Churrigueresque (;

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Churrigueresco''), also but less commonly "Ultra Baroque", refers to a

Spanish Baroque The arts of the Spanish Baroque include: *Spanish Baroque painting *Spanish Baroque architecture ** Spanish Baroque ephemeral architecture *Spanish Baroque literature **''Culteranismo'' **''Conceptismo'' * Spanish Baroque art ** Bodegón **Tenebri ...

style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the late 17th century and was used up to about 1750, marked by extreme, expressive and florid decorative detailing, normally found above the entrance on the main facade of a building.

Origins

Named after the architect and sculptor,

José Benito de Churriguera José Benito de Churriguera (21 March 1665, in Madrid – 2 March 1725, in Madrid) was a Spanish architect, sculptor and urbanist of the late-Baroque or Rococo style. He was born in Madrid to a Catalan cabinetmaker, gilder and altarpiece joine ...

(1665–1725), who was born in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

and who worked primarily in Madrid and

Salamanca Salamanca () is a city in western Spain and is the capital of the Province of Salamanca in the autonomous community of Castile and León. The city lies on several rolling hills by the Tormes River. Its Old City was declared a UNESCO World Herit ...

, the origins of the style are said to go back to an architect and sculptor named

Alonso Cano Alonso Cano Almansa or Alonzo Cano (19 March 16013 September 1667) was a Spanish painter, architect, and sculptor born in Granada.cathedral at Granada, in 1667. A distant, early 15th century precursor of the highly elaborate Churrigueresque style can be found in the Lombard Charterhouse of Pavia, yet the sculpture-encrusted facade still has the Italianate appeal to rational narrative. Churrigueresque appeals to the proliferative geometry and it is an intense evolution of Baroque, influenced by the same Baroque.

Development

The development of the style passed through three phases. Between 1680 and 1720, the Churriguera popularized Guarino Guarini's blend of

Solomonic column The Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific classical order, although most examples have Corinthian or Composite c ...

s and

composite order The Composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order.Henig, Martin (ed.), ''A Handbook of Roman Art'', p. 50, Phaidon, 1983, In many versions the composite or ...

, known as "supreme order". Between 1720 and 1760, the Churrigueresque column, or

estipite The estipite column is a type of pilaster typical of the Churrigueresque Baroque style of Spain and Spanish America used in the 18th century. In the late Baroque period, many classical architectural elements lost their simple shapes and became in ...

, in the shape of an inverted cone or obelisk, was established as a central element of ornamental decoration. The years from 1760 to 1780 saw a gradual shift of interest away from twisted movement and excessive ornamentation towards neoclassical balance and sobriety. Among the highlights of the style, interiors of the

Granada Charterhouse Granada Charterhouse ( es, Cartuja de Granada) is a Carthusian monastery in Granada, Spain. It is one of the finest examples of Spanish Baroque architecture. The charterhouse was founded in 1506; construction started ten years later, and conti ...

offer some of the most impressive combinations of space and light in 18th-century Europe. Integrating sculpture and architecture even more radically,

Narciso Tomé Narciso Tomé (1690–1742) was a Spanish architect and sculptor of the late- Baroque or Rococo period. Tomé was born in Toro, Spain. With his brother, Diego, he sculpted the facade of the University of Valladolid in 1715. In 1721, he was named ...

achieved striking

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

effects in his ''Transparente'' for the

Toledo Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Toledo Cathedral, from Plaza del Ayuntamiento.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...

. Perhaps the most visually intoxicating form of the style was Mexican Churrigueresque, practiced in the mid-18th century by

Lorenzo Rodriguez Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo State ...

, whose masterpiece is the

Sagrario Metropolitano The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven ( es, Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María a los cielos) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mex ...

(1749–69) in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

Spain

The first of the Churriguera was

(1665–1725), who trained as a joiner of

altarpieces An altarpiece is an artwork such as a painting, sculpture or relief representing a religious subject made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting ...

, drawing some very important for various churches of

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

and other cities in Spain. Some in Spain have gone and some remain only a sites: *

Nuevo Baztán Nuevo Baztán is a municipality southeast of Madrid, near Alcalá de Henares, Spain. It consists of a small historic centre and modern housing estates. The historic centre was designed as an industrial and housing complex laid out on a grid p ...

, Community of Madrid **Church of St Francisco Javier and Goyeneche Palace *Salamanca,

Castile and León Castile and León ( es, Castilla y León ; ast-leo, Castiella y Llión ; gl, Castela e León ) is an autonomous community in northwestern Spain. It was created in 1983, eight years after the end of the Francoist regime, by the merging of the ...

**Altarpiece of Convent of San Esteban **Choir of the New Cathedral. ** Plaza Mayor. ** Capilla de la Vera Cruz ** College of Calatrava *

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

Palace of San Telmo The Palace of San Telmo ( es, Palacio de San Telmo) is a historical edifice in Seville, southern Spain, formerly the ''Universidad de Mareantes'' (a university for navigators), now is the seat of the presidency of the Andalusian Autonomous Governm ...

