Contemporary art

We could not conclude our journey without visiting our closest work samples: Contemporary art. Gonzalli insisted that to do so we visited the Basque Country, but before that... what is contemporary art?

Contemporary art can be defined as art produced at this present moment of time or art produced since the World War II.

Barcelona's houses

Casa Amatller is a building of the Modern art, designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Together with Casa Batlló and Casa Lleó-Morera, it constitutes the three most important buildings in Barcelona´s famous Illa de la Discòrdia.

Casa Lleó-Morera

The Casa Lleó-Morera, a building designed by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, won the award of Barcelona Municipality in 1906.
It is one of the most magnificent houses of one of the most important avenues of Barcelona, the Passeig de gracia inside of the area named “El Quadrat d´or” (Golden square).
The façade had some extraordinary sculptures by Eusebi Arnau, which were one of the capital elements of the building.

Modern Art

As the term indicates, Modern art refers to artistic works produced during the period which extends from the 1860s through the 1970s.

It denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. It is order to experiment. These new artist experimented with new ways of seeing, new points of views, fresh ideas about the nature of materials and the functions or art itself. There´s a clear tendency towards abstraction.

El Escorial

El Escorial is the historical residence of the king of Spain. It functions as a monastery, a royal palace, museum and school. It is located about 45 km northwest of the capital of Spain, Madrid, in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

It comprises two architectural complexes of both historical and cultural significance: El Real Monasterio de El Escorial and La Granjilla de la Fresneda, a royal hunting lodge and monastic retreat.

Renaissance

Our research shows us that our nest stop must be the Renaissance.

The Spanish Renaissance refers to a movement in Spain which emerges from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century. It spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries. The year 1492 it is commonly accepted by all as the start of the influence of this movement in Spain.

This focus in art, literature and science is inspired by Classical antiquity and receives an impulse by various successive historical events in 1492:

-The taking of Granada, last city of Islamic Spain and the expulsions of thousands of Muslims and Jewish believers.

-The discovery of the Americas.

-The publication of the first grammar of a vernacular European language, the Grammar by Antonio de Nebrija.

The House of Light

Ivaniccio has suggested going to Leon in order to find samples of Gothic art, and he was completely right. We have had to jump a little bit in time between the 13th and 16th centuries but we have seen the birth of the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Leon.

Santa María de León Cathedral, also known as The House of Light, is situated in the city of León, in north-west Spain. Some features we should be aware of when we look at this cathedral are: its doors, its rose window, the choir, the venerated Virgin Blanca and the Locus Apellattione, where justice was imparted.

This Cathedral was dedicated to Santa María de la Regla.It is considered a masterpiece of the Gothic style dominating the mid 13th century and completed by the late 16th century.

It has around 1,800 square meter of stained glass windows.

Inside the Cathedral there is a large collection of sacred art. There are almost 1,500 pieces, including 50 Romanesque sculptures of the Virgin, dating from prehistoric times to the 18th century (Neoclassicism), a Mozarabic bible and numerous codices.

Gothic art

When we talk about Gothic art we mainly refer to Gothic architecture, which is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture.

It began in the 12th century in France and lasted into the 16th century. Its characteristic features include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress.

It is in the great churches and cathedrals and in a great number of civic buildings that we can clearly see that the Gothic style was expressed most powerfully.

The Alhambra

The Alhambra, literally “the red one” is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers of Granada in southern Spain. It was given this name because of the color of the red clay of the surroundings of which the fort is made. The fortress was constructed during the mid 14th century, occupying a hilly terrace on the southeastern border of the city of Granada.
It was the residence of the Muslim rulers of Granada and their court, today it is one of Spain´s major tourist attractions which shoes the country´s most famous Islamic architecture.
It is a place where artists and intellectuals had taken refuge as Christian Spain won victories over Al Andalus.

End of school year trip to Cordoba

We are so lucky to have a time machine! We have travelled forward in time to see our end of school year trip, when we will return to the Mosque with all our classmates. Do you want to see how it's going to be?

The Mosque

The Mosque of Córdoba is a Roman Catholic cathedral and former mosque situated in Andalusia, in the city of Córdoba. At first it was built as a church, after the Muslim conquest it was confiscated to use as a mosque and became the second largest mosque in the world. After the Spanish Reconquista, it was returned to its original use as a church.
The Great Mosque of Córdoba was considered a wonder of the medieval world by both Muslims and Christians.

Islamic art

This was all really interesting but we decided to visit some Islamic art of the 7th century. So we set our Time Machine to take us back there so we can find out a little more about history in Spain.

Islamic art encompasses the arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people (not necessarily Muslim) who lived within the territory that was inhabited by culturally Islamic populations. It includes fields as varied as architecture, calligraphy, painting and ceramics among others.

San Pedro de la Nave

The Visigothic church of “San Pedro de la Nave” (St. Peter of the Ship) is located in the town of Campillo.
It was built between 680 and before the Muslim conquest of Hispania in 711. It is one of the last works of Visigothic architecture.
At first the church was located on the banks of the river Esla, but when Ricobayo dam was built, it was moved to avoid submersion in the higher waters of the Esla. Thanks to Manuel Gómez-Moreno, it was decided that the church would be moved stone by stone to its current location.

