SPANISH GOLDEN AGE: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS, WORKS AND AUTHORS - ART - 2025

The Spanish Golden Age is the name given to the period of greatest growth in Spanish culture (between the end of the 15th century and the second half of the 17th century). There was a considerable development of literature and the arts.

It is considered that the Golden Age began in one of the most momentous years in the history of Spain: 1492, just when Nebrija published his Grammar of Castilian, the Arabs were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula and Columbus set out on his journey to discover new lands.

Spanish Grammar by Antonio de Nebrija

The end of this period is associated with the death of one of the last great writers that Hispania had: Pedro Calderón de la Barca, around the year 1681. As you can see, it is called "century", but in reality it lasted almost two hundred years.

The events unleashed in this period arose at the same time that the House of Austria remained on the throne of Spain, one of the royal structures with the greatest incidence and dominance in the history of the European continent.

Denomination of «Siglo de Oro»

The name Siglo de Oro was awarded some time after its completion, by a lover of history, letters and the arts: Luis José Velázquez. The writer named it like this in one of his first literary children, the exemplary work: Origins of Castilian Poetry.

The amount of expressive media that began to shine at this stage is extensive. In the literary field are the wonders of Lope de Vega and Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra. Also noteworthy are Calderón's theatrical compositions, which amazed so many on stage and in the streets.

On the other hand, in the world of plastic arts, the magic of the combination of brushes and colors stands out. El Greco wasted his talent, as did Diego Velázquez, two of the most exalted representatives of this genre of fine arts.

It was also a time of great boom for music, being Juan Hidalgo and Mateo Flecha, "El viejo", two of the composers of zarzuelas in addition to the many musical forms that support the current melodies and harmonies. Polyphony made an appearance at the hands of greats such as Francisco Guerrero and Cristóbal de Morales.

Origin

As mentioned in advance, 1492 was the year to which the beginning of the Golden Age is attributed, supported by such significant events as the voyages of Columbus, the Grammar of Nebrija and the expulsion of the Moors.

Having already spent almost seven hundred years of Arab rule in the lands of the Iberian Peninsula, after the rise to power of the Catholic Monarchs, tensions reached their peak and it was decided to create a coalition that would free Spain from the Moorish yoke. Although the expulsion was achieved, the cultural legacy forever marked the Spanish.

The fact that at last the Spanish territory was led by rulers of their own land generated an emotion in all the territories that was reflected in an increase in artistic and literary activities.

This period coincides with that of the European Renaissance; It was thus the awakening of an entire continent.

Historic context

At the end of the 15th century the Catholic Monarchs of Spain consolidated their power. His government rose, together with that of Machiavelli, as one of the strongest in the territory. It should be noted that part of the power of the Catholic Monarchs was based on religion and the domain that it exercised, very particularly in the so-called "holy inquisition."

The cultural advancement of Spain at that time was immense. Its economy, at the same time, grew disproportionately, and the Catholic Monarchs and their government began to enjoy a reputation never seen before.

Everything that was produced in Spain at that time was worthy of being imitated, taught and learned, which even led to a boom in the learning of their language by foreigners in order to achieve economic links that would benefit them.

All the eyes of the European, African and Asian continents pointed to the land of Cervantes. Just as Mesopotamia and Greece had been at the time, as cultural centers of humanity, it fell to Spain, in those almost two hundred years, to shine as it had not done since its foundation.

The most important cities during the development of Hispania were Madrid, Seville, Valencia, Toledo, Zaragoza and Valladolid, being the main commercial centers of the kingdom.

Discovery of America

Columbus's feat of the discovery of America was practically the main engine that economically sustained the Spanish monarchy. All the wealth extracted from the new continent served to revitalize the coffers of the Catholic Monarchs, helping the development of all their undertakings.

His travels meant the necessary respite for the Spanish government, without the contributions made by Columbus after the discovery, it would not have been possible to maintain all the population, artistic and cultural growth that took place in the next hundred and eighty years.

Although after the series of wars and other historical events that shook Europe, Spain declined with respect to its dominance and influence after the Golden Age, even today, in the XXI century, the benefits obtained after colonization and the discovery.

