that neglect makes it an exciting field of study: there is still much to discover!
Would you say we should scrutinise what we mean by ‘Spanish Art’ particularly art of the medieval period?
Throughout the Middle Ages Spain was home to multiple kingdoms, Christian and Islamic, that were occasionally united by alliances or marriage, but also jostled for control. Only under Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the late 15th century can we speak of (mostly) unified political leadership, especially following the conquest of Granada in 1492. But the idea of a united Spain had existed since the Roman period: the Latin, Castilian, Arabic and Hebrew epitaphs of Ferdinand III of Castile (died 1252) describe him, for example, as ruler of Hispania, Spain, Andalus and Sefarad. Modern scholars often use the term ‘Iberia’ to include al-Andalus, Portugal and the Spanish kingdoms, but this too is problematic, and was almost never used in the Middle Ages.
In European history the ‘Dark Ages’ corresponds to a Golden Age in Islamic rule so even our terminology can be misleading when we start speaking about a broader visual culture for instance many of the earlier objects exhibited here?
Almost all the terms we use as historians are problematic in some way or other, including ‘European’, medieval, ‘Golden Age’, and ‘Islamic’. I’m not sure we will ever find the perfect terminology; for me the most important thing we can do is interrogate our language and remain critically aware of its connotations, even if we sometimes draw on this language for reasons of convenience.
Is it helpful to think of Spanish art as art bound by a shared geographical location rather than belief or style?
It is certainly possible to identify distinct aspects of Islamic, Christian or Jewish art and architecture, especially art produced for religious contexts. But tastes and traditions were also shared across religious boundaries, and were shaped, for example, by the availability of stone or wood in particular areas. But art historical scholarship in Spain is often atomised, with scholars focused exclusively on their local region. It’s important to push against this sometimes, whilst recognising that networks of patrons, artists and tastes might operate at local, regional, national or international levels. As always, it depends on context.
Although the exhibition leans heavily toward the Christian if you look closely, the Pagan-Celtic, Islamic, and Jewish influences can be uncovered. From the blindingly obvious such as a beautiful 15th century illuminated Hebrew Bible and the stunning Alhambra Silk c. 1400, recalling the tiles of the Alhambra palace, to more subtle traces, for instance, the amazing collection of 16th century lustreware plates decorated with Christian motifs but made using an Islamic technique by Islamic craftsman as well as an early 15th-century tin-glazed earthenware baptismal font, decorated on each side with two open palms - an Islamic talisman.
This is all seen before the exhibition explores the way in which indigenous people in colonised South America adapted and modified Christian tropes to preserve aspects of their identity. For me I see the mixed identity underlying the facade of traditional Spain exemplified in Ignacio Zuloaga’s The Family of the Gypsy Bullfighter (1903).
We are presented with this seemingly deeply Spanish family portrait but on further inspection the supposedly unified family is disjointed, each member with a strong individual character and looking in a different direction, the womens traditional dresses reference the influence of moorish fashion. The little boy is to be brought up to do the most Spanish of pursuits, bullfighting yet as the title suggests this is a gypsy family or is it? In fact it’s an imagined family imagined by a Basque painter, using his own Basque relatives and friends as models. In a time of increasing nationalism this exhibition is a welcome reminder that scratch the surface of any national identity and you will find a melting pot.
Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is showing at The Royal Academy of Arts until 10th April 2023.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
On 21st of January ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’ opened at the Royal Academy, presenting for the first time in the UK, treasures from the collection of The Hispanic Society, New York. Objects include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and ironwork as well as medieval maps and books amassed by Archer M. Huntington in the early 20th century.
Losing yourself among the Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco you would be forgiven for mistaking the Academy’s Main Galleries for the Prado. The voluminous rooms of the Academy trace the history of Spanish visual and material culture, displayed chronologically. Beginning in antiquity, we are taken on a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula through to the colonisation of South America and culminating back in Spain with a large panoramic gouache ‘A Vision of Spain’ by Jose G. Solana commissioned by the Hispanic Society in 1912.
gowithYamo spoke to Art Historian Dr Tom Nickson who studies the influence of ethnic and religious diversity on the visual and material culture of medieval Spain to explore how the exhibition presents ‘Spanish Art’.
The American Hispanic Society has put together a phenomenal collection of Spanish and South American art demonstrating the rich visual culture of the Hispanic world. However this is a landmark exhibition and most of these objects are being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Would you say that ‘Spanish Art’ is relatively underrepresented in the wider art history narrative?