Mexico

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, the Cathedral Basilica of Zacatecas, capital of

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

state, and the Templo de Santa Prisca, located in

Taxco Taxco de Alarcón (; usually referred to as simply Taxco) is a small city and administrative center of Taxco de Alarcón Municipality located in the Mexican state of Guerrero. Taxco is located in the north-central part of the state, from the cit ...

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...

state are considered as masterpieces of Churrigueresque style. The building of Parroquia Antigua in

Salamanca, Guanajuato Salamanca ( Otomi: ''Xidoo'' "Place of Tepetate") is a city in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. Founded January 1, 1603 as 'Villa de Salamanca' by the Viceroy Gaspar de Zuniga and Acevedo, fifth Earl of Monterrey, who was originally from Salam ...

, founded on August 24, 1603, was completed in the year 1690, and the Churrigueresque facade in 1740. The altarpiece of the church of San Francisco Javier ( National Museum of Viceroyalty) in

Tepotzotlán Tepotzotlán () is a city and a municipality in the Mexican state of Mexico. It is located northeast of Mexico City about a 45-minute drive along the Mexico City- Querétaro at marker number 41. In Aztec times, the area was the center of a do ...

State of Mexico The State of Mexico ( es, Estado de México; ), officially just Mexico ( es, México), is one of the 32 federal entities of the United Mexican States. Commonly known as Edomex (from ) to distinguish it from the name of the whole country, it is ...

is also considered, along with its facade, one of the most important baroque churrigueresque works created by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

. The Altar de los Reyes of the

Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven ( es, Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Bienaventurada Virgen María a los cielos) is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mex ...

and the facades of the Sagrario Metropolitano, by the Spanish architect Lorenzo Rodriguez, which is attached to the same Cathedral, are also representatives of the style.

The Philippines

It was late introduced in the Philippines. The best examples were the San Juan de dios Hospital in Intramuros,

Daraga Church Nuestra Señora de la Porteria Parish Church (also ''Our Lady of the Gate Parish Church''), commonly known as Daraga Church, is a Roman Catholic Church in the municipality of Daraga, Albay, Philippines under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic D ...

in Albay, and Tigbauan Church in Iloilo.

California Churrigueresque

California Churrigueresque is a

revival style Revivalism in architecture is the use of visual styles that consciously echo the style of a previous architectural era. Notable revival styles include Neoclassical architecture (a revival of Classical architecture), and Gothic Revival (a reviva ...

native to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, developed in the early 20th century by architects

Bertram Goodhue Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 – April 23, 1924) was an American architect celebrated for his work in Gothic Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival design. He also designed notable typefaces, including Cheltenham and Merrymount for ...

and

Carleton Winslow Carleton Monroe Winslow (December 27, 1876 – 1946), also known as Carleton Winslow Sr., was an American architect, and key proponent of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in Southern California in the early 20th century. Biography Win ...

Sr. for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, which helped popularize its use in

Spanish Colonial Revival architecture The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In th ...

in California, and to a lesser extent the rest of the United States. Goodhue and Winslow developed the style after studying Churrigueresque and

Plateresque Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially architectural, developed in Spain and its territories, which appeared between the late Gothic and early Renaissance in ...

ornamentation in Spanish Colonial buildings in Mexico. Many of the best examples of California Churrigeresque are located in Balboa Park in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, the site of the Panama-California Exposition. Other notable buildings in this style include San Francisco's Mission Dolores Basilica, the

First Congregational Church of Riverside The First Congregational Church of Riverside is a historic United Church of Christ church at 3504 Mission Inn Avenue in Riverside, California. It was designed by Myron Hunt, and built in 1913. It was added to the National Register in 1997. It is ...

, Los Angeles's St. Vincent de Paul Church, and

Beverly Hills City Hall The Beverly Hills City Hall is a historic building and city hall in Beverly Hills, California. Location The building is surrounded by North Santa Monica Boulevard, North Rexford Drive, South Santa Monica Boulevard, and North Crescent Drive.Google ...

.LA Curbed - Beverly Hills Landmarking 1932 Churrigueresque City Hall
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References

;Bibliography * Pevsner, Fleming and Honour, ''The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture'', Penguin Books, Middlesex, England, 1983 * Kelemen, Pal, ''Baroque and Rococo in Latin America'', Dover Publications Inc., New York, volumes I and II, 1967

External links

{{Architecture of Spain Churrigueresque

Churrigueresque Churrigueresque (; Spanish: ''Churrigueresco''), also but less commonly "Ultra Baroque", refers to a Spanish Baroque style of elaborate sculptural architectural ornament which emerged as a manner of stucco decoration in Spain in the late 17th ...

Churrigueresque Architectural history