The new world, agriculture and the rise of the economy

Together with the gold, silver and pearls extracted from the new continent, there was a kind of wealth that still gives dividends to the Spanish, this cannot be other than that of the items from the American soil. Corn, potatoes, cocoa, tobacco and beans arrived to prevail in the Spanish market.

The nutritional contributions of potatoes and corn were immediate, representing great nutritional contributions for the general population. For their part, tobacco and cocoa served as activators of the economy, being in great demand among the elite public and the monarchy in particular.

It can be said that this is one of the most representative aspects of the cultural exchange that took place after the discovery of America. The intrinsic relationship between peoples and their diet is extremely strong, manifesting changes in growth, development and even customs.

characteristics

The Golden Age was a long period, where various artistic manifestations developed. The most outstanding characteristics of each of the creative currents that, together, constitute and identify this very important cycle are explained below.

Moment of economic development

The Golden Age was characterized by economic bonanza and good war and government omens. Peace and the flow of wealth in the Spanish territory facilitated the growth of the multiple artistic-literary disciplines.

All these favorable conditions allowed the Spanish citizen to take breaks from his work and begin to develop his skills, a situation that a hundred years ago under Moorish rule and a tense economy, would have been impossible.

The good times provided the ideal spaces for an unparalleled development of the Hispanic population of that time, to the point that until now there has not been such a wide and remarkable record of development of the arts as at that time.

The average Spaniard who lived through the Golden Age had the space and the right moment to develop optimally as being on all possible edges.

Cradle of literary expression

During this period, Spain became the cradle of the development of literary and aesthetic genres that ended up being a fundamental part of universal literature.

Cervantes and his Don Quixote de la Mancha were the jewel in the crown of Hispanic literature for humanity, if it is not exaggerated when saying that it is the most exalted work written in any language.

Felix Lope de Vega

Characters such as Calderón de la barca, Félix Lope de Vega and Francisco de Quevedo cannot be ignored. These consecrated writers gave poetry and theater the most splendid works seen in the Spanish language until then.

Miguel de Cervantes

Most of the literary themes developed during the 1500s and 1600s were derived from the rich Arab and Hebrew cultures that contributed so much during the Moorish rule in the Iberian Peninsula.

The cantigas, the moaxajas, the jarchas and the deed songs

The cantigas evolved until they gave way to Christmas carols and moaxajas with their particular jarchas that gave a unique air to Iberian popular poetry. The Spanish poetic identity was forged over the years after an intense mixture of the knowledge found in their lands.

It cannot be denied that the richness of the Spanish lyric owes much to the Arab culture. If it had not been for the rhythmic, melodic and rhyming contributions given by the Moors, Spanish singing would not be the shadow of what it is today.

With the passage of time, the inhabitants of each area took what was best suited to them, being the chants of gesta one of the most popular manifestations among the inhabitants of Spain.

Even today, almost nine hundred years after the consolidation of the Spanish language, there are populations that preserve ancient songs of deeds, inherited from generation to generation among their inhabitants in order to preserve their customs and history.

Visual arts in the Golden Age

Although one of the most important manifestations during the Golden Age was literature, the plastic arts were not far behind. Very significant and complex works were carried out in the different branches of artistic expression.

During the Spanish Golden Age, important changes also took place in the rest of the European countries, especially in Italy. Their coincidence with the Renaissance makes them an unprecedented cultural binomial in the history of the development of the arts.

Such was the performance of the Italian artists, that many of the Spanish aristocrats and nobles requested pieces from Italian artists for the decoration of their homes, thus activating land and sea trade channels that generated very substantial income for sailors and transporters. as well as to the crown through taxes.

Painting

Works by Francisco de Quevedo

Theater plays by Tirso de Molina

Works by Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra

Novels

- The galatea

Theater

References

1. Golden Age. (2018). (n / a): Ws. f. wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org
2. Golden Age in Spain. (S. f8.). Spain: Don Quixote. Recovered from: donquijote.org
3. Introduction to the Golden Age. (S. f.). Italy: Loescher. Recovered from: enespanol.loescher.it
4. Spanish Golden Age. (S. f.). Cuba: Ecured. Recovered from: ecured.cu
5. Spanish Golden Age (S. f.). Spain: Art History. Recovered from: artehistoria.com