Yes. For much of the 20th century Spain was politically ostracized, while long-standing cultural prejudices meant that the art of Spain was perceived as a poor imitation of that in Italy, France or the Netherlands. That is starting to change, but it is still common to find surveys or essay collections that purport to embrace Europe but omit Spanish or Portuguese material. But that neglect makes it an exciting field of study: there is still much to discover!
Would you say we should scrutinise what we mean by ‘Spanish Art’ particularly art of the medieval period?
Throughout the Middle Ages Spain was home to multiple kingdoms, Christian and Islamic, that were occasionally united by alliances or marriage, but also jostled for control. Only under Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the late 15th century can we speak of (mostly) unified political leadership, especially following the conquest of Granada in 1492. But the idea of a united Spain had existed since the Roman period: the Latin, Castilian, Arabic and Hebrew epitaphs of Ferdinand III of Castile (died 1252) describe him, for example, as ruler of Hispania, Spain, Andalus and Sefarad. Modern scholars often use the term ‘Iberia’ to include al-Andalus, Portugal and the Spanish kingdoms, but this too is problematic, and was almost never used in the Middle Ages.
In European history the ‘Dark Ages’ corresponds to a Golden Age in Islamic rule so even our terminology can be misleading when we start speaking about a broader visual culture for instance many of the earlier objects exhibited here?
Almost all the terms we use as historians are problematic in some way or other, including ‘European’, medieval, ‘Golden Age’, and ‘Islamic’. I’m not sure we will ever find the perfect terminology; for me the most important thing we can do is interrogate our language and remain critically aware of its connotations, even if we sometimes draw on this language for reasons of convenience.
Is it helpful to think of Spanish art as art bound by a shared geographical location rather than belief or style?
It is certainly possible to identify distinct aspects of Islamic, Christian or Jewish art and architecture, especially art produced for religious contexts. But tastes and traditions were also shared across religious boundaries, and were shaped, for example, by the availability of stone or wood in particular areas. But art historical scholarship in Spain is often atomised, with scholars focused exclusively on their local region. It’s important to push against this sometimes, whilst recognising that networks of patrons, artists and tastes might operate at local, regional, national or international levels. As always, it depends on context.
Although the exhibition leans heavily toward the Christian if you look closely, the Pagan-Celtic, Islamic, and Jewish influences can be uncovered. From the blindingly obvious such as a beautiful 15th century illuminated Hebrew Bible and the stunning Alhambra Silk c. 1400, recalling the tiles of the Alhambra palace, to more subtle traces, for instance, the amazing collection of 16th century lustreware plates decorated with Christian motifs but made using an Islamic technique by Islamic craftsman as well as an early 15th-century tin-glazed earthenware baptismal font, decorated on each side with two open palms - an Islamic talisman.
This is all seen before the exhibition explores the way in which indigenous people in colonised South America adapted and modified Christian tropes to preserve aspects of their identity. For me I see the mixed identity underlying the facade of traditional Spain exemplified in Ignacio Zuloaga’s The Family of the Gypsy Bullfighter (1903).
We are presented with this seemingly deeply Spanish family portrait but on further inspection the supposedly unified family is disjointed, each member with a strong individual character and looking in a different direction, the womens traditional dresses reference the influence of moorish fashion. The little boy is to be brought up to do the most Spanish of pursuits, bullfighting yet as the title suggests this is a gypsy family or is it? In fact it’s an imagined family imagined by a Basque painter, using his own Basque relatives and friends as models. In a time of increasing nationalism this exhibition is a welcome reminder that scratch the surface of any national identity and you will find a melting pot.
Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is showing at The Royal Academy of Arts until 10th April 2023.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
On 21st of January ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’ opened at the Royal Academy, presenting for the first time in the UK, treasures from the collection of The Hispanic Society, New York. Objects include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and ironwork as well as medieval maps and books amassed by Archer M. Huntington in the early 20th century.
Losing yourself among the Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco you would be forgiven for mistaking the Academy’s Main Galleries for the Prado. The voluminous rooms of the Academy trace the history of Spanish visual and material culture, displayed chronologically. Beginning in antiquity, we are taken on a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula through to the colonisation of South America and culminating back in Spain with a large panoramic gouache ‘A Vision of Spain’ by Jose G. Solana commissioned by the Hispanic Society in 1912.
gowithYamo spoke to Art Historian Dr Tom Nickson who studies the influence of ethnic and religious diversity on the visual and material culture of medieval Spain to explore how the exhibition presents ‘Spanish Art’.
