''Artistic and Monumental Spain '' (Spanish: ''España Artística y Monumental'') is an illustrated travel book in 3 volumes, including significant structures and monuments in Spain. It was published in 1842 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

by Veith and Hauser. The illustrator was

Jenaro Pérez Villaamil Jenaro Pérez de Villaamil y d'Huguet (3 February 1807 – 5 June 1854) was a Spanish painter in the Romantic style who specialized in landscapes with figures and architectural scenes. He often inflated the scale of the buildings relative t ...

in collaboration with

Patricio de la Escosura Patricio de la Escosura Morrogh (5 November 1807–1878) was a Spanish politician, journalist, playwright and author associated with the Romantic school Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, ...

, who was responsible for the text. His patron or sponsor was the Gaspar Remisa.

History

The work was created by a collaboration of writer

, with lithographer Louis-Julien Jacottet (1806–1880), and the artist

who also acted as editor. Illustrated travel books of this type became popular during

Romantic movement Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

of the 19th century. ''España Artística y Monumental'' was one of the most beautiful works in this genre works along '' España pintoresca y artística'' (

Francisco de Paula Van Halen Francisco de Paula Van Halen y Gil (3 March 1814, Vic - 11 February 1887, Madrid) was a Spanish painter, known primarily for battle scenes and other historical works. Biography Long thought to be a nephew of the General and military adventurer, ...

) and '' Recuerdos y bellezas de España'' ( Francisco Javier Parcerisa with

José María Quadrado José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

). Most of the illustrated plates were done by Villaamil, many of them drawn from his own paintings; in these cases the illustration included his signature at the bottom «». Other artists also contributed including his brother Juan, Valentín Carderera,

José Domínguez Bécquer José María Domínguez Insausti, better known as José Domínguez Bécquer (22 January 1805, Seville - 28 January 1841, Seville) was a Spanish painter in the Costumbrismo style. He was the father of the famous poet, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, and ...

, and

Cecilio Pizarro Cecilio is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Cecilio Apostol (1877–1938), Filipino poet *Cecilio Báez (1862–1941), provisional President of Paraguay 1905–1906 *Cecilio Perez Bordon, Paraguayan Minister of Public Works un ...

. Some parts of the work was created from original drawings purchased from other artists. In some cases the author's name is recorded on the illustration, else it is simply reads «G. Pérez de Villaamil lo dirigió». This happened to Valentin Cardedera's illustration causing him to write a letter of complaint to Villaamil:

Description

The whole work has a romantic tinge in line with contemporary European works. The illustrations echoed Pérez Villamil's style which celebrated a romantic medieval aspect. The Paris publishing house Hauser published the work between 1842 and 1850 in three volumes - around twenty French and one Spanish lithographer worked on the plates. Despite the variety of authors and lithographers whole had a consistent style thanks to the good direction Pérez Villamil with the lithographers allowed to used interpretive licenses when working from the originals.. The work contains 44 views of Toledo, 19 of

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

, as well as illustrations of various places of Castile,

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...

, the Basque Country,

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

, and Galicia. The choice was arbitrary and did not represent all regions of Spain.

Notes

References

External links

* , at Biblioteca Digital de Castilla y León * , at Biblioteca Virtual del Patrimonio Bibliográfico * {{citation , title =España artística y monumental .. , language = Spanish , url = https://ddd.uab.cat/record/59987 , at Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB Books about Spain Travel books Architecture in Spain