Spanish Eclecticism
also: Eclecticismo
Spanish Eclecticism was a movement among Spanish painters from 1845 to 1890, named for its practitioners' tendency to select freely among the established styles of the era. While renewal swept the rest of Europe, Realism and Impressionism were slow to take hold in Spain; instead, well-schooled painters blended academic rigor, Romantic history subjects and genre charm. Its dominant theme was Spanish history — medieval and Catholic Monarchs episodes staged as anecdotal, sentimental scenes on enormous canvases — boosted by official establishments such as the Salons of Autumn and the Spanish Academy, with its stress on rigorous drawing and documentation. Landscape grew prominent with Carlos de Haes, while a Catalan current of bourgeois urban scenes culminated in Fortuny's small 'tableautins'. Detractors call it a period of skill without significant advance.
Defining characteristics
- Free borrowing among established styles — academic, Romantic and genre elements combined
- Anecdotal historical scenes, often sentimental, on very large canvases
- Rigorous academic drawing and careful historical documentation
- Spanish national history and the era of the Catholic Monarchs as favorite subject matter
- Rising interest in landscape and in small bourgeois 'tableautin' formats
Key figures
- Francisco Pradilla y Ortiz (1848-1921) — History painter and exemplar of the movement (Doña Juana la Loca)
- Marià Fortuny (1838-1874) — Catalan virtuoso credited with the small, bright tableautin format
- Eduardo Rosales (1836-1873) — History painter bridging the movement and Catalan pre-impressionism
- Carlos de Haes (1829-1898) — First professor of landscape painting at the Spanish Academy
- Antonio Gisbert (1834-1901) — History painter of politically charged national episodes
Example works
- Doña Juana la Loca — Francisco Pradilla (1877)
- The Surrender of Granada — Francisco Pradilla (1882)
- The Spanish Wedding — Marià Fortuny (1870)
Sources
- Spanish Eclecticism - Wikipedia encyclopedia