The American Hispanic Society has put together a phenomenal collection of Spanish and South American art demonstrating the rich visual culture of the Hispanic world. However this is a landmark exhibition and most of these objects are being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Would you say that ‘Spanish Art’ is relatively underrepresented in the wider art history narrative?
Yes. For much of the 20th century Spain was politically ostracized, while long-standing cultural prejudices meant that the art of Spain was perceived as a poor imitation of that in Italy, France or the Netherlands. That is starting to change, but it is still common to find surveys or essay collections that purport to embrace Europe but omit Spanish or Portuguese material. But that neglect makes it an exciting field of study: there is still much to discover!
Would you say we should scrutinise what we mean by ‘Spanish Art’ particularly art of the medieval period?
Throughout the Middle Ages Spain was home to multiple kingdoms, Christian and Islamic, that were occasionally united by alliances or marriage, but also jostled for control. Only under Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the late 15th century can we speak of (mostly) unified political leadership, especially following the conquest of Granada in 1492. But the idea of a united Spain had existed since the Roman period: the Latin, Castilian, Arabic and Hebrew epitaphs of Ferdinand III of Castile (died 1252) describe him, for example, as ruler of Hispania, Spain, Andalus and Sefarad. Modern scholars often use the term ‘Iberia’ to include al-Andalus, Portugal and the Spanish kingdoms, but this too is problematic, and was almost never used in the Middle Ages.
In European history the ‘Dark Ages’ corresponds to a Golden Age in Islamic rule so even our terminology can be misleading when we start speaking about a broader visual culture for instance many of the earlier objects exhibited here?
Almost all the terms we use as historians are problematic in some way or other, including ‘European’, medieval, ‘Golden Age’, and ‘Islamic’. I’m not sure we will ever find the perfect terminology; for me the most important thing we can do is interrogate our language and remain critically aware of its connotations, even if we sometimes draw on this language for reasons of convenience.
Is it helpful to think of Spanish art as art bound by a shared geographical location rather than belief or style?
It is certainly possible to identify distinct aspects of Islamic, Christian or Jewish art and architecture, especially art produced for religious contexts. But tastes and traditions were also shared across religious boundaries, and were shaped, for example, by the availability of stone or wood in particular areas. But art historical scholarship in Spain is often atomised, with scholars focused exclusively on their local region. It’s important to push against this sometimes, whilst recognising that networks of patrons, artists and tastes might operate at local, regional, national or international levels. As always, it depends on context.
Although the exhibition leans heavily toward the Christian if you look closely, the Pagan-Celtic, Islamic, and Jewish influences can be uncovered. From the blindingly obvious such as a beautiful 15th century illuminated Hebrew Bible and the stunning Alhambra Silk c. 1400, recalling the tiles of the Alhambra palace, to more subtle traces, for instance, the amazing collection of 16th century lustreware plates decorated with Christian motifs but made using an Islamic technique by Islamic craftsman as well as an early 15th-century tin-glazed earthenware baptismal font, decorated on each side with two open palms - an Islamic talisman.
This is all seen before the exhibition explores the way in which indigenous people in colonised South America adapted and modified Christian tropes to preserve aspects of their identity. For me I see the mixed identity underlying the facade of traditional Spain exemplified in Ignacio Zuloaga’s The Family of the Gypsy Bullfighter (1903).
We are presented with this seemingly deeply Spanish family portrait but on further inspection the supposedly unified family is disjointed, each member with a strong individual character and looking in a different direction, the womens traditional dresses reference the influence of moorish fashion. The little boy is to be brought up to do the most Spanish of pursuits, bullfighting yet as the title suggests this is a gypsy family or is it? In fact it’s an imagined family imagined by a Basque painter, using his own Basque relatives and friends as models. In a time of increasing nationalism this exhibition is a welcome reminder that scratch the surface of any national identity and you will find a melting pot.
Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is showing at The Royal Academy of Arts until 10th April 2023.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
On 21st of January ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’ opened at the Royal Academy, presenting for the first time in the UK, treasures from the collection of The Hispanic Society, New York. Objects include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and ironwork as well as medieval maps and books amassed by Archer M. Huntington in the early 20th century.
Losing yourself among the Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco you would be forgiven for mistaking the Academy’s Main Galleries for the Prado. The voluminous rooms of the Academy trace the history of Spanish visual and material culture, displayed chronologically. Beginning in antiquity, we are taken on a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula through to the colonisation of South America and culminating back in Spain with a large panoramic gouache ‘A Vision of Spain’ by Jose G. Solana commissioned by the Hispanic Society in 1912.
gowithYamo spoke to Art Historian Dr Tom Nickson who studies the influence of ethnic and religious diversity on the visual and material culture of medieval Spain to explore how the exhibition presents ‘Spanish Art’.