Visigoths

Our friend the Historian explained us the importance of the Visigoths in Spanish art: They were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Germanic tribe, the others were the Ostrogoths. Togethere, these tribes were among the barbarians who disturbed the late Roman Empire during the Migration Period, which was a period of human migration which marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. A Visigothic army under Alaric I eventually moved into Italy and famously sacked Rome in 410.

Merida

Mérida was founded in the year 25 BC under the name of Emerita Augusta, which means the bachekirs (discharged soldiers) of the army of Emperor Augustus, who founded the city, to protect a pass and a bridge over the Guadiana river.
During the Visigothic period, the city maintained much of its splendor, especially under the sixth century domination of the bishops, when it was the capital of Hispania.
In Mérida you can find a circus, a Roman theatre and some temples.

Alcantara Bridge

The Alcántara Bridge is a Roman stone arch bridge, built over the Tagus river at Alcántara between 104 and 106 under the order of the Roman Emperor Traján. This bridge is very important because it is the highest Roman bridge. It has a triumphal Arc that represents the principal entrance to the city.

Aqueduct of Segovia

The Aqueduct of Segovia is one of the best preserved Roman constructions. It was built around the year 50 a.C. during the reign of the Roman Emperor Traján. The Roman used it to carry water from the river Frío to the city of Segovia.

Rome

Ivaniccio wanted to learn about the Roman days, so we set the time coordinates to 348 b.C. and waited to see what happened. While we waited, we listened to the Historian talk about the Roman times in Spain.

The Romans were an Italian Empire which conquered most of the known world. They set in Spain in 348 BC to 411 BC. During this time, the Romans did incredible works of art such as the Aqueduct of Segovia, the Alcántara Bridge and the town of Mérida (Emerita Augusta).

The Bulls of Guisando

We have spent a while wandering in the pre-Roman days in Spain and we have to say that one of the most important pieces of art is the Bulls of Guisando”, which are a set of celtiberian sculptures located on the hill of Guisando, in the municipality of El Tiemblo, Ávila. They are made of granite and they represent quadrupeds identified as bulls or pigs. Most people believe they are bulls, which holes have been interpreted as sockets for horns. They are examples of a type of ancient sculpture called verracos. They are associated with the territory of a celtiberian tribed called the Vettones. They are said to have been made during the second century BC.

Lady of Baza

While touring the Iberian times we also discovered another masterpiece of their art: The Lady of Baza.

Lady of Baza is a famous example of Iberian sculpture, found in 1971 by Francisco José Presedo Velo at Baza in the northwest of the province of Granada.
She is seated in an armchair, and it is believed that an open space on the side contains ashes from a cremation.

Interview with the lady

Guess what!!! We met the original model who sat for the Lady of Elche sculpture! We are so excited!!! This is what she told us about herself.

Lady of Elche

The Lady of Elche is one of the most important artistic work of art for the Iberian people. It is a life size bust carved in limestone, which probably represents a priestess. We can date it between the end of the V century BC and the first half of the IV century BC. Her eyes were of glass paste to accentuate the strong expression of her look; the Dame lowers her eyes and looks on with caution so not to have direct contact with men.

It represents the remaining facets of different cultures of the Mediterranean world of that era: Spanish for the facial features of the model, the fashion of hairdressing and the clothing.

Archaeological Museum

We visited the Archaeological museum in Madrid to know what we were looking for and recorded a short video of the Lady of Elche (or Lady of Elx, as some call her to this day)

Iberians

The Iberians lived in isolated communities based on a tribal organization. They settled here long before the arrival of the Romans.
The Iberians were a Spanish tribe with spectacular pieces of art, such as The Lady of Elche.

Classical Antiquity

It is a period in history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

The expert's opinion

Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola tells us his opinion on the caves which he discovered in 1879

Exploring the Cave

These caves have paintings which were done by the prehistoric men more than 15,000 years ago in the Upper Paleolithic. They used natural paints in ochre, blood and black contours.

These men painted animals such as: bison because they thought that these animals would bring them good luck.

Altamira Caves

The Cave of Altamira, the paintings were done like 16.500 years ago, they were done in the Upper Paleolithic.The people of that time painted the animals because they thought that it would give them good luck at hunting. The paintings are located in Santillana del Mar, in Cantabria. This is the most important cave in Spain

Prehistory

Prehistory is a term to describe the period before written history. The Prehistory is divided into three ages: The Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic.

Exploring the cave

Today, we have been working during the break in our secret laboratory. We have achieved the perfect time machine that lets us go from Present to Past up to Prehistoric times! Just you wait! In about a second we'll be landing in the Altamira Caves!
Ivaniccio!!! Enter the time coordinates! That will be about 15000 years back in time.







Gonzalli!!! Enter the latitude and longitude of our destination.

It's 43º23'17''N, 04º06'33''