The American Hispanic Society has put together a phenomenal collection of Spanish and South American art demonstrating the rich visual culture of the Hispanic world. However this is a landmark exhibition and most of these objects are being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Would you say that ‘Spanish Art’ is relatively underrepresented in the wider art history narrative?
Yes. For much of the 20th century Spain was politically ostracized, while long-standing cultural prejudices meant that the art of Spain was perceived as a poor imitation of that in Italy, France or the Netherlands. That is starting to change, but it is still common to find surveys or essay collections that purport to embrace Europe but omit Spanish or Portuguese material. But that neglect makes it an exciting field of study: there is still much to discover!
Would you say we should scrutinise what we mean by ‘Spanish Art’ particularly art of the medieval period?
Throughout the Middle Ages Spain was home to multiple kingdoms, Christian and Islamic, that were occasionally united by alliances or marriage, but also jostled for control. Only under Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the late 15th century can we speak of (mostly) unified political leadership, especially following the conquest of Granada in 1492. But the idea of a united Spain had existed since the Roman period: the Latin, Castilian, Arabic and Hebrew epitaphs of Ferdinand III of Castile (died 1252) describe him, for example, as ruler of Hispania, Spain, Andalus and Sefarad. Modern scholars often use the term ‘Iberia’ to include al-Andalus, Portugal and the Spanish kingdoms, but this too is problematic, and was almost never used in the Middle Ages.
In European history the ‘Dark Ages’ corresponds to a Golden Age in Islamic rule so even our terminology can be misleading when we start speaking about a broader visual culture for instance many of the earlier objects exhibited here?
Almost all the terms we use as historians are problematic in some way or other, including ‘European’, medieval, ‘Golden Age’, and ‘Islamic’. I’m not sure we will ever find the perfect terminology; for me the most important thing we can do is interrogate our language and remain critically aware of its connotations, even if we sometimes draw on this language for reasons of convenience.
Is it helpful to think of Spanish art as art bound by a shared geographical location rather than belief or style?
It is certainly possible to identify distinct aspects of Islamic, Christian or Jewish art and architecture, especially art produced for religious contexts. But tastes and traditions were also shared across religious boundaries, and were shaped, for example, by the availability of stone or wood in particular areas. But art historical scholarship in Spain is often atomised, with scholars focused exclusively on their local region. It’s important to push against this sometimes, whilst recognising that networks of patrons, artists and tastes might operate at local, regional, national or international levels. As always, it depends on context.
Although the exhibition leans heavily toward the Christian if you look closely, the Pagan-Celtic, Islamic, and Jewish influences can be uncovered. From the blindingly obvious such as a beautiful 15th century illuminated Hebrew Bible and the stunning Alhambra Silk c. 1400, recalling the tiles of the Alhambra palace, to more subtle traces, for instance, the amazing collection of 16th century lustreware plates decorated with Christian motifs but made using an Islamic technique by Islamic craftsman as well as an early 15th-century tin-glazed earthenware baptismal font, decorated on each side with two open palms - an Islamic talisman.
This is all seen before the exhibition explores the way in which indigenous people in colonised South America adapted and modified Christian tropes to preserve aspects of their identity. For me I see the mixed identity underlying the facade of traditional Spain exemplified in Ignacio Zuloaga’s The Family of the Gypsy Bullfighter (1903).
We are presented with this seemingly deeply Spanish family portrait but on further inspection the supposedly unified family is disjointed, each member with a strong individual character and looking in a different direction, the womens traditional dresses reference the influence of moorish fashion. The little boy is to be brought up to do the most Spanish of pursuits, bullfighting yet as the title suggests this is a gypsy family or is it? In fact it’s an imagined family imagined by a Basque painter, using his own Basque relatives and friends as models. In a time of increasing nationalism this exhibition is a welcome reminder that scratch the surface of any national identity and you will find a melting pot.
Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is showing at The Royal Academy of Arts until 10th April 2023.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
On 21st of January ‘Spain and the Hispanic World’ opened at the Royal Academy, presenting for the first time in the UK, treasures from the collection of The Hispanic Society, New York. Objects include paintings, sculpture, ceramics, and ironwork as well as medieval maps and books amassed by Archer M. Huntington in the early 20th century.
Losing yourself among the Goya, Velázquez, and El Greco you would be forgiven for mistaking the Academy’s Main Galleries for the Prado. The voluminous rooms of the Academy trace the history of Spanish visual and material culture, displayed chronologically. Beginning in antiquity, we are taken on a voyage from the Iberian Peninsula through to the colonisation of South America and culminating back in Spain with a large panoramic gouache ‘A Vision of Spain’ by Jose G. Solana commissioned by the Hispanic Society in 1912.
gowithYamo spoke to Art Historian Dr Tom Nickson who studies the influence of ethnic and religious diversity on the visual and material culture of medieval Spain to explore how the exhibition presents ‘Spanish Art’.
The American Hispanic Society has put together a phenomenal collection of Spanish and South American art demonstrating the rich visual culture of the Hispanic world. However this is a landmark exhibition and most of these objects are being exhibited in the UK for the first time. Would you say that ‘Spanish Art’ is relatively underrepresented in the wider art history narrative?
Yes. For much of the 20th century Spain was politically ostracized, while long-standing cultural prejudices meant that the art of Spain was perceived as a poor imitation of that in Italy, France or the Netherlands. That is starting to change, but it is still common to find surveys or essay collections that purport to embrace Europe but omit Spanish or Portuguese material. But that neglect makes it an exciting field of study: there is still much to discover!
Would you say we should scrutinise what we mean by ‘Spanish Art’ particularly art of the medieval period?
Throughout the Middle Ages Spain was home to multiple kingdoms, Christian and Islamic, that were occasionally united by alliances or marriage, but also jostled for control. Only under Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile in the late 15th century can we speak of (mostly) unified political leadership, especially following the conquest of Granada in 1492. But the idea of a united Spain had existed since the Roman period: the Latin, Castilian, Arabic and Hebrew epitaphs of Ferdinand III of Castile (died 1252) describe him, for example, as ruler of Hispania, Spain, Andalus and Sefarad. Modern scholars often use the term ‘Iberia’ to include al-Andalus, Portugal and the Spanish kingdoms, but this too is problematic, and was almost never used in the Middle Ages.
In European history the ‘Dark Ages’ corresponds to a Golden Age in Islamic rule so even our terminology can be misleading when we start speaking about a broader visual culture for instance many of the earlier objects exhibited here?
Almost all the terms we use as historians are problematic in some way or other, including ‘European’, medieval, ‘Golden Age’, and ‘Islamic’. I’m not sure we will ever find the perfect terminology; for me the most important thing we can do is interrogate our language and remain critically aware of its connotations, even if we sometimes draw on this language for reasons of convenience.
Is it helpful to think of Spanish art as art bound by a shared geographical location rather than belief or style?
It is certainly possible to identify distinct aspects of Islamic, Christian or Jewish art and architecture, especially art produced for religious contexts. But tastes and traditions were also shared across religious boundaries, and were shaped, for example, by the availability of stone or wood in particular areas. But art historical scholarship in Spain is often atomised, with scholars focused exclusively on their local region. It’s important to push against this sometimes, whilst recognising that networks of patrons, artists and tastes might operate at local, regional, national or international levels. As always, it depends on context.
Although the exhibition leans heavily toward the Christian if you look closely, the Pagan-Celtic, Islamic, and Jewish influences can be uncovered. From the blindingly obvious such as a beautiful 15th century illuminated Hebrew Bible and the stunning Alhambra Silk c. 1400, recalling the tiles of the Alhambra palace, to more subtle traces, for instance, the amazing collection of 16th century lustreware plates decorated with Christian motifs but made using an Islamic technique by Islamic craftsman as well as an early 15th-century tin-glazed earthenware baptismal font, decorated on each side with two open palms - an Islamic talisman.
This is all seen before the exhibition explores the way in which indigenous people in colonised South America adapted and modified Christian tropes to preserve aspects of their identity. For me I see the mixed identity underlying the facade of traditional Spain exemplified in Ignacio Zuloaga’s The Family of the Gypsy Bullfighter (1903).
We are presented with this seemingly deeply Spanish family portrait but on further inspection the supposedly unified family is disjointed, each member with a strong individual character and looking in a different direction, the womens traditional dresses reference the influence of moorish fashion. The little boy is to be brought up to do the most Spanish of pursuits, bullfighting yet as the title suggests this is a gypsy family or is it? In fact it’s an imagined family imagined by a Basque painter, using his own Basque relatives and friends as models. In a time of increasing nationalism this exhibition is a welcome reminder that scratch the surface of any national identity and you will find a melting pot.
Spain and the Hispanic World: Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library is showing at The Royal Academy of Arts until 10th April 2023.
Make sure to collect your Yamos on the gowithYamo app when you visit!
